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Summary of differences between federal and state regulations
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for time not worked, nor does it regulate vacation pay, holiday pay, or other paid time off. These types of benefits are generally a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee’s representative). Employers, however, do need to comply with applicable state laws.
Jury duty
Alabama law entitles each full-time employee to his/her usual compensation minus the fee or compensation received for serving as a juror.
Public sector employees are entitled to paid leave for jury duty.
Paid time off (PTO)
In Alabama, vacation pay is considered a fringe benefit and is not required by law. The employer decides whether to offer fringe benefits such as vacation or sick leave. If an employer chooses to provide paid time off benefits, it must follow the terms and conditions established in its policy.
Responding to a subpoena
Alabama law indicates that victims must respond to a subpoena to testify in a criminal proceeding or participate in the reasonable preparation of criminal proceeding without the loss of employment or the intimidation, threats, or fear of the loss of employment.
Sick leave - public employers
Covered employers
Unlike the federal FMLA which covers nearly all employers, Alabama’s sick leave applies only to city, county, and state Board of Education employers, and certain other public employers.
Employee eligibility
To be eligible for leave benefits, an employee must be a full time employee of a covered employer as described above. Unlike FMLA, an employee does not need to work a specified number of months or hours to be eligible for leave under Alabama’s provisions.
Leave entitlement
Leave is only available to the extent of an eligible employee’s accrued sick leave. Employees earn one sick leave day per month of employment, and are allowed to accumulate an unlimited number of sick leave days. These sick days are transferable from one employer to another.
Type of leave
An eligible employee may take sick leave for:
- Personal illness or a doctor’s quarantine;
- Incapacitating personal injury;
- Care of an ill member of their immediate family (e.g., parent, spouse, child, sibling) or an individual with a close personal tie to them;
- Death in the family (e.g., parent, spouse, child, sibling, parent-in-law, etc.);
- Death, injury, or sickness of another person who has unusually strong personal ties to them, such as a person who stood in loco parentis.
Maintenance of health benefits
There is no state provision which requires an employer to maintain coverage under any group health plan while the employee is on leave, however; FMLA requires that covered employers continue to provide group health insurance.
Pay while on leave
Reimbursement of pay for the employee per day of sick leave shall be at the daily rate of pay for the employee.
On-the-job injuries
If an employee’s absence is caused by an on-the-job injury, other provisions apply. The employee must notify the employer, the employer may require medical certification, salary and fringe benefits continue for up to 90 working days, the state reimburses employers for costs of the injury, and the time off does not count against the employee’s sick leave bank.
Job restoration
Unlike FMLA, Alabama does not provide job restoration rights to employees.
Notice
Unlike FMLA, Alabama does not mandate any notice requirements.
Voting
Alabama law provides that each employee shall be permitted to take any necessary time off to vote in any election unless their work hours do not interfere. The law states that after an employee gives reasonable notice to his or her employer, the employee can take up to one hour off to vote. This does not apply if the hours the employee works is two hours after the opening of the polls or one hour before the polls close.
Federal
Contacts
None.
Regulations
None.