sick leave
noun
1
: an absence from work permitted because of illness
2
: the number of days per year for which an employer agrees to pay employees who are sick
Example Sentences
employee benefits such as vacation time and sick leave We are allotted three weeks annual sick leave. He's been on sick leave since last Thursday.
Recent Examples on the Web Workers who can't access paid sick leave and need to take time off to recover from illness are more likely to suffer economic hardship and job losses, thereby increasing the risk of drug use and suicide, the researchers added. 
Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 30 Aug. 2022 Recently, Chipotle agreed to pay $20 million in compensation to 13,000 workers in New York City for violating rights around scheduling and paid sick leave. Michelle Cheng, Quartz, 26 Aug. 2022 Currently, more than 25 percent of workers in the private sector do not have paid sick leave, The Guardian reports, and when looking at the bottom 25 percent of earners, more than half are without it. Catherine Garcia, The Week, 25 Aug. 2022 Similarly, 96% offer paid sick leave, up from 95% over the same period. Angela Yang, WSJ, 22 Aug. 2022 Once the virus receded in March, order growth slowed, but all of Amazon’s warehouse workers, including the ones who had been out on sick leave, were back, creating a drain on productivity and high costs. Dana Mattioli, WSJ, 16 June 2022 Lauro immediately called his older brother Francisco, who was out of the Zeta office on sick leave. San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 May 2022 The new commissioner has been more friendly to the unions, rolling back restrictions his predecessor had placed on sick leave and firing an internal investigator, Sarena Townsend, who was at odds with union leadership. New York Times, 19 Apr. 2022 One source noted that Amazon also appears to be making some changes, like reducing the amount of paperwork employees need to submit to go on sick leave. NBC News, 13 Jan. 2022 See More
Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 30 Aug. 2022 Recently, Chipotle agreed to pay $20 million in compensation to 13,000 workers in New York City for violating rights around scheduling and paid sick leave. Michelle Cheng, Quartz, 26 Aug. 2022 Currently, more than 25 percent of workers in the private sector do not have paid sick leave, The Guardian reports, and when looking at the bottom 25 percent of earners, more than half are without it. Catherine Garcia, The Week, 25 Aug. 2022 Similarly, 96% offer paid sick leave, up from 95% over the same period. Angela Yang, WSJ, 22 Aug. 2022 Once the virus receded in March, order growth slowed, but all of Amazon’s warehouse workers, including the ones who had been out on sick leave, were back, creating a drain on productivity and high costs. Dana Mattioli, WSJ, 16 June 2022 Lauro immediately called his older brother Francisco, who was out of the Zeta office on sick leave. San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 May 2022 The new commissioner has been more friendly to the unions, rolling back restrictions his predecessor had placed on sick leave and firing an internal investigator, Sarena Townsend, who was at odds with union leadership. New York Times, 19 Apr. 2022 One source noted that Amazon also appears to be making some changes, like reducing the amount of paperwork employees need to submit to go on sick leave. NBC News, 13 Jan. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1820, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Medical Definition
sick leave
noun
1
: an absence from work permitted because of illness
2
: the number of days per year for which an employer agrees to pay employees who are sick