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Wyoming Sick Leave: A State With No Wage Floor of Its Own
Paid sick leave does not appear anywhere in Wyoming's employment statutes. Wyoming is also one of a small number of states with no functioning state minimum wage: the state rate of $5.15 an hour is superseded by the federal $7.25, so employers pay the federal floor by default. With no sick leave statute and no state wage rate of its own, a Wyoming handbook is written on a mostly blank state page.
Wyoming at a glance
| Paid sick leave mandate | None statewide for private employers |
|---|---|
| Governing rule | Your written policy, enforced as written |
| State paid family and medical leave | None. Federal FMLA only, unpaid, at 50+ employees |
| Minimum wage | Federal $7.25 (state rate $5.15 superseded by FLSA) |
| Overtime | Federal FLSA rules (weekly over 40) |
| Coverage below the 20-employee COBRA line | Wyoming Continuation of Group Coverage, up to 12 months [Wyo. Stat. Ann. section 26-19-113 (Continuation of group coverage after termination of employment or membership)] |
Federal FMLA, unpaid and gated by three numbers
There is no Wyoming equivalent of a paid family and medical leave program, so federal FMLA sets the only job-protected leave floor, and it is unpaid leave, not a wage benefit. The eligibility math has three parts: the employer needs 50 or more employees within 75 miles, the employee needs 12 months of service, and the employee needs 1,250 hours actually worked in that period. Wyoming runs some of the smallest average employer headcounts in the country, so a large share of the workforce here never reaches the 50-employee line at all. See the U.S. Department of Labor's FMLA overview.
A 12-month continuation right for smaller groups
Fully-insured hospital, surgical and major medical plans at Wyoming's smaller employers, generally those under the federal 20-employee COBRA line, fall under Wyo. Stat. Ann. section 26-19-113 instead. The math: three months of coverage before termination earns twelve months of continuation afterward for an employee, member or covered dependent, provided they have not become eligible for Medicare or picked up coverage under another group plan in the meantime. See Wyo. Stat. Ann. 26-19-113.
Cross into Colorado and the state mandates both
Wyoming borders Colorado, which runs a statewide paid sick leave mandate and a state paid family and medical leave program funded through payroll contributions, on top of a minimum wage of $15.16 an hour, with Denver setting an even higher local rate. A Wyoming company that hires a remote worker living in Colorado takes on Colorado's accrual and contribution rules for that one employee, even though every Wyoming-based employee on the same team stays under the company's own discretionary policy at the federal wage floor.
Where a Wyoming employer gets this wrong is assuming the $5.15 state wage figure means anything at all. It does not: the federal $7.25 controls everywhere in Wyoming, by supersession rather than by genuine state choice, the same relationship Wyo. Stat. Ann. 26-19-113's continuation right has with federal COBRA, standing in only where COBRA itself does not reach.
In summary: Wyoming runs a superseded $5.15 state wage figure, 12 months of continuation under Wyo. Stat. Ann. 26-19-113, and FMLA's 50-employee, 12-month, 1,250-hour gate as the only federal floor in place.
FMLA, remote-hire exposure and voluntary policy drafting: paid leave fundamentals.
For Wyoming specifically: nothing above is statutory in Wyoming, so your written policy is the enforceable rule, the wage floor those hours are paid at is Federal $7.25 (state rate $5.15 superseded by FLSA), and below the federal 20-employee COBRA threshold Wyoming still requires continuation coverage for up to 12 months. HR outsourcing in Wyoming keeps that in the handbook and in payroll.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Wyoming require paid sick leave?
No. Wyoming has no statewide requirement for private employers, so whatever your handbook says is the enforceable rule, including on carryover and payout. Hours you do pay are paid at Federal $7.25 (state rate $5.15 superseded by FLSA).
What pay rate applies to leave hours in Wyoming?
Minimum wage in Wyoming is Federal $7.25 (state rate $5.15 superseded by FLSA). Overtime: Federal FLSA rules (weekly over 40). Paid leave hours generally do not count toward the overtime threshold because they are not hours worked.
Does health coverage continue after separation in Wyoming?
Federal COBRA applies at 20 or more employees. Below that, Wyoming has its own continuation law, the Wyoming Continuation of Group Coverage, running up to 12 months (Wyo. Stat. Ann. section 26-19-113 (Continuation of group coverage after termination of employment or membership)).
Does Wyoming run a paid family and medical leave programme?
No. Federal FMLA is the only family and medical leave floor in Wyoming: 12 workweeks, unpaid, at employers with 50 or more employees.
Can a Wyoming employee stack the 12-month continuation right with a new job’s group plan?
No. Eligibility under Wyo. Stat. Ann. 26-19-113 ends the moment the person becomes covered under another group arrangement or Medicare, whichever happens first.
Does Wyoming’s continuation law cover dependents, not just the employee?
Yes. Wyo. Stat. Ann. 26-19-113 extends to covered eligible dependents as well as the employee or member, provided they meet the same 3-month prior coverage requirement.
What size employer does Wyoming’s continuation law actually target?
Non-COBRA groups, generally those under the federal 20-employee threshold, since Wyo. Stat. Ann. 26-19-113 exists specifically to cover what federal COBRA does not reach.
Does Wyoming operate a state-based ACA marketplace?
No. Wyoming residents enroll through the federal HealthCare.gov platform; the state has never stood up its own exchange.
Does simple loss of eligibility, without an actual termination, open Wyoming’s continuation window?
Yes. Wyo. Stat. Ann. 26-19-113 covers coverage ending from loss of eligibility as its own trigger, separate from termination of employment or membership outright.
Is this a PEO?
No. No co-employment and no employer-of-record change: your company stays the employer. HR outsourcing, powered by isolved.
Anthony leads HR outsourcing strategy at Business Executive Group, a national HR outsourcing firm serving employers across every state. BEG HR outsourcing is powered by isolved, with certified HR professionals building and maintaining state-correct leave policy as laws change.
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