Employee handbook requirements by state
Start with the thing nobody says plainly: no state requires you to have an employee handbook at all. What states require is that certain policies exist in writing, that certain notices reach employees, and that certain training happens. A handbook is where most employers put those policies, which is why the two questions get conflated.
Below is what each state we cover adds on top of the federal baseline, and the statute behind it. Every entry links to the published source it was written from.
This page is informational, not legal advice. Coverage thresholds, dollar figures and effective dates change; check the linked source before you rely on any line of it.
The federal baseline, first
These reach you in every state, at the headcount shown:
| Obligation | Reaches you at | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Equal employment opportunity, anti-harassment | 15 employees | 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2 |
| Reasonable accommodation for disability | 15 employees | 42 U.S.C. § 12112 |
| Pregnancy accommodation (PWFA) | 15 employees | 42 U.S.C. § 2000gg |
| COBRA continuation coverage | 20 employees with a group health plan | 29 U.S.C. §§ 1161-1169 |
| Family and Medical Leave Act | 50 employees | 29 U.S.C. § 2612 |
| Overtime, timekeeping | 1 employee | 29 U.S.C. § 207(a); 29 C.F.R. Part 516 |
| Break time for nursing employees | 1 employee | 29 U.S.C. § 218d |
| Military leave and reemployment | 1 employee | 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301-4335 |
| Safe workplace, injury reporting | 1 employee | 29 U.S.C. § 654; 29 C.F.R. Part 1904 |
| Protected concerted activity (this one limits your policies) | 1 employee | 29 U.S.C. § 157 |
That last row is the one employers trip over. Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act protects employees discussing pay and working conditions with each other and publicly. Broad confidentiality, social-media and "no disparagement" handbook rules have repeatedly been found unlawful for chilling it — which is why the policies we ship in those areas are deliberately narrow and carry an explicit savings clause.
California
The most demanding state we cover, by a distance.
- Paid sick leave — accrual of one hour per 30 worked; usable amount at least 40 hours or five days a year; accrual cap 80 hours or ten days; usable from the 90th day of employment. DIR
- Harassment prevention training at five or more employees — two hours for supervisors, one hour for everyone else, repeating every two years. Cal. Gov. Code § 12950.1.
- CFRA leave at five or more employees — 12 workweeks in a 12-month period for an employee with 1,250 hours of service. Cal. Gov. Code § 12945.2.
- Meal periods — 30 minutes when a shift exceeds five hours, by the end of the fifth hour; a second when the shift exceeds ten. Labor Code § 512.
- Rest periods — a net ten consecutive minutes per four hours worked or major fraction thereof.
- Lactation accommodation — a written policy is required, plus a room that is not a bathroom, in close proximity, with a surface, a seat and electricity.
- Expense reimbursement — Labor Code § 2802 requires indemnifying necessary expenditures, which in practice means personal phone and vehicle use for work.
- Workplace violence prevention plan — a written, worksite-specific plan, a violent incident log, and training. Labor Code § 6401.9.
- Pregnancy Disability Leave — up to four months for an employee disabled by pregnancy, childbirth or a related condition. It is separate from CFRA and carries no service or hours threshold, so a brand-new employee qualifies. Cal. Gov. Code § 12945.
- Final pay — immediately on discharge, including accrued vacation; within 72 hours when an employee quits without notice.
New York
- Sick leave scales with size — 56 hours paid at 100+ employees; 40 hours paid at 5–99; at four or fewer it turns on net income, 40 hours unpaid at $1 million or less and 40 hours paid above it. N.Y. Labor Law § 196-b.
- A written sexual harassment prevention policy and annual interactive training, for every employer regardless of size. N.Y. Labor Law § 201-g.
- 30 minutes of paid break time to express breast milk, whenever reasonably needed, for up to three years after birth — with a written policy given at hire, annually, and on return from childbirth. N.Y. Labor Law § 206-c.
