Indiana paid sick leave
Indiana does not currently have a statewide paid sick leave mandate. Federal FMLA leave is unpaid, and a city ordinance or your own policy may still apply.
Informational, not legal advice. Checked against Congressional Research Service report R48921 and the state's own labour department. Statutes change every session — confirm against the primary source linked below before setting a policy.
What still applies in Indiana
- Federal FMLA gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave, but it is unpaid.
- A city or county ordinance may impose its own accrual requirement even where the state does not.
- If you employ people in more than one state, the rules of each work location apply to those employees.
- Any policy you publish yourself is generally enforceable as written, so vague wording tends to be read against the employer.
Employing across state lines?
PTODesk applies each employee's work-location rules automatically, so one team can span mandate and non-mandate states without a separate spreadsheet each.
See the Compliance planWhere the mandates are
Indiana has no accrual requirement, but 21 states do — and the rule that binds you is the one where the employee works, not where the company is registered. One remote hire is enough to bring another state's accrual rate, annual cap and carryover obligations onto your payroll.
Common questions
Does Indiana require employers to provide paid sick leave?
No. Indiana has no statewide paid sick leave mandate, so paid sick time is whatever your own policy says it is. That freedom cuts both ways: a policy you publish is generally enforceable as written, and ambiguous wording is usually read against the employer.
Do we still have to give unpaid leave in Indiana?
Federal FMLA still applies to employers with 50 or more employees, giving eligible staff up to 12 weeks of job-protected but unpaid leave. Smaller employers are outside FMLA entirely, though the ADA can require unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation regardless of headcount.
We are based in Indiana but have a remote employee elsewhere. Whose rules apply?
The employee's work location, not your headquarters. 21 states plus several cities mandate accrual — including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland — and hiring one remote person there brings that state's accrual rate, cap and carryover rules with them. This is the single most common way a company in a non-mandate state ends up out of compliance.
Do we have to pay out unused sick time when someone leaves in Indiana?
Only if your own policy promises it. Absent a statute, the handbook is the contract — which is why "sick time is not paid out on separation" is worth stating explicitly rather than leaving unsaid.