The answer to that question is no. Federal Law does not require you to offer traditional leave benefits, which include paid holiday/sick time, personal leave, jury duty, or bereavement/funeral leave, to your employees. Although some states, such as California, Washington, and the District of Columbia have adopted laws that do provide for these circumstances, Arizona does not require such things at this time.
With that being said, it is important to consider that a small business owner who offers leave benefits will likely be a more attractive employer to an employee on the job hunt. Seeing as though most Arizona businesses do offer paid leave, it might be wise to consider implementing such benefits in order to keep employee morale high.
You Must Offer the Same Benefits to All Employees
If you do decide to adopt a policy that offers leave benefits, such as sick or vacation time, you must apply your policies consistently to all employees. Not offering them to everyone opens up doors for discrimination claims.
The same rule applies for pregnancy and maternity leave. If your business offers sick and vacation time, you must also allow pregnant women and women who have just given birth to make use of these policies. If a new mother is unable to work following the birth of her child, she must be allowed to use the paid disability leave if such a leave is available to other employees.
Call JacksonWhite’s Small Business Law Team at (480) 464-1111 to discuss your case today.