Pay, Time Off & Work Hour Calculators
Use this California sick leave accrual calculator to estimate paid sick time from hours worked or a frontloaded annual sick leave amount. California paid sick leave is different from vacation or PTO payout, so verify the estimate with your pay records, employer policy, local rules, and official DIR guidance.
Browser-based estimate
Estimate California paid sick leave using an hours-worked accrual method or a frontloaded amount, then account for starting time, used time, an optional cap, and your workday length.
This calculator estimates dollar value only; it does not determine that the amount must be paid. PTO, vacation, sick leave, and final-pay rules can depend on current law, written policy, an employment agreement, leave classification, and separation facts.
Choose whether your employer uses an accrual method or a frontloaded annual sick leave amount. For accrual estimates, the calculator multiplies hours worked by the accrual rate you enter.
For frontloaded sick leave, enter the amount actually provided. The calculator adds that amount to any starting or carryover balance, limits newly credited time only if you enter an optional balance cap, subtracts used time, and converts the result using your workday length.
Sick leave accrued = hours worked x accrual rate.
Common estimate: 1 hour / 30 hours worked = 0.033333 hours per hour worked.
Credited sick leave = the calculated or frontloaded amount, limited only by an optional balance cap entered by the user.
Available sick leave = starting or carryover balance + credited sick leave - used sick leave.
If you work 300 hours and accrue sick leave at 1 hour per 30 hours worked, the estimate is 300 / 30 = 10 hours of sick leave accrued.
If you started with 4 hours and used 2 hours, the available estimate is 4 + 10 - 2 = 12 hours when no optional cap is entered. Your official balance may differ because of caps, local requirements, payroll timing, or employer policy.
Some employers frontload paid sick leave, meaning a set amount is made available at the start of a benefit year or employment period. Other employers accrue sick leave over time based on hours worked.
Current statewide guidance distinguishes frontloading, accrual, carryover, an accrual cap, and an annual-use limit. The calculator supports arithmetic inputs for these concepts but cannot decide whether an employer's plan complies with California law or a local ordinance.
The California Labor Commissioner's 2026 workplace poster says accrued paid sick leave under the statewide framework may be capped at 80 hours or 10 days, whichever gives the employee more time. It separately says annual use may be limited to 40 hours or five days, whichever gives more time.
Those are different limits, and a local ordinance or more generous policy may provide more. The calculator leaves its optional balance-cap field blank so users must verify the applicable number and should not enter an annual-use limit as though it were automatically a balance cap.
The calculator answers an arithmetic question: what balance results from the numbers entered? It does not answer legal coverage, eligibility, permitted-use, waiting-period, pay-rate, notice, documentation, retaliation, or enforcement questions.
California's current workplace poster and FAQ should be read together with any local ordinance and the employer's written policy. Do not treat a calculator result as a statement that leave must be credited, may be used for a specific absence, or must be paid out.
California paid sick leave is different from vacation payout. Earned vacation may be treated as wages when provided, while paid sick leave has separate rules for accrual, use, carryover, and local requirements.
If you are estimating unused vacation or PTO payout in California, use the California PTO payout calculator. Do not add sick leave to a vacation payout estimate unless your written policy clearly treats it as payable.
California DIR materials note statewide paid sick leave rules, but local cities or regions may require more. Employees should verify local ordinances for the work location, especially in larger cities or counties with their own paid sick leave rules.
If state and local rules both apply, the more protective rule may matter. Ask payroll or HR which rule is being used for your sick leave balance.
These California Labor Commissioner's Office materials were reopened on July 28, 2026 for the statewide accrual and frontloading context summarized above. They do not identify every local ordinance or decide individual coverage.
Review TechTride's Methodology,Editorial Policy, andDisclaimer. Found an outdated source or calculator issue? Send a correction through the contact form.
A common California accrual method is 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, but employers may use qualifying frontload or alternative methods. Verify current DIR guidance and your employer policy.
It is a common accrual method where each 30 hours worked earns 1 hour of paid sick leave. The calculator uses 0.033333 as the default hourly accrual estimate.
Current California DIR guidance generally describes at least 40 hours or five days per year for covered workers, whichever provides more time for the employee's schedule. Eligibility, exceptions, local rules, and more generous policies can affect the result.
No. California paid sick leave rules are different from vacation payout rules. Some employers use PTO plans to satisfy sick leave requirements, but the policy must still meet applicable sick leave rules.
Unused paid sick leave is not automatically the same as vacation payout. Do not assume unused sick leave is paid at separation unless your policy or a qualified source clearly says so.
Yes. Some local California ordinances may provide additional sick leave rights or requirements. Verify local rules for your work location.
Your official balance may reflect local rules, employer policy, frontloading, usage caps, carryover, payroll timing, manual adjustments, or recent sick leave use.
No. Accrual caps, annual-use limits, and frontloaded amounts are different concepts. Enter an optional balance cap only after checking current official guidance and the policy that applies to you.
Estimate only: This California sick leave calculator provides an arithmetic estimate only and is not legal, payroll, HR, tax, or financial advice. Verify coverage, current statewide and local rules, workday length, accrual or frontload method, caps, use limits, carryover, and the official balance before relying on the estimate.