Sick & Safe Time Off Policy Setup

Sick & Safe Time laws require employers to provide paid time off based on the actual number of hours an employee works. These laws vary by state and municipality but generally follow a rule like “1 hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked.” This is different from traditional PTO policies that accrue based on tenure or calendar time.

Several states and cities have adopted Sick & Safe laws, including:

1. Minnesota (Earned Sick and Safe Time): 1 hour per 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours/year

2. Oregon: Similar accrual rules, but allows front-loading in some cases

3. Colorado: Accrual required for all employers, regardless of size

4. New York City: Includes safe time for domestic violence or other covered reasons

These laws often require that all hours worked—including overtime—count toward accrual, and typically exclude PTO hours from earning additional time. Inn-Flow’s new hourly accrual feature helps properties stay compliant with these rules while reducing manual tracking.

How to Set It Up

Step 1: Navigate to Time Off Policies

• Go to Labor → Time Off Policies

• Select an existing policy or create a new one.

Step 2: Choose "Accrual" Method

• In the policy configuration, set “How are hours earned?” to Accrual

• This unlocks the new toggle for hourly-based accrual.

Step 3: Enable "Track Time-Off by Hours Worked"

• Toggle “Track time-off by hours worked” to ON
• Tooltip: “Use this setting when employees earn time off based on hours worked, such as 1 hour per 30 hours worked. Required for Sick & Safe compliance in certain states.”

Step 4: Enter Hourly Accrual Rate

• Enter the rate (e.g., 0.0333 = 1 hour per 30 worked)

• The system will auto-calculate a Yearly Equivalent for reference based on a 2080-hour work year

• Note that this will be dependent on your state and local laws.
  Note: Yearly value is for display only – actual accrual depends on tracked hours worked
  
  

Step 5: Choose Awarding Frequency

• Time can be awarded either:

• At the end of each pay period, or

• On the employee’s anniversary date

• The system will track cumulative hours across periods (e.g., 29 hours in one period + 1 hour in the next triggers an award). 

• Note that this will also be dependent on your state and local laws. 

Step 6: Review Legal Default Toggles

When you enable “Track time-off by hours worked,” the system automatically updates two toggles for compliance:

You can manually override these, but Inn-Flow will log the changes and display warnings.

Warnings You Might See

• If you disable Earn on OT:

  “Disabling overtime-based accrual may result in non-compliance with state labor laws. Proceed with caution.”

• If you enable Earn on PTO:

  “Most Sick & Safe Time laws do not require employees to earn time off while taking time off. Confirm with your local laws.”

Validation & Limits

• Hourly accrual rate is required if this toggle is ON

• The “Max Hours Awarded” field controls the total cap (e.g., 48 hours/year)

• Note that once more, this will be dependent on your state and local laws.

Best Practices

• Work with your legal or HR teams to validate the hourly rate and award frequency

• For multi-location hotels, apply this policy only where required

Need Help?

If you need help setting up a Sick & Safe policy or confirming state-specific rules, please contact Inn-Flow support.