Idaho — Leave Laws

Idaho does not require private-sector employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave, paid family leave, or paid medical leave. The Idaho Department of Labor has confirmed that no statewide statute mandates that private employers offer leave benefits of any kind; any such benefits are governed entirely by employer policy or individual employment contracts. State employees accrue sick leave under Idaho Code § 67-5333, but that framework creates no obligations for private employers.

Source: Idaho Department of Labor FAQ

Idaho prohibits employers from depriving employees of employment, threatening, or otherwise coercing them because the employee receives a jury summons, responds to it, serves as a juror, or attends court for prospective jury service. Employers who violate this rule may face criminal contempt charges with fines up to $300. Employees discharged in violation of this statute may bring a civil action within 60 days for treble damages (three times lost wages), reinstatement, and reasonable attorney's fees. Idaho does not require employers to pay employees during jury service.

Source: Idaho Code § 2-218

Idaho law provides National Guard and armed forces reserve members with specific leave rights for military training that supplement the federal protections of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Understanding the state-specific thresholds, notice requirements, and discharge protections is critical for employers with Guard or Reserve members in Idaho.

15-day annual training leave

Under Idaho Code § 46-224, any employee who is a duly qualified member of the National Guard or the reserve components of the armed forces, who is a member of an organized unit, and who needs to receive military training with the armed forces may take up to 15 days of leave in any one calendar year. The leave applies to positions other than temporary employment. The leave may be paid or unpaid at the employer's discretion; Idaho does not mandate that employers pay wages during the 15-day training period.

Employees must give evidence defining the date of departure and the date of return for purposes of military training 90 days prior to the date of departure. The employee must also give evidence of the satisfactory completion of such training immediately after returning.

Restoration to position and protection of benefits

An employee who complies with the notice requirements and is still qualified to perform the duties of the position is entitled to be restored to their previous or similar position with the same status, pay, and seniority. Seniority continues to accrue during the period of absence, and the absence for military training is construed as an absence with leave.

Idaho Code § 46-225 further protects employees on military training leave from adverse employment consequences: the absence for military training does not affect the employee's right to receive normal vacation, sick leave, bonus, advancement, health insurance, and other advantages of employment normally anticipated in that particular position.

Reemployment after National Guard activation and one-year discharge protection

Idaho Code § 46-407 governs reemployment rights for Idaho National Guard members ordered to duty by the governor, or Idaho employees who are members of the national guard of another state and called into active service by that state's governor. If the member is still qualified to perform the duties of the position held at the time of the order to duty, the employer or the employer's successor in interest must restore the employee to that position or one of like seniority, status, and pay.

If the member is not qualified to perform the duties of the former position by reason of disability sustained during the period of duty, but is qualified to perform the duties of any other position in the employ of the employer, the employer must offer the member that position which the employee is qualified to perform and which is most similar to the former position in seniority, status, and pay.

Critically, under Idaho Code § 46-407(c), any person who is reemployed under this section cannot be discharged without cause within one year after such reemployment. This one-year discharge-protection period applies regardless of whether the employer is otherwise an at-will employer.

Employers who fail or refuse to comply with Idaho Code § 46-407 face exposure to a district court action in which the court has the power to compel the employer to comply, and to compensate the member for lost wages and benefits, costs of the action, and reasonable attorney's fees. The statute mandates that the court order a speedy hearing and advance the case on the calendar.

Relationship to federal USERRA

These state-law protections operate alongside federal USERRA (38 U.S.C. §§ 4301–4335), which provides broader reemployment rights for service members across all categories of military duty. Employers should ensure compliance with both state and federal frameworks. Idaho's 15-day training-leave provision, 90-day notice requirement, and one-year discharge protection create specific employer obligations that do not duplicate the federal framework and must be observed independently.

Source: Idaho Code § 46-224 Source: Idaho Code § 46-225 Source: Idaho Code § 46-407

Idaho does not require private-sector employers to provide leave—paid or unpaid—for voting, bereavement, crime-victim or domestic-violence situations, or emergency-responder duties. Idaho Code Title 67, Chapter 53 (state employee leave) and the handful of private-employer leave protections enacted in other titles (jury duty under Idaho Code § 2-218 and military leave under Idaho Code § 46-224) do not include voting, bereavement, crime-victim, or emergency-responder leave mandates. Employers may choose to offer these leave types as a matter of policy or contract, but no state statute imposes an obligation.

Voting leave

Idaho has no voting-leave statute. Private employers are not required to grant employees time off, paid or unpaid, to vote in municipal, state, or federal elections. Idaho joins Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington as states without a voting-leave mandate. Employers remain free to permit time off as a policy matter, but the decision is discretionary.

Bereavement leave

Idaho law does not require employers to provide bereavement leave or time off to attend funerals. Employers who voluntarily establish a bereavement-leave policy or include such leave in an employment contract must honor their own terms under general contract principles, but no statute compels the provision of bereavement leave in the first instance. State employees may use up to five days of accrued sick leave for bereavement purposes under administrative rules governing public-sector employment, but that provision creates no private-employer obligation.

Crime-victim and domestic-violence leave

Idaho has no statute mandating leave for employees who are victims of crime, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The Idaho Domestic Violence Crime Prevention Act, codified at Idaho Code § 39-6302 et seq., establishes protection orders, law-enforcement duties, victim notification rights, and civil remedies for victims, but creates no employer leave obligation. Employers are not required to grant time off for court appearances, protective-order proceedings, relocation, medical treatment, or counseling related to domestic violence or other crimes.

Emergency-responder leave

Idaho does not have an emergency-response leave law that applies generally to private employers. State law does provide limited paid leave for state employees who are certified American Red Cross disaster-services volunteers (120 work hours of paid leave to participate in disaster relief for level III magnitude crises), but that provision is codified in state personnel rules and does not extend to private employers. Volunteer emergency responders are deemed employees of their local political subdivision or municipality for purposes of Idaho workers' compensation law under Idaho Code § 72-205(4), but that workers'-compensation coverage creates no private-employer leave obligation.

Relationship to employer policies and contracts

An employer who voluntarily establishes a policy or includes a contractual term providing any of these leave types must comply with its own policy or contract. The Idaho Supreme Court has held that an employer is required to honor accrued-leave obligations when the employer's policy or employment contract creates an enforceable expectation. See Ferguson v. City of Orofino, 131 Idaho 190, 953 P.2d 630 (1998); Jackson v. Minidoka Irrigation Dist., 98 Idaho 330, 563 P.2d 54 (1977). Employers should ensure that any voluntary leave policy is documented in writing and administered consistently.

Source: Idaho Code § 2-218 (jury duty leave) Source: Idaho Code § 39-6302 (Domestic Violence Crime Prevention Act — declaration of policy) Source: Idaho Code § 46-224 (military training leave) Source: Idaho Code § 72-205 (Public employment generally — workers' compensation coverage)