- Paid Family Leave, employee-funded through payroll deduction, with job protection and continued health coverage.
- 20 hours of Paid Prenatal Leave a year, for every private-sector employee in the state from their first day, part-time and overtime-exempt included. It is separate from and additional to paid sick leave, is paid at the regular rate, must be available in hourly increments, and runs on a 52-week clock starting the first time it is used. N.Y. Labor Law § 196-b, in force since 1 January 2025.
Illinois
- Paid Leave for All Workers Act — up to 40 hours a year, earned at one hour per 40 worked, usable for any reason, with no documentation and no reason required of the employee. 820 ILCS 192.
- One Day Rest In Seven — 24 hours of rest in every consecutive seven-day period, a 20-minute meal period for each 7.5-hour shift beginning no later than five hours in, and another for each additional 4.5 continuous hours. 820 ILCS 140.
- Sexual harassment prevention training every year, for every employee, at any headcount — there is no small-employer exemption. Use the Department of Human Rights model program or one that equals or exceeds it. 775 ILCS 5/2-109.
- Restaurants and bars owe more: a separate written sexual harassment policy handed to each employee within their first calendar week, containing six specified elements, plus supplemental training on top of the annual requirement. 775 ILCS 5/2-110.
- Chicago and Cook County run their own, more generous, paid leave ordinances. If your worksite is in either, that ordinance governs.
Washington, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado, Michigan
All five have a state sick-leave entitlement, and the first four also run a state paid family and medical leave insurance programme funded by payroll contributions.
- Washington — one hour of paid sick leave per 40 worked, at least 40 hours carried over; plus state Paid Family and Medical Leave. RCW 49.46.200; RCW Title 50A.
- New Jersey — up to 40 hours of earned sick leave a year at one hour per 30 worked, all employers; plus the Family Leave Act and Family Leave Insurance.
- Massachusetts — up to 40 hours of earned sick time at one hour per 30 worked, paid at 11 or more employees and unpaid below that; plus PFML. M.G.L. c. 149, § 148C. At 50 or more employees, add 15 days of domestic violence leave in any 12-month period, paid or unpaid at the employer's discretion. M.G.L. c. 149, § 52E.
- Colorado — one hour per 30 worked up to 48 hours a year under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act; plus FAMLI paid family and medical leave.
- Michigan — one hour per 30 worked under the Earned Sick Time Act, usable up to 72 hours a year, or 40 for a small business. MCL 408.963.
Texas, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina
These states add little beyond the federal floor, and a handbook that pretends otherwise is padding. What they do add:
- Texas — the Payday Law sets pay frequency (monthly for FLSA-exempt employees, twice monthly for everyone else) and final-pay deadlines: six calendar days after a discharge, next regular payday on a resignation. Jury service is protected by Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 122.001.
- Florida — the Florida Civil Rights Act, Fla. Stat. § 760.10, and jury service protection at § 40.271, which also bars requiring an employee to use vacation or sick leave for jury duty.
- Ohio — Ohio Rev. Code § 4112.02, which includes military status among protected characteristics, and jury protection at § 2313.19.
- Pennsylvania — the Human Relations Act, 43 P.S. § 951 et seq., which reaches employers smaller than the federal statutes do and protects the use of a guide or support animal.
- North Carolina — the Wage and Hour Act requires written notice of wages, pay day and place, and written notice before any reduction. Crucially, vacation pay is governed by your own written policy: with no written forfeiture rule given in advance, accrued benefits must be paid out. The Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act, N.C.G.S. § 95-240, protects employees who file workers' compensation, wage, and safety claims.
What this site covers
Thirteen states: California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Washington, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Colorado. Each one earns its place by having its own policies in the bank — we do not list a state and then hand you the federal baseline with its name on the cover.
If you employ people in a state that is not on that list, the handbook would be silent about it. Don't buy — tell us which state and we will add it.