Your Right to Time Off Work in Michigan

In addition to the leave provided by your employer's discretionary policies on vacation time, sick leave, personal days, or paid time off (PTO), you may have a legal right to take time off work for specific reasons under federal and Michigan laws. For example, if you are caring for an ailing family member or recovering from your own illness, you may have a right to leave under Michigan's Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) or the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). You also have the right to time off for military service and jury duty.

This article provides an overview of your right to time off from work in Michigan. For more information, see our page on employee leave rights.

Paid Sick Leave in Michigan

Effective February 21, 2025, Michigan's Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) replaces the Paid Medical Leave Act (PMLA), resulting in more generous paid sick leave for Michigan workers. The law broadly applies to all Michigan employers, but has different requirements for employers depending on their size.

Employers With 10 or More Employees

Employers with at least 10 employees must provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employees can use up to 72 hours of paid sick leave per year (unless the employer designates a higher amount) for any of the following reasons:

• to address the employee's or a family member's mental or physical health needs
• to care for the employee or a family member following domestic violence or sexual assault
• to attend meetings at a child's school or care facility regarding the child's health or disability, and
• for situations involving public health emergencies, including the need to care for a child whose school is closed for public health reasons.

Employers With Fewer Than 10 Employees

Employers with fewer than 10 employees must also provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. However, such employers can limit employees to taking 40 hours of paid sick leave followed by 32 hours of unpaid sick leave per year. The qualifying reasons for leave are the same as those listed above.

Carryover

Any unused sick time carries over to the following year, although usage is capped at 72 hours per year unless the employer chooses to allow more.

Waiting Period

An employer may require a new hire to wait until the 90th calendar day after starting employment before taking accrued sick leave.

More Information

For more detailed information about the new law, see the Michigan labor department's detailed FAQs.

Your Rights Under the The Family and Medical Leave Act

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives eligible employees the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year to care for a seriously ill family member (spouse, parent, or child), recuperate from their own serious health conditions, bond with a new child, or handle certain practical matters arising from a family member's military service.

The FMLA also requires employers to give employees up to 26 weeks off to care for a family member who suffered or exacerbated a serious illness or injury while serving in the military. (For purposes of this military family leave provision only, employees may take leave to care for a wider set of family members, including siblings, grandparents, and cousins, if they are next of kin to an injured service member.)

The FMLA applies to employers in all states with at least 50 employees. Employees are eligible only if they have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and have worked 1,250 hours in the 12 months before taking leave. (Learn much more about your rights under the FMLA at our Taking Family and Medical Leave page.)

Military Leave Laws

Another federal law, the Unformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) gives eligible employees the right to be reinstated to their jobs after taking up to five years off for service in the U.S. military. (Find out all about USERRA in Nolo's article Taking Military Leave.)

Employers may not discriminate against employees based on their military service. And, employees may be fired only for good cause for a period of up to one year after they return from service.

The laws of many states extend similar rights to employees who serve in the state's military, including the right to take time off from work and to be reinstated afterwards. In Michigan, members of the state or United States uniformed services who are called to active state or federal service are entitled to take unpaid leave, with reinstatement when their service has ended. Employees are also entitled to take time off to attend instruction, drills, or military encampment.

Employers may not threaten employees to try to dissuade them from enlisting in the military, nor may they discriminate against employees based on their military service.

Michigan Laws on Time Off for Jury Duty and Voting

Michigan law also gives employees the right to take time off work, without fear of retaliation, for the civic responsibility of serving on a jury. Employers may not threaten or discipline employees who are called to jury duty. Employers must allow employees to take time off to serve on a jury. Employers may not require an employee to work in addition to jury service, if these extra hours would require the employee to work overtime or past the usual quitting time.

Time off to serve on a jury is unpaid. However, special rules apply to exempt employees. Under federal law, employers typically cannot deduct an exempt, salaried employee's pay for time spent serving on a jury, unless the employee did no work for the entire week.

Although most states have laws that protect an employee's right to take time off work to vote, many of which require paid time off, Michigan is not among them.