Wyoming — Leave Laws

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides the primary job-protected leave entitlement for Wyoming employees. Eligible employees at covered employers may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for a serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, for childbirth or adoption, or for qualifying military exigencies. FMLA applies to private employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles and to all public agencies. Employees must have worked for the covered employer at least 12 months and 1,250 hours in the preceding 12 months to qualify.

Source: U.S. DOL — Family and Medical Leave Act

Wyoming does not require employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave to employees. Whether workers receive sick time—and on what terms—is determined entirely by employer policy, employment contracts, or collective bargaining agreements. Employers who voluntarily establish a sick leave policy are bound by that policy's terms under Wyoming contract law. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act remains the primary unpaid leave protection for eligible workers with serious health conditions.

Source: Wyoming Department of Workforce Services — Paid Sick & Quarantine Leave

Wyoming employers must provide unpaid leave to employees who are summoned for jury service or who attend court in connection with jury duty, and the statute prohibits any adverse employment action based on that attendance. Wyo. Stat. § 1-11-401(a) makes it unlawful for an employer to "discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate or coerce any employee by reason of the employee's jury service, for the attendance or scheduled attendance in connection with jury service, in any court in the state of Wyoming." This protection extends to both serving on a jury and participating in the preliminary jury selection process (voir dire), as captured by the statute's use of "attendance or scheduled attendance in connection with jury service."

Wyoming law does not require employers to pay employees during jury duty. The leave obligation is unpaid, and whether an employee receives compensation during jury service depends entirely on employer policy or collective bargaining agreements. Employers may, however, be subject to federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) constraints on salary deductions for exempt employees; under the FLSA, an employer generally cannot dock salary for absences due to jury duty, though it may offset any jury fees received. This is a federal rule, not a Wyoming statutory requirement.

Employer liability for violations

An employer who violates § 1-11-401 by retaliating against an employee for jury service faces three categories of liability under subsection (b):

1. Injunctive relief and reinstatement — A court may enjoin the employer from further violations and order "other appropriate relief," expressly including reinstatement of a terminated or demoted employee.

1. Exemplary damages — The employer is liable for exemplary (punitive) damages "in an amount set by the court, but not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each violation as to each employee." The $1,000 cap applies per violation, per employee.

1. Costs and attorney's fees — prevailing employee — The prevailing employee is entitled to recover "reasonable costs and attorney's fees, as set by the court, in enforcing his rights" under the statute. This fee-shifting provision is designed to lower the barrier to employee enforcement actions.

Costs and attorney's fees — prevailing employer

Wyo. Stat. § 1-11-401(e) adds a bilateral fee-shifting mechanism: if a court determines that an employee's action is "frivolous, vexatious or brought in bad faith," it may award a prevailing employer reasonable attorney's fees as part of the costs. This creates exposure for both sides—the risk and potential benefit depending on how the court characterizes the employee’s lawsuit.

Reinstatement as furlough or leave of absence

Wyo. Stat. § 1-11-401(c) specifies that an employee who is reinstated "shall be considered as having been on furlough or leave of absence during his period of jury service" and must be restored to the position held before jury service "without loss of seniority." The statute guarantees restoration of position and seniority, but does not explicitly address other types of benefits or tenure-based rights beyond seniority.

Statute of limitations

Wyo. Stat. § 1-11-401(d) requires that an employee bring suit "within six (6) months after the date of the alleged violation." This limitations period is significantly shorter than the general tort or contract statute of limitations; an employee who delays more than six months loses the statutory remedy entirely. The clock starts on "the date of the alleged violation" — typically the date of discharge, demotion, or other adverse action, not the date of jury service itself.

Wyoming's jury duty leave law establishes clear anti-retaliation protections and introduces bilateral fee-shifting exposure under certain circumstances. Employers are advised to ensure leave and attendance policies explicitly accommodate jury duty and to train supervisors accordingly.

Source: Wyo. Stat. § 1-11-401 (2025), Title 1, Code of Civil Procedure, Ch. 11, Art. 4

Wyoming law requires employers to provide up to one hour of paid leave to employees for voting in primary, general, or special elections to fill a U.S. Congressional seat—unless the employee has three or more consecutive non-working hours during poll hours. This leave is to be scheduled at the employer’s convenience, must not occur during a meal hour, and requires that the employee actually cast a legal ballot during the absence (the law states the employee “shall vote” during this time).

