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SB268 • 2026

SICK LEAVE EXEMPTION: FISH PROCESSORS

An Act relating to minimum paid sick leave requirements for individuals employed in seafood processing.

Labor
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
SENATOR STEVENS
Last action
2026-05-16
Official status
(S) FIN
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official text confirms the bill passed the legislature, but the effective date is listed as 'immediately,' which depends on when that legal action occurred.

Sick Leave Rules for Seafood Processing Workers

This law creates a special paid sick leave rule that applies only to workers who prepare seafood for market.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires employers of seafood processing workers to give them at least 12 hours of paid sick leave on the first day of each calendar month.
  • Limits these workers from using any paid sick leave during their first 30 days of employment.
  • Sets a monthly cap that prevents these workers from using more than 12 hours of paid sick leave in one month.
  • Sets an annual cap that limits the total amount of paid sick leave to 48 hours per year, unless the employer allows more.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Employers who hire people to work in seafood processing
  • Employees hired to perform tasks like heading, gutting, separating, filleting, or canning seafood

Terms To Know

Seafood processing worker
An employee hired to do work that prepares seafood for market, such as cutting fish or putting it in cans.
Accrue
To earn paid sick leave hours over time based on the rules set by this law.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The text does not say if these new rules replace all other state sick leave laws for seafood workers.
  • The bill states it takes effect immediately, but no specific calendar date is listed in the provided text.
  • The law only defines 'seafood processing worker' by listing examples of tasks and does not list every possible job title.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-16 2683

    (S) REFERRED TO FINANCE

  2. 2026-05-16 2683

    (S) FIN REFERRAL ADDED AFTER L&C

  3. 2026-05-16 2683

    (S) FN2: (LWF)

  4. 2026-05-16 2682

    (S) DP: BJORKMAN, DUNBAR, GRAY-JACKSON, YUNDT

  5. 2026-05-16 2682

    (S) L&C RPT CS(CRA) 4DP

  6. 2026-05-15 Text

    (S) Moved CSSB 268(CRA) Out of Committee

  7. 2026-05-15 Text

    (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  8. 2026-05-13 Text

    (S) Heard & Held

  9. 2026-05-13 Text

    (S) LABOR & COMMERCE at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  10. 2026-05-11 2565

    (S) FN1: ZERO(LWF)

  11. 2026-05-11 2565

    (S) DP: DUNBAR, GRAY-JACKSON

  12. 2026-05-11 2565

    (S) NR: MERRICK, OLSON, YUNDT

  13. 2026-05-11 2565

    (S) CRA RPT CS 2NR 2DP TECHNICAL TITLE CHANGE

  14. 2026-05-07 Text

    (S) Moved CSSB 268(CRA) Out of Committee

  15. 2026-05-07 Text

    (S) COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  16. 2026-03-19 Text

    (S) Heard & Held

  17. 2026-03-19 Text

    (S) COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS at 01:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

  18. 2026-02-23 1756

    (S) CRA, L&C

  19. 2026-02-23 1756

    (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Official Summary Text

SICK LEAVE EXEMPTION: FISH PROCESSORS
An Act relating to minimum paid sick leave requirements for individuals employed in seafood processing.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SB0268B -1- CSSB 268(CRA)
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-LS1527\T

CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 268(CRA)

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION

BY THE SENATE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Offered: 5/11/26
Referred: Labor & Commerce

Sponsor(s): SENATOR STEVENS
A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to minimum paid sick leave requirements for individuals employed in 1
seafood processing; and providing for an effective date." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 23.10.066 is amended to read: 4
Sec. 23.10.066. Minimum paid sick leave benefit. Except as provided in (b) 5
of this section, employers [EMPLOYERS] in the state are required to provide their 6
employees paid sick leave as follows: 7
(1) employers with 15 or more employees shall allow employees to 8
accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, but 9
employees are not entitled to accrue or use more than 56 hours of paid sick leave per 10
year, unless their employer sets a higher limit; 11
(2) employers with fewer than 15 employees shall allow employees to 12
accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, but 13
employees are not entitled to accrue or use more than 40 hours of paid sick leave per 14
34-LS1527\T
CSSB 268(CRA) -2- SB0268B
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

year, unless their employer sets a higher limit; 1
(3) employees who are exempt from overtime requirements under 29 2
U.S.C. 213(a)(1) shall be assumed to work 40 hours in each work week for purposes 3
of paid sick leave accrual unless their normal work week is less than 40 hours, in 4
which case paid sick leave accrues based on [UPON] that normal work week; 5
(4) paid sick leave shall carry over to the following year, but an 6
employer is not required to allow an employee to use more than the applicable 7
amounts of paid sick leave described in (1) and (2) of this section per year; 8
(5) paid sick leave as provided in this section shall begin to accrue at 9
the commencement of employment or July 1, 2025, whichever is later; an employee 10
shall be entitled to use paid sick leave as it is accrued; 11
(6) any employer with a paid leave or paid time off policy, who makes 12
available an amount of paid leave sufficient to meet the requirements of this section 13
that may be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as paid sick 14
leave under this section, is not required to provide additional paid sick leave; 15
(7) an employee who is transferred to a separate entity or location, but 16
remains employed by the same employer, is entitled to all paid sick leave accrued at 17
the prior entity or location; when there is a separation from employment, but the 18
employee is rehired within six months of separation by the same employer, previously 19
accrued and unused paid sick leave shall be immediately reinstated; when a different 20
employer succeeds or takes the place of an existing employer, all employees of the 21
original employer who remain employed by the successor employer are entitled to all 22
accrued and unused paid sick leave. 23
* Sec. 2. AS 23.10.066 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 24
(b) Employers of seafood processing workers shall allow seafood processing 25
workers to accrue a minimum of 12 hours of paid sick leave on the first day of each 26
calendar month, but seafood processing workers are not entitled to 27
(1) use paid sick leave for the first 30 days of employment; 28
(2) use more than 12 hours of paid sick leave each month; or 29
(3) use or accrue more than 48 hours of paid sick leave each year, 30
unless the seafood processing worker's employer sets a higher limit. 31
34-LS1527\T
SB0268B -3- CSSB 268(CRA)
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

(c) In this section, "seafood processing worker" means an employee who is 1
hired to perform work involving heading, gutting, separating, filleting, canning, or 2
other activities intended to prepare seafood for market. 3
* Sec. 3. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 4