PTO Accrual Calculator by State

Fact-checked May 24, 2026 · Methodology →

Set your state and schedule below to project your PTO balance.

Your inputs

Projected balance — California

69.3hours

After 52 weeks at 40 hours/week

Rules for California

Accrual rate
1 hour per 30 hours worked
At 40 hours/week
1.33 hours per week
Annual usage cap
40 hours
Balance cap
80 hours
Waiting period
90 days before usable
Carryover
All unused carries over (subject to the 80-hour balance cap). No carryover required if the employer frontloads 40 hours.
Notable
Benchmark state law (HWHFA, updated 2024) — the structure most other laws built from.

Projection assumes statutory minimum accrual with no leave used during the period. Individual employer policies are often more generous. Three-tier ordinances (Chicago, Seattle, DC) aren't modeled. Some states (Maryland, Massachusetts) provide unpaid leave for the smallest employers — that variant isn't modeled either. Read the full methodology →

Frequently asked questions

What is PTO accrual?

PTO accrual is the rate at which employees earn paid time off based on hours worked. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 USC §201) does not mandate paid leave — accrual rules come from state and city law. The most common minimum is 1 hour of leave per 30 hours worked, used by California, Colorado, Connecticut, Arizona, New Jersey, and most other states with paid-sick-leave laws. Washington and Illinois use 1 per 40, Rhode Island uses 1 per 35, and Vermont and Nevada use 1 per 52.

Source: DOL — Fair Labor Standards Act

Do employers have to pay out unused PTO when an employee leaves?

For vacation and PTO, five states classify earned vacation as wages and require payout at termination — California (Labor Code §227.3), Colorado (CRS §8-4-101), Massachusetts (G.L. c. 149 §148), Nebraska (Neb. Rev. Stat. §48-1229), and Montana (MCA §39-3-205). Sick leave is generally not paid out anywhere, even in those states. The "combined PTO bank" trap: when employers merge vacation and sick into a single bank, the entire bank can fall under the vacation-payout rule in those five states. Many employers keep the two separate to avoid that exposure.

Source: California DIR — Vacation FAQ

Can an employer cap my PTO accrual?

It depends on the state. Washington (RCW 49.46.210) and New Mexico (Healthy Workplaces Act, NMSA §50-17) prohibit capping accrual entirely — the balance can grow without limit. Illinois allows unlimited carryover but caps annual usage at 40 hours under the Paid Leave for All Workers Act. Most other states let employers cap the balance at a multiple of the annual entitlement — California (Labor Code §246(j)) permits an 80-hour balance cap against the 40-hour annual entitlement. Michigan formerly prohibited balance caps but the February 2025 ESTA amendments now permit a 72-hour cap.

Source: Washington L&I — Paid Sick Leave Requirements · California DIR — Paid Sick Leave

How long until I can use accrued PTO?

California requires 90 days from hire under Labor Code §246(c). New York City has no waiting period for paid leave — eliminated by Local Law 97 in 2020 (the 2026 ESSTA amendment added a separate 32-hour unpaid leave bank). Connecticut (CGS §31-57v), Maine, Michigan, and New Jersey require 120 days. Colorado, Minnesota, and New Mexico have no waiting period at all. Accrual itself begins on day 1 in every covered jurisdiction — the waiting period only delays USE, not accumulation.

Source: California DIR — Paid Sick Leave · NYC DCWP — ESSTA

What's the difference between balance cap and annual usage cap?

Balance cap (also called accrual cap) limits how many hours can sit in the leave bank at one time. Annual usage cap limits how many hours can be USED in a year. California Labor Code §246(j) is the textbook example: an 80-hour balance cap with a 40-hour annual usage cap — an employee can bank up to 80 hours but only use 40 in any 12-month period. New Mexico and Washington go further, prohibiting balance caps entirely while keeping annual usage caps in place.

Source: California DIR — Paid Sick Leave

Related tools

Related reading

Paid Sick Leave Laws by State

There is no federal paid sick leave law. Every US state with paid sick leave or paid leave requirements — accrual rates, annual caps, carryover rules, waiting periods, multi-state workers, and major city ordinances.

About Clockspot

Clockspot is online time clock software for small businesses — the simplest way to track employee time, with GPS location tracking, PTO accruals, job costing, and overtime calculation. Used in all 50 states since 2007.

Tracking PTO accrual across a multi-state team is one of the things Clockspot handles. See how Clockspot tracks sick leave.