Alaska Human Rights Law

Alaska does not have a state-level family or medical leave law that supplements the federal FMLA. For most employees in Alaska, the right to unpaid, job-protected leave for serious health conditions or caregiving relies entirely on the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). To qualify, you generally must work for an employer with 50+ employees and have worked there for at least 12 months.

However, Alaska workers benefit from unusually broad anti-discrimination protections under the Alaska Human Rights Law, codified in Alaska Statutes Title 18, Chapter 80. Unlike many states that only cover employers with 15 or more employees, Alaska’s law applies to all employers with one or more employees. This means virtually every worker in the state is protected from discrimination based on disability, including mental health conditions. The Alaska State Commission for Human Rights (ASCHR) enforces these protections and investigates complaints of workplace discrimination.

A significant development for Alaska workers is Ballot Measure 1 (2024), which creates a paid sick leave mandate beginning July 2025. Under this new law, employers with 15 or more employees must provide up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year, while employers with fewer than 15 employees must provide up to 40 hours per year. Employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. This leave can be used for the employee’s own illness, to care for a family member, or for reasons related to domestic violence or sexual assault.

Even without a comprehensive state leave law, Alaska workers have meaningful protections through the combination of federal FMLA, the ADA, Alaska’s broad anti-discrimination law covering all employers, and the new paid sick leave mandate. Understanding which protections apply depends on your employer’s size, your length of employment, and the nature of your condition.

Leave: Alaska does not have a state family or medical leave law. Federal FMLA is the primary source of job-protected leave. A new paid sick leave law (Ballot Measure 1, 2024) takes effect July 2025.

Anti-Discrimination: The Alaska Human Rights Law covers all employers with 1 or more employees, far broader than the federal ADA threshold of 15 employees.