Can you fire someone for calling in sick in Texas?

Usually yes — Texas is an at-will state, so an employer can generally enforce its attendance policy up to and including termination. The exceptions are federal: absences protected by FMLA, absences that are a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, and terminations that would be discriminatory or retaliatory. The safe pattern is a written policy applied the same way to everyone, with a documented record of every call-off.

What counts as a no-call no-show in Texas?

Texas law doesn't define it — your policy does. Most Texas employers define a no-call no-show as failing to report for a scheduled shift without notifying the company within a set window, and treat a set number (commonly three consecutive) as job abandonment. Because the state gives you latitude here, the enforceable version is the written, consistently applied one.

Does a Texas employer have to pay out unused PTO or sick time at termination?

Only if the company's written policy or an agreement promises it. Texas has no statute requiring PTO payout; the Texas Payday Law enforces whatever your policy commits to. If your policy is silent, payout generally isn't owed — but a policy that promises payout is enforceable as wages.

When is the final paycheck due in Texas?

Under the Texas Payday Law, an employee who is fired or laid off must receive their final pay within six calendar days. An employee who quits is owed final pay by the next regularly scheduled payday.

Does FMLA apply to Texas employees?

Yes — FMLA is federal, so it applies in Texas to employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Eligible employees (12+ months and 1,250+ hours worked) can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition, and those absences cannot be counted against them under an attendance policy.

Texas sick leave law & call-off rules

Q: Is paid sick leave required in Texas?

No. Texas has no state law requiring private employers to provide paid sick leave. Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio passed local paid-sick-leave ordinances, but courts blocked them and none is in effect. Sick leave in Texas is whatever your written policy says it is — which is why the policy, and clean records behind it, matter so much.

Texas gives employers more latitude on sick leave and attendance than almost any other state — no mandated paid sick days, no required breaks, and at-will employment. That latitude comes with a catch: since your policy is the law that applies, courts and the Texas Workforce Commission hold you to what it says and how consistently you enforce it. Here is what applies in 2026.

Texas at a glance

Paid sick leave mandate	None — no state law requires private employers to offer sick leave
Local sick-leave ordinances	Austin, Dallas & San Antonio ordinances blocked in court; state law preempts new ones
Employment relationship	At-will — attendance terminations allowed absent a protected reason
PTO payout at termination	Only if your written policy promises it
Final paycheck deadline	Fired: within 6 calendar days · Quit: next regular payday
Meal & rest breaks	Not required (short breaks you do offer are paid time under federal law)
FMLA (federal)	Applies at 50+ employees within 75 miles — 12 weeks unpaid, job-protected

Is paid sick leave required in Texas?

No. Texas has no statewide paid or unpaid sick leave requirement for private employers. Austin (2018), San Antonio, and Dallas each passed local paid-sick-leave ordinances; every one was blocked in court, and state preemption law now bars cities from imposing their own. Practical effect: a Texas employer's sick-leave obligations come from its own written policy, plus the federal laws below.

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 Texas

Texas employment is at-will: absent a protected reason, you may discipline or terminate for attendance, including a single no-call no-show. What trips employers up isn't the law — it's the record. When a termination is challenged (unemployment claims at the Texas Workforce Commission, or a discrimination charge), the questions are always the same: What does the written policy say? Was this employee treated like everyone else? And can you produce the call-off history? A time-stamped log of every call-off — who, when, what they said — is the difference between a five-minute answer and a dispute. That's the core of what a call-off hotline or text-based call-off system exists to produce.

PTO payout and final paychecks

Scenario	Rule	Source
Employee is fired or laid off	Final pay due within 6 calendar days	Texas Payday Law
Employee quits	Final pay due by the next regular payday	Texas Payday Law
Unused PTO at termination	Payout owed only if a written policy or agreement promises it — then it's enforceable as wages	Texas Payday Law
Policy silent on payout	No payout generally owed — say what you mean in the policy	—

A policy that promises payout is enforceable as wages, so write the payout rule deliberately — see how PTO accrual works.

Leave Texas employers must (and must not) provide

Leave type	Required?	Notes
Voting	Yes — paid	Unless the employee has 2 consecutive non-working hours while polls are open
Jury duty	Yes — unpaid	Firing or penalizing an employee for jury service is prohibited
Military	Yes	USERRA (federal) plus Texas provisions for state military forces
Sick leave	No	Whatever your written policy provides
Vacation / PTO	No	Policy-driven; see payout rules above

Texas also requires no meal or rest breaks; if you offer short breaks (under 20 minutes), federal law says they're paid time.

The Texas 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.

Note: This is general information for Texas private-sector employers as of 2026, not legal advice. Federal contractors and public employers have additional rules, and laws change. Confirm specifics with qualified counsel.

Comparing states? See all published guides on the state sick leave laws hub.

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