Alaska — Leave Laws

Alaska maintains the Alaska Family Leave Act (AFLA), codified at AS 39.20.500 et seq., which provides job-protected family and medical leave to eligible employees. AFLA applies only to public employers (state agencies, municipalities, and political subdivisions); it does not cover private-sector employers. An employer is subject to AFLA if it employed at least 21 employees within 50 road miles during any 20 consecutive workweeks. Private employers in Alaska are governed by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, not AFLA.

The AFLA provisions were originally codified at AS 23.10.500–23.10.550 but were renumbered to AS 39.20.500 et seq., placing them in Title 39 (Public Officers and Employees) rather than Title 23 (Labor and Workers' Compensation), reflecting the Act's application solely to public-sector employers.

Source: Alaska Dep't of Admin., Family Leave

The Alaska Family Leave Act entitles eligible employees to up to 18 weeks of job-protected leave in a 24-month period for a qualifying serious medical condition (the employee's own serious health condition, or to care for a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition). AFLA also provides up to 18 weeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period for pregnancy, childbirth, or adoption. The leave may be paid or unpaid, depending on the employee's accrued leave balance. When an employee qualifies for both AFLA and federal FMLA, the entitlements run concurrently.

Source: Alaska Dep't of Admin., Family Leave

The Alaska Family Leave Act sets two alternative service thresholds for employee eligibility. An employee qualifies for AFLA leave if the employer meets the 21-employee coverage threshold (described in the existing section on public employer coverage) and the employee satisfies one of two tenure-and-hours tests.

Full-time path: An employee is eligible if the employee has worked at least 35 hours per week for six consecutive months immediately preceding the leave request. This path accommodates full-time public employees who have recently joined a covered employer but have not yet accumulated a full year of service.

Part-time path: Alternatively, an employee is eligible if the employee has worked at least 17.5 hours per week for 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the leave request. This path extends AFLA protection to part-time public employees who maintain consistent half-time schedules over a longer period.

Both tests require actual hours worked during the qualifying period. Periods of leave, holidays, and non-working days do not count toward the eligibility calculation. The eligibility assessment is made as of the date the employee requests leave or when the employer receives notice of the need for leave, not retroactively.

AFLA eligibility is independent of federal FMLA eligibility. An employee may qualify under AFLA but not FMLA (for example, a public employer with 25 employees within 50 road miles would be subject to AFLA but might not meet the FMLA 50-employee threshold within 75 miles). Conversely, an employee at a covered public employer who has worked 1,250 hours in the preceding 12 months but has not maintained the consistent weekly schedule required by AFLA might qualify under FMLA but not AFLA. When an employee qualifies under both Acts, the entitlements run concurrently.

The State of Alaska has adopted a policy that waives the FMLA proximity requirement (50 employees within 75 miles) for its own employees who meet the tenure and hours thresholds, providing broader access to family leave than the federal floor requires.

Source: Alaska Dep't of Admin., Application for Family Medical Leave (FMLA/AFLA)

Alaska's paid sick leave law, enacted by voters through Ballot Measure 1 in November 2024 and codified at AS 23.10.066–23.10.069, applies to all private employers operating in Alaska, regardless of size. The law became effective July 1, 2025. There is no employer-size threshold exempting small businesses from coverage; instead, employer size determines only the annual accrual and usage cap.

All employers covered

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development states that "all employers in Alaska are required to provide paid sick leave to all employees, except for certain employees exempted by statute from the requirements." An employer with even one employee in Alaska is subject to the paid sick leave mandate. The statute does not include a small-business exemption based on employer headcount.

Size-based accrual and usage caps

While all employers must provide paid sick leave, the maximum amount an employee may accrue and use each year varies by employer size:

• Employers with 15 or more employees: Employees may accrue and use up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year.

• Employers with fewer than 15 employees: Employees may accrue and use up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year.

Both tiers require the same minimum accrual rate of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers may voluntarily set higher caps. AS 23.10.066(1)–(2).

