Overview of Paid Sick Time Laws in the United States:
Tacoma, WA
Updated on January 18, 2023
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| Tacoma, WA | |
| Who is covered? Note: City/county paid sick time laws cannot cover state government workers, and city, county, and state paid sick time laws cannot cover federal government workers. | Workers employed in Tacoma are covered, as long as there is a reasonable expectation that they will perform work in Tacoma for more than 80 hours within a benefit year. Independent contractors, single-person businesses, and Federal government workers are exempted. |
| Can sick time be used to care for loved ones? | Yes: children; parents; grandparents; grandchildren; siblings; spouses; and registered domestic partners (local or state registries). |
| How is “child” defined? | Biological, adopted or foster children, stepchildren, legal wards, or a child to whom the worker stands in loco parentis, is a legal guardian, or is a de facto parent, regardless of age or dependency status. |
| Can sick time be used for specific “safe time” purposes (related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking)? | Yes, when the worker or the worker’s family member (for safe time purposes, also includes a parent-in-law or a person with whom the worker has a dating relationship, per Washington State law) is the victim. |
| Can sick time be used under the law to bond with a new child and/or deal with a family member’s death? Note: It is possible that other laws, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act or a state equivalent, could provide eligible workers with unpaid leave for these purposes. | Paid sick time can be used to deal with a family member’s death. |
| Can sick time be used when a worker’s place of work or child’s school/place of care is closed by public health officials for a public health emergency? | Yes, when either the worker’s place or work or child’s school/place of care is closed by a public health official for any health-related reasons (not only public health emergencies). A health-related reason means a serious public health concern that could result in bodily injury or exposure to an infection agent, biological toxin, or hazardous material, and does not include closures for inclement weather. |
| Rate at which workers earn paid sick time? | 1 hour for every 40 hours worked. |
| Do workers have different sick time-related rights based on the size of their employer? If so, based on what employer-size threshold(s)? | No. |
| Amount of paid sick time that can be earned under the law per year? (Note: All of these paid sick time laws make it clear that these laws establish a minimum requirement, and employers can provide greater or more generous paid sick time benefits to their workers.) | No explicit cap on how much sick time can be earned or used in a year. However, as described below, employers are not required to allow a worker to carry over more than 40 hours of unused paid sick time a year. |
| When do workers begin to earn paid sick time? | At the commencement of employment, but workers aren’t entitled to use paid sick time until the 90th calendar day after employment commenced. |
| Does unused sick time carry forward to the subsequent year? | Workers are entitled to carry forward 40 hours of unused paid sick time to the following benefit year. |
| Private Right of Action to go to Court? | No. |
| Are there waivers/ exemptions for workers covered by a valid Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)? | All or any part of the law doesn’t apply to workers covered by a CBA to the extent that the CBA explicitly waives the requirements in clear and unambiguous terms. |
| What Agency or Official Enforces the Law? | The Finance Director or his or her designee |
| For the statewide paid sick time laws: can cities in the state pass paid sick time laws that are broader than the state law? | N/A |
| Statutory Citation(s) | Tacoma Code § 18.10.010 et seq. |
| Additional Notes | For more information about Tacoma's sick time law, see httpss://www.cityoftacoma.org/cms/one.aspx?objectId=75860. |
