Employer Changing Sick-Leave Policy During a Seasonal Layoff
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Reviewed & verified by A. Jason Velez, Esq.*
Managing Attorney, 1LAW · Last reviewed May 14, 2026
Legal Inquiry
Consumer Legal Issue
Is it legal for my employer to reset my sick time without my knowledge and to create a policy while we were laid off during seasonal break?
Attorney Answer
Michigan's Earned Sick Time Act covers your employer no matter how many people work there, and it does not let an employer wipe out sick time you already earned — so a reset of accrued, carried-over time is very likely unlawful. Headcount affects only how large your annual cap is, not whether the law protects you.
There is no 50-employee cutoff. Under Michigan Compiled Laws § 408.962(g), an "employer" is any entity that "employs 1 or more individuals," and Michigan Compiled Laws § 408.963(1) requires that employer to provide earned sick time to every employee in this state. The only size line the Act draws is "small business," which Michigan Compiled Laws § 408.962(l) defines as an employer for which 10 or fewer individuals work for compensation during a given week — and that changes your cap, not your coverage.
Under Michigan Compiled Laws § 408.963, you accrue at least one hour of paid earned sick time for every 30 hours worked, and § 408.963(5) requires your employer to let you carry over all of your unused accrued paid earned sick time from one year to the next, up to 72 hours — or 40 hours if it is a small business. A blanket reset of already-earned, carried-over time conflicts with that. The main exception is frontloading: an employer that hands you the full 72 hours (40 for a small business) at the start of each year is not required to carry anything over, so find out which system yours uses. Hour figures stated as of publication.
What you can do:
1. Confirm whether your employer is a "small business" — 10 or fewer people working for compensation in a given week under Michigan Compiled Laws § 408.962(l) — since that sets your cap at 40 hours rather than 72. Either way the Act still covers you.
2. Locate any written sick-leave policy and check what it says about accrual, carryover, and notice of changes.
3. Determine exactly when written notice was given relative to when the reset occurred.
4. If the reset forfeited already-earned time, that may support both an Earned Sick Time Act claim and a wage/fringe-benefit complaint.
⏱ Time limits apply. Under Michigan Compiled Laws § 408.967(1), you may file an Earned Sick Time Act claim with the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity "at any time not later than 3 years after the violation." A separate wage and fringe-benefit complaint over forfeited leave carries a shorter 12-month window, so do not wait on that one. Deadlines stated as of publication; an individual case review by a local employment attorney should be conducted promptly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can an employer legally reset or wipe out accrued sick time?
In Michigan, no. Michigan Compiled Laws § 408.963(5) requires an employer to let you carry over all of your unused accrued paid earned sick time from one year to the next, up to 72 hours — or 40 hours if the employer is a "small business" of 10 or fewer people under Michigan Compiled Laws § 408.962(l). Employer size does not decide whether the Act applies; it applies to any employer with at least one employee. The main exception is an employer that frontloads the full annual amount instead of using accrual, which is not required to carry time over.
Does a seasonal layoff eliminate an employee's accrued leave?
Generally, earned sick time is treated as a vested benefit that a layoff or seasonal break does not automatically erase, though the outcome can depend on state law and employer size.
What can an employee do if a sick-leave policy changes without notice?
An employee can generally file a wage or fringe-benefit complaint with the state labor agency, and an employment attorney can help confirm the deadline and whether the change was lawful.
