Alabama — Leave Laws

Alabama does not require private employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave, vacation leave, paid time off, or family and medical leave. The state has not enacted a paid family and medical leave insurance program. Private-sector employees' leave protections derive primarily from federal law, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for covered employers and eligible employees. Alabama law does mandate employer compliance in specific civic-duty contexts—jury service, voting, and military leave—which are covered in separate sections of this guide.

Source: Ala. Code § 12-16-8 (jury duty leave statute, representative of limited state mandates)

Alabama requires employers to pay full-time employees their usual compensation during jury service, offset by (reduced by) the jury duty fees the employee receives from the court. The compensation formula is: usual employment compensation minus the jury service fee or compensation. Employers may not require or request employees to use accrued annual, vacation, or sick leave for time spent responding to a jury summons, participating in jury selection, or serving on a jury.

Full-time employee definition. Courts have defined "full-time employee" as an employee who works the normal or standard amount of work time for a given period. In most employment situations, full time means 40 hours per week, though the phrase may also be defined by industry standards or the standards of the particular community. The statute's protection extends to both hourly and salaried employees.

Notice requirement. Employees must exhibit the jury summons to their immediate supervisor on the next workday after receiving it to be excused from employment for the required days.

Jury fee documentation. Courts and other entities paying jurors must issue to each juror a statement showing the daily fee or compensation and the total fee or compensation received. This documentation allows employers to calculate the proper offset when paying the employee's usual compensation during jury service.

Employer offset mechanics. The employer pays the employee's usual compensation for the jury service period, then reduces that amount by whatever jury duty fees the employee received from the court. The employee is not entitled to both full usual compensation and the jury fee; rather, the jury fee offsets the employer's payment obligation. For example, if an employee's usual daily compensation is $200 and the employee receives $50 in jury fees for that day, the employer owes $150 ($200 minus $50).

Source: Ala. Code § 12-16-8

Alabama requires employers to permit employees to take necessary time off from work to vote in any municipal, county, state, or federal political party primary or election for which the employee is qualified and registered to vote. The leave is available only on the day the primary or election is held. Employees must provide reasonable notice to their employer to qualify for this leave.

Maximum leave duration. The necessary time off may not exceed one hour. Ala. Code § 17-1-5 does not specify whether this hour must be paid or unpaid; the statute is silent on compensation.

Exception — sufficient non-work time. An employee is not entitled to voting leave if the employee's work hours commence at least two hours after the opening of the polls or end at least one hour prior to the closing of the polls. In such cases, the employee is deemed to have sufficient time outside working hours to vote, and the employer has no obligation to provide additional time off under the statute.

Employer control over timing. The employer may specify the hours during which the employee may be absent to vote. This provision allows employers to manage the timing of employee absences for operational purposes, provided the employee receives the necessary time (up to one hour) if not otherwise excepted.

Eligibility — registered voters only. Only employees who are qualified and registered to vote for the specific primary or election are entitled to leave under this statute. An employee who is not registered to vote in the jurisdiction holding the election has no statutory entitlement to time off.

Source: Ala. Code § 17-1-5

Alabama Code § 12-16-8(e) provides automatic relief when multiple employees of a small employer are summoned for jury duty during the same period. This provision recognizes the operational burden on small businesses when losing multiple workers simultaneously to jury service.

Employer size threshold — five or fewer full-time employees. The postponement protection applies to employers with five or fewer full-time employees, or their equivalent. The statute does not define "equivalent," but the phrase allows for consideration of part-time employees whose combined hours equal full-time positions. For example, two half-time employees would likely count as one full-time equivalent.

Triggering condition — multiple employees summoned during the same period. A court must automatically postpone and reschedule the service of a summoned juror when another employee of that employer also has been summoned to appear during the same period. The statute does not define "same period" with precision, but the operational purpose—preventing simultaneous absences—suggests the phrase covers overlapping jury service dates, not merely overlapping summons dates. If Employee A is summoned for jury duty the week of June 10 and Employee B is summoned for the same week, the court must postpone one of them.

Automatic postponement by the court. The statute places the duty on the court, not the employer or employee, to postpone and reschedule the second employee's service. The postponement is automatic, meaning the court must act upon learning that the condition is met—the employee does not need to request it, though as a practical matter the court may not know of the conflict unless the employer or employee provides notice. The statute is silent on the mechanics of notification to the court, and Alabama administrative or judicial guidance clarifying employer or employee notice obligations is not readily available in published primary authority.

