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| Voting leave | None — Idaho repealed its requirement |
| 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.
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.
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 | Idaho repealed its voting-leave law |
| 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.