This page summarizes the rules as of November 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. Your employer's policies, union contract or other laws may give you more, so check with HR and, for disputes, an employment lawyer or the agencies named below.
Short absences: Michigan earned sick time
Michigan's Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) was amended effective February 21, 2025, expanding paid sick leave, according to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO). Under the statute as it now reads:
- It applies to employers with 1 or more employees, not including the federal government, and some workers are excluded, such as those who set their own hours under certain policies (MCL 408.962).
- Employees accrue at least 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Employers can cap use at 72 hours a year, or 40 hours for a small business of 10 or fewer workers, unless they choose a higher limit. Some employers front-load the hours instead (MCL 408.963).
- An employer may make employees hired after the 2025 amendment wait 120 calendar days before using accrued time.
- Sick time can be used for your own mental or physical illness, health condition, diagnosis, care or treatment, including therapy appointments, and for a family member's, a term the law defines broadly to include parents, spouses, siblings and others (MCL 408.964, 408.962).
- It can be taken in 1-hour increments, or the smallest increment your employer uses for other absences.
Notice and paperwork rules are worth knowing. If the need is foreseeable, such as a scheduled appointment, an employer can require up to 7 days' notice. If it is not, notice can be required as soon as practicable or under a written policy you were given. An employer can ask for documentation only when sick time lasts more than 3 consecutive days, and it cannot require that the documentation explain the nature of your illness. A note from a licensed health care professional saying the time off is necessary counts as reasonable documentation, and the employer pays any out-of-pocket cost of getting it. Your health information must be kept confidential.
ESTA treats a threat, discharge, suspension, demotion or cut in hours for exercising your rights as retaliatory personnel action (MCL 408.962). Under MCL 408.967, you may file a claim with LEO up to 3 years after a violation. One LEO complaint page still says 6 months, so it is safest to file early and ask LEO's Wage and Hour Division if you are unsure.
Longer or recurring absences: the FMLA
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act provides job-protected leave for your own or a family member's mental health condition. According to the U.S. Department of Labor's fact sheet on mental health conditions, as of November 2026:
- Covered employers include private employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or previous calendar year, and public agencies and schools regardless of size.
- You are eligible if you have worked for the employer at least 12 months, have at least 1,250 hours of service in the 12 months before leave, and work at a location with at least 50 employees within 75 miles.
- Covered employers must provide eligible employees 12 workweeks of FMLA leave each year.
- FMLA leave may be unpaid, or may be used at the same time as paid leave your employer provides.
- Group health benefits continue under the same conditions, and you must be restored to the same or a virtually identical position afterward.
DOL's fact sheet on mental health conditions says a serious health condition can include a mental health condition that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment. That includes conditions that incapacitate you for more than three consecutive days with ongoing treatment, and chronic conditions such as anxiety or depression that cause occasional periods of incapacity and need treatment at least twice a year. DOL's example is a worker with severe anxiety who uses FMLA leave both on days she unexpectedly cannot work and for regular appointments during her shift, so leave does not have to be one long block.
Your employer may require certification from a health care provider to support the need for leave. DOL notes that the information must be sufficient to support the need, but a diagnosis is not required. DOL lists appointments with a psychiatrist, clinical psychologist or clinical social worker among the kinds of ongoing treatment that count. FMLA also covers leave to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition, which can include providing psychological comfort and reassurance.
When neither applies: leave as an accommodation
If you do not qualify for FMLA or have used it up, disability law may still help, because time off for treatment can be a form of reasonable accommodation. Your Rights at Work With Anxiety or Depression in Michigan explains when unpaid leave can be an accommodation, how to ask, and Michigan's written-notice deadline.
Pay during leave
Beyond earned sick time and other paid leave, income during a longer absence usually depends on your benefits. Ask HR whether your employer offers short-term disability coverage and how it coordinates with FMLA and sick time. Ask early, since these plans often have their own forms and waiting periods.
A practical checklist
- Read your employee handbook's leave and sick-time policies, and check your accrued hours.
- Ask HR, in writing, which kinds of leave you may qualify for and what forms they need.
- Talk with your treating clinician early about whether they complete FMLA certifications or work notes; not every clinician does.
- Keep copies of every email, form and approval.
- Before you go, agree on who your contact is at work and how often you will check in.
- Plan for the return, too. Going Back to Work After a Mental Health Leave covers that step.
Time away can be a chance to rest and to start or adjust treatment. Dr. Lehmann offers depression therapy for adults in person in Franklin or by telehealth for clients physically in Michigan. Ask directly whether paperwork such as FMLA forms is something she completes.