Who can I take sick leave for?

You can use sick time to care for yourself, a family member such as a child, spouse or domestic partner, sibling, parent, grandparent and grandchild, or someone you have an established caregiving relationship with.

Who qualifies as someone with an “established caregiving relationship”?

An established caregiving relationship generally refers to a relationship where you regularly provide care for someone, even if they are not legally or biologically related to you. This could include:

• Close friends you regularly assist with medical needs
• Neighbors you help with health-related tasks
• Chosen family members
• Anyone for whom you provide regular care and support

The law recognizes that caregiving relationships extend beyond traditional family structures and allows for the use of sick time to care for those individuals as well.

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“Family member”, any of the following individuals:

(a) Regardless of age, a biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild or legal ward, a child of a domestic partner, a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis, or an individual to whom the employee stood in loco parentis when the individual was a minor;

(b) A biological, foster, stepparent or adoptive parent or legal guardian of an employee or an employee’s spouse or domestic partner or an individual who stood in loco parentis when the employee or employee’s spouse or domestic partner was a minor child;

(c) An individual to whom the employee is legally married under the laws of any state, or a domestic partner who is registered as such under the laws of any state or political subdivision, or an individual with whom the employee is in a continuing social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature;

(d) A grandparent, grandchild, or sibling (whether of a biological, foster, adoptive or step relationship) of the employee or the employee’s spouse or domestic partner; or

(e) A person for whom the employee is responsible for providing or arranging health or safety-related care, including but not limited to helping that individual obtain diagnostic, preventative, routine, or therapeutic health treatment or ensuring the person is safe following domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;