Which employee is postponed. The statute does not specify which of the two summoned employees must be postponed—whether the first-summoned or the second-summoned. The language "a court shall automatically postpone and reschedule the service of a summoned juror" when "another employee of that employer also has been summoned" suggests the second-summoned employee is the one postponed, though a court could reasonably construe the provision as granting the court discretion to postpone either employee to minimize disruption.

Interaction with the employee's individual postponement right. A postponement under this small-employer provision does not affect the individual employee's right to one automatic postponement under Ala. Code § 12-16-63.1. That separate statute grants each summoned juror the right to request one postponement of jury service for personal reasons. An employee whose jury service is postponed under § 12-16-8(e) because of the small-employer conflict retains the right to a subsequent personal postponement under § 12-16-63.1 if, after being rescheduled, the new date is also inconvenient.

Scope — applies to all jury summonses under state or federal law. Section 12-16-8 governs employees summoned to serve "as a juror in any court created by the constitutions of the United States or of the State of Alabama or the laws of the United States or of the State of Alabama." The small-employer postponement provision in subsection (e) applies notwithstanding subsection (a)'s general excused-absence rule, meaning it applies to all jury summonses covered by the statute, including federal and state court service.

No employer size increase for larger employers. Employers with six or more full-time employees do not receive this automatic postponement protection. If two or more employees of a larger employer are summoned during the same period, both employees are entitled to leave under § 12-16-8(a) and (c), and the employer must excuse both and pay both (if full-time employees), even if that creates operational difficulty.

Source: Ala. Code § 12-16-8

Alabama Code § 31-2-13 provides paid military leave to officers and employees of the state, counties, municipalities, other political subdivisions, and — by its terms — "officers or employees of any public or private business or industry" who are active members of qualifying military organizations. The statute covers the Alabama National Guard, Naval Militia, Alabama State Guard (when organized in lieu of the National Guard), the Civil Air Patrol (civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force), the National Disaster Medical System, and any other reserve component of the uniformed services of the United States.

Scope — public sector versus private sector. The statutory text refers to employees of "public or private business or industry," but this phrase appears in a sentence that opens with state, county, municipal, and political-subdivision employees. Legal commentary and common practice often limit mandatory paid military leave under this statute to public-sector employers, treating the "private business or industry" language asDirectory rather than mandatory or as applying only in specific contexts (such as state-funded institutions). The statute does not contain separate enforcement mechanisms or penalty provisions that distinguish public from private employers, and Alabama administrative or judicial guidance clarifying the mandatory scope for private employers is not readily available in published primary authority. Practitioners advising private-sector employers should be aware that the statute's application to private industry remains ambiguous.

Eligibility. An employee must be an active member of one of the enumerated military organizations and must be engaged in field or coast defense training, other training, or service ordered under the National Defense Act, the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, or federal laws governing U.S. reserves.

Paid leave cap — 168 hours per calendar year. No person granted military leave with pay under this statute may be paid for more than 168 working hours per calendar year. This equals approximately 21 eight-hour workdays or 4.2 standard work weeks. The leave is "without loss of pay, time, efficiency rating, annual vacation, or sick leave," meaning the employee retains all these employment benefits and receives their usual compensation during the military leave period.

Additional leave for state active duty. Employees are entitled to an additional 168 working hours of paid leave "at any one time" when called by the Governor to duty in the active service of the state. This second 168-hour allowance is separate from and in addition to the annual federal-training cap. The statute's "at any one time" language suggests the employee may receive up to 168 paid hours per state activation, not a per-calendar-year limit for state service.

Application to state-funded educational institutions. The statute explicitly states: "This section shall apply to all schools and institutions of learning supported by state funds." This removes any ambiguity for employees of public universities, community colleges, and state-funded K–12 schools.

Interaction with federal USERRA. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), 38 U.S.C. § 4301 et seq., provides federal job protection and reemployment rights but does not require paid leave. To the extent § 31-2-13 applies to an employer, it adds a state paid-leave overlay for up to 168 hours annually, in addition to USERRA's job protection, health-plan continuation, and anti-discrimination rules.

Source: Ala. Code § 31-2-13

The Alabama Public Employee Paid Parental Leave Act of 2025, enacted as Act 2025-81 and codified at Ala. Code § 36-6A-1 et seq., provides paid parental leave to eligible public-sector employees in Alabama. The Act took effect July 1, 2025. It does not apply to private-sector employers or employees.

Covered employers. The Act covers employees of the state of Alabama, local education agencies, the Alabama Community College System and its constituent institutions, and other state-funded public employers. The Governor's Office announcement states the law applies to "state employees and public school employees," including "state workers and teachers" and "K-12 public school teachers and staff." Private-sector employers are not subject to the Act.