Employee exemptions

Specific categories of employees are exempt from Alaska's paid sick leave requirement under AS 23.10.069, which cross-references the occupational exemptions listed in AS 23.10.055. These exemptions include:

• Minors under 18 years of age who work fewer than 30 hours per week
• Agricultural workers (including farming, dairying, livestock, and forestry operations incident to farming)
• Fishing industry workers, including those employed in catching, trapping, cultivating, or netting fish, shellfish, or other aquatic life
• Hand shrimp pickers
• Domestic workers employed in private homes
• Newspaper delivery workers
• Workers employed in the search for placer or hard rock minerals
• Certain licensed guide-outfitters
• Certain taxicab drivers
• Seasonal caretakers or watchmen of plants or properties not in productive use for four months or more
• Certain residential camp workers
• Certain motor vehicle dealer employees
• Students, learners, and apprentices in certain programs
• Railroad employees subject to the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act
• Federal employees
• State of Alaska employees
• Local government employees

Federal, state, and municipal government employees are excluded because they are subject to separate leave regimes. The Alaska Department of Labor FAQ clarifies that private-sector employees who do not fall within one of the enumerated exemptions are covered, including part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers in non-exempt industries.

Employer counting method

The statute does not specify whether multi-state employers count only Alaska-based employees or their entire nationwide workforce when determining the 15-employee threshold. Proposed regulations published by the Alaska Department of Labor in June 2025 suggested calculating employer size based on the average number of employees employed per day during the entire previous calendar year, including all full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees. As of June 2026, final regulations had been adopted in September 2025 but did not definitively resolve whether the count includes only Alaska employees or a national headcount. Employers uncertain about their classification should consult the Alaska Division of Labor Standards and Safety.

Source: Alaska Dep't of Labor, Sick Leave FAQ

Alaska's paid sick leave statute, enacted through Ballot Measure 1 in November 2024 and effective July 1, 2025, establishes a two-tier system of annual accrual and usage caps that varies by employer size. The threshold that determines which cap applies is 15 employees.

Employers with 15 or more employees

Employers with 15 or more employees must allow employees to accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, but employees are not entitled to accrue or use more than 56 hours of paid sick leave per year, unless the employer voluntarily sets a higher limit. AS 23.10.066(1).

Employers with fewer than 15 employees

Employers with fewer than 15 employees must allow employees to accrue at the same minimum rate (one hour per 30 hours worked), but employees are not entitled to accrue or use more than 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, unless the employer voluntarily sets a higher limit. AS 23.10.066(2).

The 15-employee threshold

The statute draws the line at 15 employees. An employer with exactly 15 employees falls into the higher-cap tier (56 hours); an employer with 14 employees falls into the lower-cap tier (40 hours). The statute does not define "employers with 15 or more employees" or specify the counting methodology—for example, whether the count is based on a point-in-time headcount, an average over a period, or whether multi-state employers count only Alaska-based employees or their entire nationwide workforce. As of June 2026, neither the statute nor published Alaska Department of Labor guidance resolves these ambiguities. Employers near the threshold should consult the Alaska Division of Labor Standards and Safety.

Voluntary higher limits

Both AS 23.10.066(1) and (2) expressly authorize employers to set accrual and usage caps higher than the statutory minimums. An employer with 12 employees may, for example, voluntarily provide 56 hours or more of paid sick leave per year; an employer with 20 employees may provide an unlimited accrual. The statute sets a floor, not a ceiling.

Carryover and the interaction with annual caps

AS 23.10.066(4) requires that "paid sick leave shall carry over to the following year, but an employer is not required to allow an employee to use more than the applicable amounts of paid sick leave described in (1) and (2) of this section per year." The plain language indicates that unused leave carries forward without expiring, but the annual usage cap (40 or 56 hours, depending on employer size) applies each year. An employee who accrues 56 hours in year one, uses 20 hours, carries 36 hours into year two, and accrues another 56 hours in year two will have a balance exceeding 56 hours, but may still use only up to 56 hours during year two (assuming the employer has 15 or more employees).

