Paid sick leave benefits are not required by law. Unpaid sick leave, however, may be legally required if you are subject to either federal or state family and medical leave laws. Sick leave, like other time-off benefits, is valuable to employees and, when combined with certain disability insurance benefits, can create an attractive package of benefits that make employees feel secure and valued.

Arkansas law prohibits discharge, loss of sick leave or vacation time, or any other form of penalty for absences from work for jury duty when an employee gives reasonable notice to the employer that a summons to jury duty was received.

In the absence of a personal time-off policy, when has an employee called in sick enough times to justify dismissal? How many days off are appropriate when a family member is sick or dies? Do you have any choice about paying an employee who is on a jury or spending two weeks at reserve training? While it is possible to deal with each situation as it arises, a consistent and clearly communicated policy can make your life a lot easier. Employees will know what to expect and you won't be faced with making policy decisions each time a situation arises.

There are no laws requiring you to provide employees with funeral, or bereavement, leave. The employers that do provide the leave usually allow between two and four days per funeral. Employers that don't provide funeral leave generally allow employees to use some other form of paid leave, such as sick days or vacation. As a practical matter, when a death occurs in an employee's immediate family it's unrealistic to expect him or her to work, and you'll be perceived as hardhearted if you don't grant some paid time off.

Maryland law provides that employers may not deprive an employee of employment solely because of job time lost by the employee as a result of responding to a jury summons or as a result of attending court for service or prospective service as a petit or grand juror.

In Nebraska, it is unlawful to discharge an employee or cause the employee to lose wages, vacation or sick leave benefits because of absence for jury duty if the employee gave the employer reasonable notice.

If you have 15 or more employees, you are subject to a federal law that protects pregnant women. The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which is part of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, provides that women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions must be treated the same as other applicants and employees on the basis of their ability or inability to work. The law protects women against being fired, being refused a job, or being denied a promotion merely because they are pregnant. In addition, a woman usually may not be forced to go on leave as long as she is able to work.

Another time-off benefit that employers can offer is personal time. Personal time is offered to employees to cover situations that are not included in sick leave, bereavement, or other policies. Some examples of situations that might qualify for personal time off are house closings or car breakdowns. Personal time is generally different from vacation or sick leave time in that:

In dealing with arrests or incarcerations of employees, one option is to have a general policy that allows employees to take personal leave without pay for a justified cause. This is probably a more useful way to address the situation, especially if you have few employees and do not expect this type of problem to occur with regularity.

In Louisiana, no employer may discharge any employee called to serve or serving on jury duty without cause. Employers cannot make, adopt, or enforce any rule, regulation, or policy providing for the discharge of any employee who has been called to serve, or who is presently serving on, any grand jury or any jury at any criminal or civil trial, provided the employee notifies his or her employer of the summons within a reasonable period of time after receipt of a summons and prior to his or her appearance for jury duty.