Employee eligibility — 12-month service requirement. An employee is eligible if the employee is a full-time employee and has been employed by a covered employer in Alabama for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the occurrence of a qualifying event. The statute applies to both certified employees (such as licensed teachers) and noncertified employees. The Alabama State Personnel Board's implementing regulation confirms that an employee must have been "employed by ... any [covered entity] in this state as a full-time employee for at least 12 consecutive months" or "in a pay status" during that period, indicating that service time may accumulate across covered Alabama public employers.

Qualifying events. Paid parental leave is available in connection with:

• Birth, stillbirth, or miscarriage. The Act provides paid parental leave for the birth, stillbirth, or miscarriage of a child. The Governor's Office announcement and implementing regulations indicate that for stillbirth or miscarriage, the event must occur at or after 12 weeks of pregnancy to qualify for the full leave entitlement.
• Legal adoption of a child aged three or younger. The legal adoption of a child who is aged three or younger at the time of placement with the eligible employee constitutes a qualifying event.

Leave duration — eight weeks or two weeks. The amount of paid parental leave an eligible employee may take depends on the qualifying event and the employee's role:

• Birth, stillbirth, or miscarriage: A female eligible employee (the mother) may receive eight weeks of paid parental leave. A male eligible employee (the father) may receive two weeks of paid parental leave.
• Adoption of a child aged three or younger: The Governor's Office announcement states that "adoptive parents of a child aged three or younger will also be eligible for parental leave—eight weeks for one parent and two weeks for the other at the choice of the parents, if both are eligible employees."

Compensation at 100% of base pay. Paid parental leave is paid at 100 percent of the eligible employee's base pay. The Alabama State Personnel Board regulation specifies that leave "shall be paid at 100 percent of the eligible employee's base pay, as determined by the appointing authority, and shall remain at 100 percent of the employee's base pay as if the eligible employee worked continuously" during the leave period.

Timing and usage restrictions. Administrative regulations implementing the Act specify that paid parental leave must be taken within 365 days of the qualifying event. An employee may take paid parental leave only once in a 365-day period, regardless of how many qualifying events the employee experiences. Unused paid parental leave cannot be carried over for future use during subsequent qualifying events and cannot be paid out to the employee.

Relationship to other leave — concurrent use with FMLA. Paid parental leave under the Act is provided in addition to any accrued paid or unpaid sick, vacation, or medical leave. The Governor's Office announcement confirms that the law provides paid parental leave "in addition to any accrued paid or unpaid sick, vacation or medical leave," and employees do not have to exhaust other leave first. However, implementing regulations provide that if the employee qualifies for leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or Alabama's unpaid family leave statute (Ala. Code § 25-1-61), paid parental leave runs concurrently with those unpaid leave entitlements. This means that an employee who takes eight weeks of paid parental leave following a birth also uses eight weeks of any available 12-week FMLA entitlement, leaving four weeks of unpaid FMLA-protected leave for that 12-month FMLA period (if FMLA-eligible).

Scope of "in connection with" a qualifying event. The statute authorizes paid parental leave "in connection with" a qualifying event, which the implementing regulations interpret to permit leave not only after birth or placement but also for preparatory activities. These may include prenatal medical appointments, hospitalization in expectation of birth, complying with a health care provider's order to limit physical activity prior to birth, adoption-related legal proceedings, home visits required for adoption approval, and international travel to complete an adoption. The exact contours of permissible pre-event uses are governed by the implementing regulations of the State Personnel Board, the State Board of Education, and the Alabama Community College System.

Return-to-work provision and recovery of improperly granted leave. The Governor's Office announcement states that the law "includes a return-to-work provision, requiring employees to return for at least eight weeks after taking leave, with exceptions in certain circumstances, including serious health conditions." The Alabama State Personnel Board regulation provides that agencies may deny paid parental leave if an employee fails to comply with the return-to-work or other statutory requirements, and may recover improperly granted paid parental leave through substitution of other available leave or other appropriate means.

Employer implementation and notice. The Alabama State Personnel Board, the State Board of Education, and the Alabama Community College System have jointly adopted rules implementing the Act. Covered employers may adopt their own policies and procedures to administer paid parental leave, provided those policies do not conflict with Ala. Code § 36-6A-1 et seq. or the agencies' implementing rules. Employers have a duty to inform employees of their rights under the Act.

Source: Governor's Office announcement of Act 2025-81, Ala. Code § 36-6A-1 et seq. Source: Alabama State Personnel Board Rule 670-X-15-.08, Paid Parental Leave