Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance
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.
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.
The full text of the final rules is available at:
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Key Requirements
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
| General Information | Small (Tier 1) Employer | Medium (Tier 2) Employer | Large (Tier 3) Employer |
| Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) | One employee and up to 49 FTEs | 50-249 FTEs | 250 or more FTEs |
| Accrual of PSST per hours worked | 1 hour per 40 hours | 1 hour per 40 hours | 1 hour per 30 hours |
| Carry over of unused PSST (per year) |
40 hours | 56 hours | 72 hours *108 hours for employers with PTO |
*There is no cap on accrual or use of PSST in a year (i.e. fixed, 12-month period).
Resources
- Questions & Answers (Q&A)
Rules and Ordinances
The Office of Labor Standards has jurisdiction within Seattle city limits
- Download map with Seattle's census tracts and zip code areas
- View map showing Seattle's boundary lines.The SDCI interactive mapping tool can be used to determine if a particular location, based on the address, is within Seattle's city limits. It's as easy as entering your address in the top left hand corner of the map. Instructions for using this interactive mapping tool can be found here.