Healthcare Employee Pandemic and Epidemic Paid Sick Leave

On September 9, 2020, the City amended Chapter 9-4100 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled “Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces.” This ensures that certain healthcare employees will be compensated if they contract a communicable disease during a pandemic or epidemic event, under certain terms and conditions.

Under § 9-4117, healthcare organizations with 10 or more employees are required to provide eligible employees (including pool employees) with additional paid sick leave when they miss work and test positive for a pandemic- or epidemic-related disease until they are able to return to work. This includes hospitals, nursing homes, and home health providers. This additional paid sick leave or “Healthcare Epidemic Leave” must be provided outside of and prior to the eligible employee’s accrued leave time.

In order to qualify for this additional Healthcare Epidemic Leave, the healthcare employee must have worked for the employer at least 40 hours in the three months prior to contracting the pandemic- or epidemic-related disease.

Healthcare employers are also required to provide notice to employees regarding their rights under this law.

Though this healthcare employee paid sick leave for COVID-19 expired in December 2024 (more information below), this provision remains in effect and will apply during any future declared public health emergencies.

COVID-19 Related Healthcare Epidemic Leave: Expired as of December 23, 2024

Businesses were required to provide this additional Healthcare Employee Pandemic and Epidemic Paid Sick Leave to eligible employees for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you experienced a violation of this law before December 23, 2024, you can file a complaint with the Philadelphia Office of Worker Protections or a lawsuit in a court of law within one year from when the violation occurred.

File a complaint by submitting the complaint form below via email to COVID19workplaceprotections@phila.gov or via mail to:

The Office of Work Protections
100 S Broad St, 4th Floor
Philadelphia PA 19102

If you have any supporting evidence such as text messages or copies of emails, you should submit them with your complaint form. You can also file a complaint over the phone by calling the Worker Protection Hotline at (215) 686-0802. Language access is available.

General COVID-19 Leave: Expired December 31, 2023

From March 9, 2022 until December 31, 2023, employers with 25 or more employees were required to provide up to 40 hours of additional paid sick leave to eligible employees when they were unable to work for certain COVID-19 reasons. This leave is separate from the Healthcare Employee Pandemic and Epidemic Paid Sick Leave described above.

For more information or to ask questions, email workerprotection@phila.gov or call the Worker Protection Hotline at (215) 686-0802. Language access is available.