Alaska’s new sick leave law and minimum wage increase took effect on July 1.

Approved by voters in November, it requires that someone working at a business with 15 or more employees will earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 56 hours per year, unless the employer voluntarily increases that limit.

Someone working at a business with fewer than 15 employees earns sick leave at the same rate, but the maximum per year is 40 hours.

Minors under 18 years of age who work less than 30 hours per week are exempt from the sick leave benefit, according to the Alaska Department of Labor’s fact sheet on the new law.

The department explained that if employers already provide paid time off work for their employees, and if those paid hours can be used for sick leave and meet the minimum requirements under the new law, they would not be required to provide additional leave hours for their employees.

Under the new law approved in a citizen’s initiative by a wide margin, 183,744 to 133,162, sick leave can be used for an employee’s illness or to take care of a family member who needs care. It can also be used in cases of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

The law also forbids bosses from forcing their employees to attend meetings about religious or political issues, including whether or not to join a labor union, political group or church. There are exemptions for religious organizations.

The law also raised the state’s minimum wage to $13 per hour. The minimum wage rises to $14 per hour next year and $15 in 2027. It will rise with the rate of inflation each year after that.

While the sick leave requirements apply as of July 1, it will be a few weeks before the state formalizes some of the details of how employers must implement the law. The Department of Labor has proposed new regulations. Those won’t take effect until August at the earliest, but they would add some new rules to the law.

In the meantime, the department has published an informal Q&A about how the law works, which is available on the state website at https://labor.alaska.gov

Under those regulations, all of the state’s employers “shall notify each employee in writing” about its sick leave policy.

Those policies may include the amount of advance notice required when using sick leave for a prescheduled medical appointment or “other foreseeable absence.” An employer cannot require more than 10 days’ notice in that case.

If someone is unexpectedly sick, the proposed regulations would require the sick employee to “notify the employer before the start of the employee’s shift or as soon as is possible.”

If someone uses sick leave for more than three consecutive days, their boss may require them to show proof of their need for sick leave, if that requirement is included in the written policy.

Someone who needs to take sick leave because of domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment or stalking, cannot be required to verify that explanation.

Under the law, someone can carry over unused sick leave from one year to the next, but they can’t exceed the maximum, unless their employer voluntarily allows them to do so.

Employers are forbidden from retaliating against employees who use their sick leave.

The Alaska Beacon is an independent, donor-funded news organization. Alaskabeacon.com. The Wrangell Sentinel added reporting for this story.