On the eve of the end of its fiscal year, the U.S. Department of Labor has announced final rules implementing Executive Order 13706 requiring that covered federal contractors provide paid sick leave for covered employees.

Scheduled for official publication tomorrow in the federal register, the rules require federal contractors to provide at least 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours of work on, or in connection with, certain federal contracts, for a total of 56 hours per year.

Not unexpectedly, the rule does nothing to try to synchronize the expanding patchwork of paid sick leave laws sprouting across the country.  Instead, it reminds employers that, to the extent they differ, the more generous provisions apply.