Paid Sick Leave: Alaska

This Paid Sick Leave policy applies to employees in Alaska under Alaska Ballot Measure 1 (2024) and Alaska Statute 23.10.066, and it explains how eligible employees accrue and use paid sick leave for their own health needs, to care for a family member, and for safe leave related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, plus the notice, documentation, pay, carryover, and anti-retaliation rules your organization should follow.

The History Behind Paid Sick Leave Policies in Alaska

Paid Sick Leave became a compliance issue in Alaska after voters approved Ballot Measure 1 in 2024. The measure amended Alaska's Wage and Hour Act and added a statewide paid sick leave requirement for most employees working in Alaska. It applied clear guidelines on employer behavior, like banning retaliation and banning policies that make employees find their own shift coverage.

Alaska built the law around an accrual model, one hour per 30 hours worked, with annual usage caps that depend on employer size (40 hours for smaller employers and 56 hours for larger ones). The statute also tracked the direction many states had already taken by spelling out covered reasons beyond a cold or a doctor's appointment. It expressly covered safe leave for domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and it treated family care as a core use case, not an exception.

Which Law is the Paid Sick Leave Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Paid Sick Leave Policy for your Alaska-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with Alaska's Sick leave (AS 23.10.066) and Ballot Measure 1 (2024).

How to Write an Alaska-Specific Paid Sick Leave Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept by explaining that Alaska paid sick leave provides paid time off for health, caregiving, and certain safety-related needs.
• Define who is covered by the policy based on employee classification and Alaska-only applicability.
• Explain how paid sick leave is earned, including the accrual method and the annual cap.
• List the permitted uses of paid sick leave, including an employee's own health needs, care for a family member, and domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking related needs.
• Define "family member" broadly enough to match the policy's covered relationships.
• Describe how employees request paid sick leave and the general expectation to provide notice.
• State when documentation may be required and what types of documentation are acceptable for different leave reasons.
• Commit to confidentiality and limit documentation content to what is necessary, without requiring sensitive details.
• Explain how paid sick leave can be used (including increments) and how it is paid (including what is excluded from the pay rate).
• Address carryover and usage limits so employees understand how balances roll forward and what they can use in a year.
• Include a non-retaliation and no-coverage requirement statement to protect employees who request or use paid sick leave.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

If you have employees in Alaska and you do not have a similar policy that is available for all US employees, you should include this policy in your employee handbook for Alaska-based employees. 

AS 23.10.068 (c) states: 

Employers shall give employees written notice of the following at the commencement of employment or within 30 days of this section's effective date, whichever is later: that beginning July 1, 2025, employees are entitled to paid sick leave and the amount of paid sick leave, the terms of its use guaranteed under AS 23.10.066 and 23.10.067, and that retaliation against employees who request or use paid sick leave is prohibited.

Your employee handbook qualifies. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to Alaska employers who have at least 1 employee in the US.

Exceptions

None.