Paid Sick and Safe Time

Ordinance: SMC 14.16 Rules: SHRR Chapter 70

PSST Flier Paid Sick and Safe Time Q & A

Seattle's Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST) Ordinance went into effect on September 1, 2012.

Seattle recently amended the PSST ordinance to reflect the more employee-protective provisions of voter-passed, Washington Initiative 1433, which established statewide paid sick leave for hourly employees working in Washington state. Effective July 1, 2018, PSST rule revisions modify existing rules, originally issued in 2012, to reflect these ordinance amendments.

Seattle's PSST ordinance requires employers operating in Seattle to provide all employees with paid leave to care for themselves or a family member with a physical or mental health condition, medical appointment, or a critical safety issue.

Employees can use PSST as follows:

• To care for a personal or family member's illness, injury or health condition, including preventative appointments.
• To care for a personal or family or household member's for a reason related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
• To care for a personal absence when a workplace, or child's school/place of care, has been closed by order of a public official for health reasons.
• Family member is defined as child of any age, spouse including registered domestic partners, parent and parent-in-law, sibling, grandparent, and grandchild.

PSST Rates (Accrual/Carry Over) by employer size