AbsentEase
Idaho sick leave law & call-off rules
Idaho requires no sick leave, no breaks, and no voting leave — but its wage statute bites three times as hard as most: unpaid wages carry treble damages, and a separated employee's written demand starts a 48-hour clock on the final check. If your policy makes PTO "earned," that balance rides the same rules. Here is what applies in 2026.
Idaho at a glance
| Paid sick leave mandate | None |
|---|---|
| Wage penalty | Treble damages on unpaid wages (Idaho Code 45-615) |
| Final paycheck | Next payday or 10 days — 48 hours after a written request |
| Earned PTO | Wages under the Wage Claim Act once earned per your policy |
| Voting leave | None — no statute; threatening discharge over a vote is a misdemeanor (Idaho Code 18-2319) |
| Employment relationship | At-will; Metcalf implied covenant covers earned benefits, not job security |
| Meal & rest breaks | None for adults |
Is paid sick leave required in Idaho?
No. Idaho has no sick leave requirement, preempts local wage mandates, and no locality has attempted a leave ordinance. Your written policy plus the federal floor governs.
The federal floor that still applies
FMLA
Employers with 50+ employees within 75 miles must give eligible employees (12+ months tenure, 1,250+ hours in the past year) up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition — their own or a close family member's. FMLA-protected absences can't accrue attendance points, and a call-off that mentions an ongoing condition can be notice enough to trigger your FMLA obligations, even if the employee never says "FMLA."
ADA
For employers with 15+ employees, the ADA can require modified attendance expectations or unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. An attendance policy applied "no exceptions" is exactly the kind that loses ADA cases — build an accommodation carve-out into the policy itself.
FLSA overtime and attendance bonuses
A cash bonus promised in advance for good attendance counts as wages under federal overtime law. It has to be added into the regular rate for the weeks it covers, so any of those weeks over 40 hours owes extra overtime on the bonus, usually recalculated after the bonus is paid. State overtime law can add to this, but can't go below it. See how attendance bonuses change overtime pay.
Call-offs, no-call no-shows, and firing in Idaho
Idaho is at-will with public-policy and handbook exceptions, plus the Metcalf implied covenant — which protects earned benefits rather than job security, meaning an attendance termination engineered to dodge a PTO balance is exactly what the doctrine targets. Jury-duty retaliation carries its own treble-damages remedy. Attendance enforcement itself is broad; the money risk concentrates in the exit paperwork. The Idaho Department of Labor handles wage claims. A call-off hotline or text-based call-off system keeps the absence record that shows the termination stood on its own merits.
After a no call, no show termination in Idaho
| Does Idaho law define job abandonment? | No statute or regulation defines job abandonment; it is set by employer policy. The UI rules chapter (IDAPA 09.01.30) covers claims administration and contains no separation or day-count rule. (Idaho Code § 72-1366(5)(a) and § 72-1366(1); IDAPA 09.01.30) |
|---|---|
| Final paycheck if you treat it as a discharge | On layoff or termination by either the employer or the employee, all wages then due must be paid or made available at the usual place of payment by the earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or 10 days after the layoff or termination, weekends and holidays excluded; if the employee makes a written request for earlier payment, within 48 hours of receipt of the request, weekends and holidays excluded. Penalty for missing the deadline: wages continue at the same rate until paid or for 15 days, whichever is less, capped at $750 (capped at $500 if paid in full before a lien is filed under § 45-620). (Idaho Code § 45-606(1); penalty § 45-607) |
| Final paycheck if you treat it as a resignation | Same rule as discharge: § 45-606(1) applies to 'termination of employment by either the employer or employee' with no distinction for notice, so a quit with or without notice is due by the earlier of the next regularly scheduled payday or 10 days (weekends and holidays excluded), or within 48 hours of a written request for earlier payment. (Idaho Code § 45-606(1)) |
| Accrued PTO at separation | No state requirement; owed only if your written policy promises it. No Idaho statute addresses vacation payout; 'wages' is defined only as compensation for labor or services rendered (§ 45-601(7)), and the Idaho Department of Labor's Guide to Idaho Labor Laws lists 'vacation, holiday, severance or sick pay' among things Idaho law does not require, so the employer's policy governs. (Idaho Code § 45-601(7); Idaho Dept. of Labor, Guide to Idaho Labor Laws (2025 ed.)) |
| Unemployment claims | A claimant is ineligible if unemployment is due to voluntarily leaving employment without good cause connected with the employment or to discharge for workplace misconduct in connection with the employment; on a discharge the employer bears the burden of showing misconduct. |
If a state agency later treats a "resignation" as a discharge, the discharge deadline governs, so pay by the earlier of the two when in doubt. Document each step with the no call, no show write-up and termination letter templates, which fill in Idaho's final-pay rule.
Write a no call, no show policy that fits Idaho
Start from our no call, no show policy guide and free template, or let the generator turn nine quick questions into a signature-ready policy with Idaho already selected so the protected-leave section covers the federal FMLA and ADA rules that still apply here.
PTO payout and final paychecks
| Scenario | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employee is fired or laid off | The earlier of the next regular payday or 10 days (weekends/holidays excluded) — 48 hours after receipt of a written request | Idaho Code 45-606 |
| Employee quits | Same rule, including the 48-hour written-demand clock | Idaho Code 45-606 |
| Earned vacation / PTO | Wages once earned under your policy — omitting it from the final check risks treble damages plus attorney fees | Idaho Code 45-615 |
| Forfeiture clauses | Enforceable, but only if written explicitly — vague policies default toward 'earned' | — |
The treble multiplier turns small PTO disputes into real money — make 'earned' and 'forfeited' unambiguous in the policy. See how PTO accrual works.
Leave Idaho employers must (and must not) provide
| Leave type | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jury duty | Yes — unpaid | No deprivation, threats, or coercion (Idaho Code 2-218); discharged jurors can sue within 60 days for treble lost wages plus reinstatement |
| Military | Yes | USERRA (federal) plus Idaho National Guard protections |
| Voting | No | No voting-leave statute; threatening to fire an employee over a vote is a misdemeanor (Idaho Code 18-2319) |
| Sick leave | No | Whatever your written policy provides |
| Meal & rest breaks | No | None for adults |
The Idaho employer's attendance playbook
- Put it in writing. A written policy — call-off deadline and channel, points or steps, the no-call no-show rule, and carve-outs for legally protected absences — is what makes discipline defensible. Our attendance policy guide walks through it.
- Give call-offs one channel. "Tell whoever answers" is how records get lost. One number every employee texts or calls makes the record automatic.
- Log everything with timestamps. Unemployment hearings and discrimination charges are won on contemporaneous records, not recollections.
- Enforce consistently. Uneven enforcement converts a lawful termination into a discrimination claim.
- Screen call-offs for protected reasons before applying points — sickness that could be FMLA/ADA territory gets a different track than an overslept alarm.
Comparing states? See all published guides on the state sick leave laws hub.