Use of paid sick time and paid safe time
Seattle Mun. Code § 14.16.030
in effect14.16.030 - Use of paid sick time and paid safe time
A. 1.
Paid sick time shall be provided to an employee by an employer. An employee is authorized to use paid sick time for the following reasons:
a. An absence resulting from an employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; to accommodate the employee's need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or an employee's need for preventive medical care; and
b. To allow the employee to provide care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or care of a family member who needs preventive medical care.
2. Paid safe time shall be provided to an employee by an employer. An employee is authorized to use paid safe time for the following reasons:
a. When the employee's place of business has been closed by order of a public official, for any health-related reason, to limit exposure to an infectious agent, biological toxin, or hazardous material;
b. When the employee's place of business for a Tier 3 employer has reduced operations or closed for any health- or safety-related reason;
c. When the employee's family member's school or place of care has been closed; and
d. For any of the following reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, as set out in RCW 49.76.030:
1) To enable the employee to seek legal or law enforcement assistance or remedies to ensure the health and safety of the employee or the employee's family or household members including, but not limited to, preparing for, or participating in, any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or derived from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
2) To enable the employee to seek treatment by a health care provider for physical or mental injuries caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or to attend to health care treatment for a victim who is the employee's family or household member;
3) To enable the employee to obtain, or assist a family or household member in obtaining, services from a domestic violence shelter, rape crisis center, or other social services program for relief from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
4) To enable the employee to obtain, or assist a family or household member in obtaining, mental health counseling related to an incident of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, in which the employee or the employee's family or household member was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; or
5) To enable the employee to participate in safety planning, temporarily or permanently relocate, or take other actions to increase the safety of the employee or employee's family or household members from future domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
B. Paid sick time and paid safe time shall be provided upon the request of an employee. When possible, an employee's request shall include the expected duration of the absence. An employer may require an employee to provide reasonable notice of an absence from work, and comply with the employer's usual and customary notice and procedural requirements for absences and/or requesting leave, provided that such requirements do not interfere with the purposes for which the paid sick and paid safe time is needed.
1. If the paid leave is foreseeable, the employee must provide a written request at least ten days, or as early as possible, in advance of the paid leave, unless the employer's normal notice policy requires less advance notice.
2. If the paid leave is unforeseeable, the employee must provide notice as soon as is practicable and must generally comply with an employer's reasonable normal notification policies and/or call-in procedures, provided that such requirements do not interfere with the purposes for which the leave is needed.
C. For overtime eligible employees, accrued paid sick time and paid safe time shall be used in hourly increments or, if an employer's payroll system tracks compensation in increments of less than one hour, in the smallest increment in which compensation is tracked. For overtime exempt employees, an employer may make deductions of paid sick time and paid safe time in accordance with state and federal laws. For overtime exempt public employees, paid sick time and paid safe time must be used in accordance with a pay system established by statute, ordinance, or regulation, or by a policy or practice established pursuant to the principles of public accountability.
D. When the use of accrued time is foreseeable, the employee shall make a reasonable effort to schedule the use of paid sick time or paid safe time in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.
E. For use of paid sick time of more than three consecutive days for a reason set out in subsection 14.16.030.A.1, an employer may require reasonable verification that the employee's use of paid sick time is for an authorized purpose covered by subsection 14.16.030.A.1. If an employer requires reasonable verification, such verification must be provided to the employer within a reasonable time period during or after the leave. An employer's requirements for reasonable verification may not result in an unreasonable burden or expense on the employee and may not exceed privacy or verification requirements otherwise established by law. Documentation signed by a health care provider indicating that sick time is necessary, and other documentation authorized pursuant to rules issued by the Director, shall be considered reasonable verification.
1. An employer may not require that the documentation explain the nature of the illness.
2. For any employee who is not offered health insurance by the employer, the employer and the employee shall each pay half the cost of any out-of-pocket expense incurred by the employee in obtaining the employer-requested documentation. These expenses are limited to the cost of services provided by health care providers, the services of health care facilities, testing prescribed by health care providers, and transportation to the location where such services are provided. An employee who has declined to participate in the health insurance program offered by the employer shall not be entitled to reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses.
F. For use of paid safe time of more than three consecutive days for a reason set out in subsection 14.16.030.A.2, an employer may require reasonable verification that the employee's use of paid safe time is for an authorized purpose covered by subsection 14.16.030.A.2. If an employer requires reasonable verification, such verification must be provided to the employer within a reasonable time period during or after the leave. An employer's requirements for reasonable verification may not result in an unreasonable burden or expense on the employee and may not exceed privacy or verification requirements otherwise established by law.
1. An employer may require that requests under subsections 14.16.030.A.2.a through 14.16.030.A.2.c be supported by verification of a notice of reduced operations or closure and the employee may satisfy this verification request by providing the notice, or a copy of the notice, in whatever format the employee received it.
2. An employer may require that requests under subsection 14.16.030.A.2.d be supported by verification that the employee or employee's family or household member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and that the leave taken was for one of the purposes covered by subsection 14.16.030.A.2.d. An employee may satisfy this verification requirement by one or more of the following methods:
a. An employee's written statement that the employee or the employee's family or household member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and that the leave taken was for one of the purposes of subsection 14.16.030.A.2.d;
b. A police report indicating that the employee or employee's family or household member was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
c. A court order protecting or separating the employee or employee's family or household member from the perpetrator of the act of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or other evidence from the court or the prosecuting attorney that the employee or employee's family or household member appeared, or is scheduled to appear, in court in connection with an incident of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; or
d. Documentation that the employee or the employee's family or household member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, from any of the following persons from whom the employee or employee's family or household member sought assistance in addressing the domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking: an advocate for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; an attorney; a member of the clergy; or a medical or other professional. The provision of documentation under this Section 14.16.030 does not waive or diminish the confidential or privileged nature of communications between a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking with one or more of the individuals named in this subsection 14.16.030.F.2.d.
G. Upon mutual consent by the employee and the employer, an employee may work additional hours or shifts during the same or next pay period without using available paid sick or paid safe time for the original missed hours or shifts. However, the employer may not require the employee to work such additional hours or shifts. Should the employee work additional shifts, the employer shall comply with any applicable federal, state, or local laws concerning overtime pay.
H. Nothing in this Chapter 14.16 shall be construed to prohibit an employer from establishing a policy whereby employees may voluntarily exchange assigned hours or "trade shifts."
I. An employer may not ask, or require as a condition of an employee taking paid sick and paid safe time, that the employee search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee uses paid sick and paid safe time.
J. Nothing in this Chapter 14.16 shall be construed to prohibit an employer from establishing a policy whereby employees may donate unused accrued paid sick and paid safe time to another employee.
K. Each time wages are paid, employers shall provide each employee with written notification stating an updated amount of paid sick and paid safe time available to each employee for use as either paid sick time or paid safe time. The updated amount shall include accrued paid sick and paid safe time since the last notification, reduced paid sick and paid safe time since the last notification, and any unused paid sick and paid safe time available for use. Employers may choose a reasonable system for providing this notification, including, but not limited to, listing available paid leave on each pay stub or developing an online system where employees can access their own paid leave information.
(Ord. 126056, § 3, 2020; Ord. 125499, § 5, 2017; Ord. 124960, § 6, 2015; Ord. 123698, § 2, 2011.)
Source: City of Seattle, Seattle Municipal Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=TIT14HURI_CH14.16PASITIPASATI_14.16.030USPASITIPASATIFetched: 11/1/2026