Nontraditional, variable, and split schedules: The text of Wyo. Stat. § 22-2-111 is clear that the three-hour exemption applies based on actual non-working time while polls are open, regardless of whether the employee’s schedule is standard, variable, or split. For example, a split-shift or flexible-schedule employee who lacks three consecutive non-working hours during polling hours is, by the statute’s plain language, still entitled to one hour of voting leave. There is, however, no interpretive guidance or case law providing further details on unusual scheduling patterns as of June 2026.

Remote, out-of-state, or telework scenarios: The statute does not address whether paid voting leave applies to remote workers, to employees working from out-of-state, or to other modern work arrangements. It refers only to "any person entitled to vote ... in any service or employment.” There is no published agency guidance, regulation, or legislative history clarifying whether the law covers out-of-state Wyoming-eligible voters who work remotely for a Wyoming employer. As of June 2026, the law is silent on these questions, so employer obligations for these scenarios remain unresolved.

Enforcement and penalties: Any employer who willfully denies voting leave or interferes with an employee’s right to voting leave under Wyoming law is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both (Wyo. Stat. § 22-26-112(a)(v)). Wyoming law does not provide a civil penalty or administrative complaint process for voting leave violations—enforcement is by criminal penalty under the Election Code, with no express wage-and-hour process for complaints.

Source: Wyoming Stat. § 22-2-111 and Wyoming Stat. § 22-26-112

Wyoming law provides specific job protections for employees who are crime victims (including immediate family members of a minor or incompetent victim and surviving relatives of homicide victims) or who are subpoenaed as witnesses in a criminal case.

Scope of protection: Under Wyo. Stat. § 1-40-209(a), if an employee responds to a subpoena during scheduled work hours, the employer may not change the employee’s terms of employment solely because of that absence. This protection applies to both direct victims of crime and to witnesses legally compelled to attend proceedings.

Notice and employer intercession: On request, law enforcement or the prosecuting or defense attorney must notify the employer that the subpoena may require the employee’s absence (Wyo. Stat. § 1-40-209(b)). This procedural support does not create an additional leave entitlement, but ensures employers are aware of the legal necessity for the absence.

Financial-hardship explanation: If the employee suffers financial hardship because of their cooperation with law enforcement or due to criminal victimization, these same agencies must, on request, assist in communicating that hardship to employers and creditors (§ 1-40-209(c)). However, the law does not require any paid leave or wage replacement—the leave is unpaid unless the employer chooses otherwise.

Domestic violence and other crime victim leave: Wyoming law does not provide broader job-protected leave for domestic violence victims or for crime victims outside of the subpoena context. No parallel statute grants leave for medical, legal, or safety reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

In summary, Wyoming protects subpoenaed crime victims and witnesses from adverse action for missing work, provides limited procedural assistance, but does not mandate paid leave or broader criminal victim or domestic violence leave as of June 2026. Source: Wyo. Stat. § 1-40-209

The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), effective June 27, 2023, requires employers with 15 or more employees—including those in Wyoming—to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees or applicants for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Under the PWFA, leave can be a form of reasonable accommodation, but only under certain circumstances:

Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation: • Employers must consider unpaid or paid leave when it is medically necessary due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions, if no other effective accommodation will allow the employee to perform the essential functions of their job, or if the employee specifically requests leave as the preferred accommodation. (A reasonable accommodation could also include modifications such as more frequent breaks, light duty, or schedule changes.) • The EEOC’s final regulations clarify that an employer may not require a qualified employee to take leave if another effective reasonable accommodation exists, unless keeping the employee at work would cause undue hardship for the employer. In other words, leave should not be the default unless no practical alternatives exist or the employee requests it expressly. • If leave is granted as a PWFA accommodation, the employer is generally required to hold the employee’s job open and allow reinstatement to the same position once the employee is able to return, unless holding the position open would itself pose an undue hardship to the employer’s business operations.

Limits—Undue Hardship: • Employers are not required to provide leave, or any accommodation under the PWFA, if doing so would impose an “undue hardship”—defined as significant difficulty or expense for the employer in relation to the operation of the business (applying the familiar ADA standards).

No State Overlay: Wyoming law does not create additional leave or accommodation protections for pregnancy or related conditions beyond the federal PWFA. Covered employers must follow the federal law’s requirements as detailed above. For full federal context and practical examples, see the United States Leave Laws Guide.

Source: EEOC—PWFA Overview; EEOC—Final Rule Summary; 29 C.F.R. Part 1636, Appendix A