To ensure compliance with Alabama labor laws and foster a supportive work culture, both employers and employees in the state need to know applicable leave policies.
While navigating these laws can be tricky, this article addresses ten key questions about leave laws in Alabama. It will clarify key leave provisions, eligibility requirements, and practical implications.
This Guide Covers
- What are the leave laws in Alabama?
- What are the different types of leave available to Alabama employees?
- Who is eligible for FMLA leave in Alabama?
- What should an employee do if their leave rights get violated in Alabama?
- Are part-time employees entitled to leave in Alabama?
- Can you get fired while on leave in Alabama?
- Can employers deny time off to vote in Alabama?
- How much sick leave can Alabama employees accrue?
- Do employees get paid leave in Alabama?
- Can an employee resign while on leave in Alabama?
1. What are the leave laws in Alabama?
Leave laws in Alabama include federal mandates such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). It covers employees for up to 12 workweeks of job-protected but unpaid leave. Alabama also has state-specific laws for jury duty, voting, and military leaves.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not bind employers to pay for hours not worked. This includes personal leave, vacations, sick leave, or federal or other holidays.
In Alabama, private companies can create their own time-off policies. A private employer may or may not offer non-mandatory benefits such as personal leave, vacations, and annual leave. However, they can choose to mention such policies in an employment contract. There is no further information on leave laws related to private-sector employment in Alabama.
2. What are the different types of leave available to Alabama employees?
In Alabama, employees get different types of leave, which include:
- Holiday Leave: The State of Alabama offers 12 official state holidays to public employees. If a holiday falls on Sunday, the state observes it on Monday and those that fall on Saturdays are observed on Fridays. Holiday eligibility for private employees depends on their work agreements.
- Family and Medical Leave: The FMLA gives up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees. They can use this leave for their own serious health condition or to care for a newborn/newly adopted child or an immediate family member. Employees also get up to 26 workweeks of unpaid military caregiver leave.
- Sick Leave: In Alabama, state employees receive four hours and twenty minutes of sick leave semi-monthly. They can accumulate unused portions of leave but can only carry over up to 1200 hours of accrued sick leave at the end of a calendar year. Certain public employees working in education earn one paid sick leave day per month with accumulation and transfer provisions. There is no mandatory sick leave law for private employees.
- Jury Duty Leave: Employees in Alabama get a paid leave of absence for serving jury without loss of pay and seniority.
- Voting Leave: Employees get up to one hour of unpaid leave to vote in any election. The employer may not offer this leave if polls remain open two hours before or one hour after the employee’s scheduled work hours.
- Disaster Response Leave: In Alabama, an employee trained in disaster relief services may receive a paid leave of absence to volunteer for the American Red Cross. This leave cannot exceed 15 work days within 12 months.
- Military Leave: Employees get 168 hours of military leave per year for service and training in Alabama. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects them from loss of pay and health benefits and ensures re-employment at their current seniority level.
- Bereavement Leave: State employees in Alabama may get up to three days of bereavement leave on the death of a person related to them by blood, adoption, or marriage. However, they need to reimburse this leave in the form of sick, annual, or personal leave days within one calendar year. If they fail to do so, the employer can deduct this leave from their final paycheck.
Check out our guide on Alabama leave laws for more details.
3. Who is eligible for FMLA leave in Alabama?
All public agencies, all elementary and secondary schools (both public and private), and all companies with 50+ employees in Alabama need to offer FMLA leave.
Employees are eligible for leave under FMLA if:
- They have worked for their employer at least 12 months.
- They have worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months.
- They work in a company that employs 50+ employees within a 75-mile radius.
4. What should an employee do if their leave rights get violated in Alabama?
If an employee’s leave rights get violated in Alabama, they should document the case and gather relevant evidence. Then, they can contact their employer or HR department to address the issue. For violations of the FMLA, employees can reach out to the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.
If violations can’t be resolved, the U.S. Department of Labor may start a lawsuit to compel compliance. Employees must raise a complaint within two years from the date of violation.
An employee may also consult an attorney to report violations of Alabama leave laws.
5. Are part-time employees entitled to leave in Alabama?
Permanent part-time state employees in Alabama earn leave of absence on a pro-rata basis depending on the number of hours worked. For example, imagine a full-time state employee works 40 hours per week and earns 4 hours of leave for that pay period. So, the part-time employee working 20 hours per week (50% of 40 hours) would earn 2 hours of leave (50% of 4 hours) for that same pay period, proportional to the hours they worked compared to the full-time employee.
There is no specific information about entitlement to leave for private-sector part-time employees in Alabama.
6. Can you get fired while on leave in Alabama?
Alabama is an ‘at-will’ employment state, which means employers can fire employees for any reason or no reason at all, as long as it is not illegal (for instance, discrimination or retaliation).
An employee can get fired while on leave if their leave is not protected by Alabama law.
However, employees in Alabama cannot get fired during any protected leave unless the employer has a separate, lawful reason for termination. These job-protected leaves include FMLA leave of up to 12 workweeks, jury duty leave (if the employee returns to work the next workday after dismissal from service), military leave (covered under USERRA), and voting leave of up to one hour to vote in any election.
Learn more about the rules and regulations for firing employees in Alabama.
7. Can employers deny time off to vote in Alabama?
No, Alabama law requires employers to grant up to one hour of unpaid leave to employees to vote during any election. The employer is only exempt from giving voting leave when polls are open at least two hours before or one hour after the employee’s scheduled work hours.
8. How much sick leave can Alabama employees accrue?
According to the Code of Alabama about the accumulation of sick leave, certain public employees working in education can accrue an unlimited number of sick leave days. They can also transfer these unused leaves from one employer to another.
But, when an employee applies accrued sick leaves as credit for retirement purposes, they can only claim a limited number of leaves.
State employees in Alabama can also accrue sick leave, out of which they can carry over up to 1200 hours of leave at the end of a calendar year.
9. Do employees get paid leave in Alabama?
It depends. Whether a private employee gets paid while on leave in Alabama depends on the type of leave and the employer’s policies. The law provides leave with pay for jury duty and military leave only.
State employees get paid time off per year, including:
- 12 holidays
- 1 personal leave
- 13 sick days (accrued time off)
- 13-29 annual leave days (accrued time off)
- 168 hours of military leave
10. Can an employee resign while on leave in Alabama?
Alabama is an at-will employment state, which means that either party can end the contract as long as it is not illegal. This suggests that an employee can resign while on leave unless their employment contract states otherwise.
Important Cautionary Note
This content is for informational purposes only. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, we cannot guarantee that it is free of errors or omissions. Users must independently verify any critical information and should not solely rely on the content provided.
