§ 13.5 Paid sick leave for Federal contractors and subcontractors.

(a) Accrual. (1) A contractor shall permit an employee to accrue not less than 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked on or in connection with a covered contract. A contractor shall aggregate an employee's hours worked on or in connection with all covered contracts for that contractor for purposes of paid sick leave accrual.

(i) Hours worked has the same meaning for purposes of Executive Order 13706 and this part as it does under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as set forth in 29 CFR part 785. To properly exclude time spent on non-covered work from an employee's hours worked that count toward the accrual of paid sick leave, a contractor must accurately identify in its records the employee's covered and non-covered hours worked, or, if the employee performs work in connection with rather than on covered contracts, a contractor may estimate the portion of an employee's hours worked spent in connection with covered contracts provided the estimate is reasonable and based on verifiable information.

(ii) A contractor shall calculate an employee's accrual of paid sick leave no less frequently than at the conclusion of each pay period or each month, whichever interval is shorter. A contractor need not allow an employee to accrue paid sick leave in increments smaller than 1 hour for completion of any fraction of 30 hours worked. Any such fraction of hours worked shall be added to hours worked for the same contractor in subsequent pay periods to reach the next 30 hours worked provided that the next pay period in which the employee performs on or in connection with a covered contract occurs within the same accrual year.

(iii) If a contractor is not obligated by the Service Contract Act, Davis-Bacon Act, or Fair Labor Standards Act to keep records of an employee's hours worked, such as because the employee is employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity as those terms are defined in 29 CFR part 541, the contractor may, as to that employee, calculate paid sick leave accrual by tracking the employee's actual hours worked or by using the assumption that the employee works 40 hours on or in connection with a covered contract in each workweek. If such an employee regularly works fewer than 40 hours per week on or in connection with covered contracts, whether because the employee's time is split between covered and non-covered contracts or because the employee has a part-time schedule, the contractor may allow the employee to accrue paid sick leave based on the employee's typical number of hours worked on or in connection with covered contracts per workweek provided the contractor has probative evidence to support the number it uses or, if the employee performs work in connection with rather than on covered contracts, a contractor may estimate the employee's typical number of hours worked in connection with covered contracts per workweek provided the estimate is reasonable and based on verifiable information.

(2) A contractor shall inform an employee, in writing, of the amount of paid sick leave that the employee has accrued but not used no less than once each pay period or each month, whichever interval is shorter, as well as upon a separation from employment and upon reinstatement of paid sick leave pursuant to paragraph (b)(4) of this section. A contractor's existing procedure for informing employees of their available leave, such as notification accompanying each paycheck or an online system an employee can check at any time, may be used to satisfy or partially satisfy these requirements provided it is written (including electronically, if the contractor customarily corresponds with or makes information available to its employees by electronic means).

(3) A contractor may choose to provide an employee with at least 56 hours of paid sick leave at the beginning of each accrual year rather than allowing the employee to accrue such leave based on hours worked over time.

(i) If a contractor chooses to use the option described in this paragraph, the contractor need not comply with the accrual requirements described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. The contractor must, however, allow carryover of paid sick leave as required by paragraph (b)(2) of this section, and although the contractor may limit the amount of paid sick leave an employee may carry over to no less than 56 hours, the contractor may not limit the amount of paid sick leave an employee has available for use at any point as is otherwise permitted by paragraph (b)(3) of this section.

(ii) If a contractor chooses to use the option described in this paragraph and the contractor hires an employee or newly assigns the employee to work on or in connection with a covered contract after the beginning of the accrual year, the contractor may provide the employee with a prorated amount of paid sick leave based on the number of pay periods remaining in the accrual year.

(iii) A contractor may use the option described in this paragraph as to any or all of its employees in any or all accrual years.

(b) Maximum accrual, carryover, reinstatement, and payment for unused leave. (1) A contractor may limit the amount of paid sick leave an employee is permitted to accrue to not less than 56 hours in each accrual year. An accrual year is a 12-month period beginning on the date an employee's work on or in connection with a covered contract began or any other fixed date chosen by the contractor, such as the date a covered contract began, the date the contractor's fiscal year begins, a date relevant under State law, or the date a contractor uses for determining employees' leave entitlements under the FMLA pursuant to § 825.200 of this title. A contractor may choose its accrual year but must use a consistent option for all, or across similarly situated groups of, employees and may not select or change any employee's accrual year in order to avoid the paid sick leave requirements of Executive Order 13706 and this part.