Atlanta has no local paid sick leave or paid family leave ordinance, and Georgia preempts local employment mandates beyond state law (O.C.G.A. § 34-1-9). Georgia has no state paid sick leave program. The only floor is federal FMLA (unpaid, 12 weeks). Atlanta provides paid leave to its own City employees through City personnel rules.
Georgia's preemption framework includes O.C.G.A. § 34-1-9, which bars local governments from regulating employee benefits, leave, or wages beyond federal and state law. Georgia has not enacted any statewide paid sick leave or paid family leave program. Atlanta City Council has provided paid leave to its own municipal workforce (City of Atlanta Personnel Code, including the 2017 expansion of paid parental leave for City employees), but cannot impose paid-leave mandates on private employers. The federal FMLA (29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.) provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying medical or family reasons at employers with 50+ employees within 75 miles. Georgia's separate kin-care provision (O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10) requires that if an employer offers paid sick leave, employees may use up to 5 days of accrued sick leave for immediate family care — but it does not require employers to offer paid sick leave in the first place.
FMLA violations are pursued by U.S. DOL Wage & Hour under 29 U.S.C. § 2617 with remedies including back wages, restoration, and liquidated damages. Georgia kin-care violations (O.C.G.A. § 34-1-10) are limited to civil action by the affected employee. Employer-provided PTO is enforceable as a wage under O.C.G.A. § 34-7-2.
See how Atlanta's paid leave preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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