10 Key Questions About Leave Laws in Alaska

April 19th 2025

Navigating time off can be complex for both employees and employers, but knowing your rights helps avoid costly mistakes. This article explores 10 key questions about leave laws in Alaska, addressing common inquiries regarding specific leave types, eligibility, and accrual.

This Guide Covers

1. What are the leave laws in Alaska?

Alaska’s leave laws are a mix of state and federal rules.

The Alaska Family Leave Act (AFLA) is a state law that provides eligible employees with up to 18 weeks of job-protected leave in 24 months for a qualifying serious medical condition.

Besides, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) offers eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of job-protected leave in 12 months for a qualifying condition. It also offers up to 26 weeks of military caregiver leave.

Alaska law also requires employers to provide unpaid leave for jury duty.

State employees in Alaska get military service leave without loss of pay. This leave shall not exceed 16.5 working days in 12 months.

All employers in Alaska need to provide paid sick leave to employees under new state legislation. Only certain employees will be exempt from this requirement.

Explore Alaska leave laws in detail.

2. What types of leave are employees in Alaska eligible for?

Employees in Alaska are eligible for several types of leave, including:

  • Family and Medical Leave: In Alaska, employees can take unpaid, job-protected leaves for things like serious health conditions, childbirth, or caring for a family member under the Alaska Family Leave Act (AFLA) and FMLA. While AFLA provides up to 18 weeks of leave, FMLA offers up to 12 weeks of leave of absence.
  • Sick Leave: Effective July 1, 2025, all Alaska employers must provide paid sick leave to most employees (except for certain employees exempt from the requirements) under the provisions of Ballot Measure 1. Employees can accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked and may earn up to 56 hours of sick leave per year. Prior to this, the state law didn’t mandate paid sick leave. It depended on employer policy.
  • Jury Duty Leave: Alaska law allows employees to take time off to serve jury duty. Employers cannot fire or demote them. Though not required by law, some employers may also continue to pay employees while they perform jury service.
  • Military Leave: In Alaska, state employees who are members of the US Armed Forces receive paid military leave of up to 16.5 working days in 12 months for training and active duty. When the employee returns from active duty, they will get their former position or a comparable position back.
  • Voting Leave: Employers in Alaska need to provide employees paid time off for voting purposes if the employee doesn’t have two consecutive hours in which they can vote either before or after their regular working shifts. Refusing time off to vote or deducting pay is a violation.
  • Maternity Leave: AFLA offers up to 18 weeks of job-protected leave to eligible employees for pregnancy, childbirth, or adoption. FMLA also provides up to 12 workweeks of leave, which an employee can use for various purposes, including pregnancy and to care for a newborn. This leave is typically unpaid.
  • Witness Leave: Full-time state employees get paid leave to serve as a witness in a court case. Any payment from the court for serving as a witness gets deducted from their state pay for that period. This ensures they don’t receive double payments.
  • Personal Leave: State officers and employees in Alaska receive personal leave with pay that accrues based on the number of years of service. There is a limit on the total number of leave days an employee can accrue annually. Employees can use this leave for vacation or other personal reasons.
  • Annual Leave: In Alaska, the annual leave employees earn depends on their collective bargaining agreements, the employee’s years of service, and whether their standard workday is 7.5 or 8 hours long. For example, an employee with fewer than two years of service and a 7.5-hour workday will accrue 15 days of annual leave. However, employees must request their annual leave in advance. The employer shall not deny the employee’s request unreasonably, and grant annual leave when the business permits.

3. What are the requirements for Alaska’s new paid sick leave law?

Employers in Alaska need to provide employees with a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employees can use this paid sick leave for injury, illness, to care for a family member, or for reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Here is how much paid sick leave employees can accrue and use each year based on their employer’s company size:

  • Employees working for small employers (with fewer than 15 employees) cannot accrue or use more than 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, unless their employer sets a higher limit.
  • Employees of companies with 15 or more employees can accrue and use up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year, unless their employer sets a higher limit.

4. Do employers in Alaska need to pay out accrued sick leave when employment ends?

No, employers are not required to pay out accrued sick leave when the employment ends. But if the employee rejoins the company within six months of ending employment, they will get their previously held sick leave balance.

5. Which employees are exempt from the paid sick leave requirement in Alaska?

The following employees are exempt from receiving paid sick leave under the provisions of Ballot Measure 1:

  • Minors under 18 years of age who work less than 30 hours per week don’t qualify for paid sick leave. But if they work for 30 hours or more in a specific week, they earn sick leave for all the hours worked that week.
  • Those exempt from minimum wage and overtime under AS 23.10.055 (including employees in agriculture, aquaculture, domestic service, and federal and state employees)
  • Student learners on a plan approved by the Commissioner of the Department
  • Seasonal workers of a non-profit residential summer camp
  • Work therapy patients at a residential treatment program for drug or alcohol abuse
  • Employed prisoners
  • Employees whose work contract clearly waives the right to paid sick leave (usually in exchange for other benefits)

6. Which laws cover Alaska employees for family and medical leave?

Two primary laws cover Alaska employees for family and medical leave:

  1. Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): It is a U.S. federal law that provides eligible employees of covered employers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in 12 months for specified family and medical reasons. These reasons include a serious injury or illness, or to care for a newborn, newly adopted child, or a family member. FMLA also provides employees (who are a family member of a covered servicemember) up to 26 work weeks of military caregiver leave.
  2. Alaska Family Leave Act (AFLA): The AFLA provides eligible employees a job-protected leave for up to 18 weeks within 24 months for their own qualifying serious medical condition. AFLA also offers up to 18 weeks within 12 months for pregnancy, childbirth, or adoption.

When employees are eligible under both FMLA and AFLA, the family and medical leave entitlements run concurrently.

Explore Alaska’s labor laws in detail to understand your rights as a salaried employee in Alaska.

7. Which Alaska employees are eligible for FMLA?

Employees in Alaska are eligible for FMLA leave if they have worked for the employer for at least 12 months (this 12-month service doesn’t need to be continuous) and at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months. They must work at a company that employs at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius.

8. Which Alaska employees are eligible for AFLA?

An employee in Alaska is eligible to take family leave under AFLA if they have been employed by the employer for at least 35 hours a week for at least six consecutive months, or for at least 17.5 hours a week for at least 12 consecutive months before the day they need the leave.

The employee’s worksite must employ at least 21 employees within 50 road miles during any 20 consecutive workweeks over the last two calendar years.

However, for state employees covered by standard personnel rules (such as those classified as exempt, partially exempt, or non-union excluded employees not otherwise exempted), the requirements are different. These employees become eligible for AFLA immediately when they start their job, regardless of their weekly hours and the number of employees at their worksite.

9. Are part-time employees entitled to leave in Alaska?

Yes, the FMLA and AFLA require employers in Alaska to provide leave to part-time or non-permanent employees who meet the thresholds. If an employee has worked for the minimum required number of hours, they will get leave benefits similar to full-time employees.

Learn more about your rights as an hourly employee in Alaska.

10. What is a donated leave in Alaska?

A public officer or employee in Alaska may donate their accrued personal or annual leave to another officer or employee (with the approval of the person authorizing the employment). The receiver can only use this donated leave for medical reasons.

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.