The Alaska Department of Labor FAQ, updated as of January 2026, confirms the two-tier structure at the 15-employee threshold and the 40-hour and 56-hour annual caps, and acknowledges carryover, but does not provide worked examples of multi-year balance accumulation.

Source: AS 23.10.066 Source: Alaska Dep't of Labor, Sick Leave FAQ

Alaska law prohibits employers from penalizing or threatening to penalize an employee who is a victim of a crime when the victim is subpoenaed or requested by a prosecuting attorney to attend a court proceeding to give testimony, reports the offense to a law enforcement agency, or participates in a law enforcement agency investigation of the offense. This protection is codified at AS 12.61.017. The statute does not specify a minimum employer size; it applies on its face to any employer whose employee qualifies as a victim under Alaska law.

Scope of protection

Under AS 12.61.017(d), "penalize" means to take action affecting the employment status, wages, and benefits payable to the victim, including:

• Demotion or suspension;
• Dismissal from employment; and
• Loss of pay or benefits, except pay and benefits that are directly attributable to the victim's absence from employment to attend the court proceeding, report the offense to a law enforcement agency, or participate in a law enforcement agency investigation of the offense.

The statute therefore prohibits adverse employment actions such as termination, demotion, or suspension based on the victim's participation in the criminal justice process. However, the statute expressly permits the employer to withhold pay and benefits for the time the employee is actually absent for these purposes. The leave is unpaid unless the employer voluntarily provides paid leave or the employee uses accrued paid time off.

Eligible employees — definition of "victim"

The protection extends not only to the direct victim of the crime but also to certain family members who qualify as "victims" under Alaska law. AS 12.55.185(16) defines "victim" broadly to include:

• The person who suffered harm as a direct result of the offense (the direct victim);
• If the direct victim is a minor, incompetent, or incapacitated: an individual living in a spousal relationship with the direct victim, or a parent, adult child, guardian, or custodian of the direct victim;
• If the direct victim is deceased: a person living in a spousal relationship with the deceased before the deceased died, or an adult child, parent, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild of the deceased; and
• Any other person designated as an interested person by the court.

An employee is not eligible for this protection if the employee is the perpetrator of the crime.

Scope of covered activities

The statute protects three categories of absence:

1. Attending a court proceeding for the purpose of giving testimony when the victim has been subpoenaed or requested by the prosecuting attorney to attend;
2. Reporting the offense to a law enforcement agency; and
3. Participating in a law enforcement agency investigation of the offense.

The protection applies when the victim's attendance or participation is at the request of the prosecuting attorney or a law enforcement agency. AS 12.61.017 is silent on whether the employee must provide advance notice to the employer and does not impose a maximum duration of leave.

Interaction with paid sick leave

Alaska's paid sick leave law, effective July 1, 2025, allows employees to use accrued paid sick leave when "the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family is the victim of a crime of sexual assault, domestic violence, or stalking." AS 23.10.066(d)(2), enacted by Ballot Measure 1 in 2024. The paid sick leave statute applies only to crimes of sexual assault, domestic violence, or stalking involving the employee or an immediate family member, while AS 12.61.017 covers all crimes for which the employee (as defined by AS 12.55.185(16)) is called to testify, report, or participate in an investigation. When the crime is sexual assault, domestic violence, or stalking and the employer is subject to the paid sick leave mandate, the employee may elect to use accrued paid sick leave to cover the absence; if the employee does not use (or does not have) accrued paid sick leave, the employer may not penalize the employee for the unpaid absence under AS 12.61.017.

Enforcement

AS 12.61.017 does not specify an administrative enforcement mechanism or private cause of action. The statute states the substantive protection but is silent on remedies.

Source: AS 12.61.017 (Crime victim employment rights) Source: AS 12.55.185(16) (Definition of victim)