On September 7, 2015, President Barack Obama signed an executive order requiring that federal government contractors and subcontractors provide their employees the ability to earn and use up to 56 hours of paid sick leave (“Order”).  The order can be found here.

As detailed in our August 14, 2015 blog post, employees may use the sick time for their own or a family member’s medical care, or for various issues related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking that affect the employee or the employee’s family member.  There are also limits on when an employer may request that an employee provide certification to substantiate their use of sick leave.  Sick leave earned by an employee must be carried over from one year to the next.

The Order applies to all contracts for services, construction or concessions, with limited exceptions, that are entered into on or after January 1, 2017.  The Department of Labor has until September 30, 2016, to develop and implement regulations that define the scope of the Order and the steps federal contractors and subcontractors must take to be in compliance with the sick time requirements.  Until then, stay tuned.