When employers want to compete for talented workers, they often take serious looks at their benefits packages. A common and attractive benefit for workers is paid time off. Still, before offering compensation for time away from workers, employers must be familiar with employment law in Pennsylvania.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost 80% of workers in the U.S. had some type of available paid leave in 2019. Still, employers in the Keystone State have no general requirement to offer workers paid time off. That is, companies usually only must pay workers for the time they actually work.
Do you have to pay sick workers?
Your employees might occasionally need time away from work due to an illness or injury. They also may request time off to care for a sick relative. While you may have a legal obligation to grant time off for medical reasons, you probably do not have to pay workers who leave work to deal with them.
Do you have to pay for vacations?
If you grant your employees vacation time, you might believe you have to pay them when they are on vacation. This is usually not true, however. Still, many employees want their employers to compensate them when they are out on their earned vacations.
While you probably have no legal duty to pay your employees when they are not working, many employees expect paid time off under certain circumstances. Ultimately, to ensure you can recruit and retain the best employees, you might want to think about offering paid leave.