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Previous Updates
Captive Audience Meetings
Effective July 1, 2025, Alaska state law prohibits employers from taking or threatening to take any adverse employment action against an employee for refusing to attend or take part in an employer-sponsored meeting or receive any communication intended to convey the employer's opinions about political matters.
The law defines political matters to include anything related to the decision to join or support a labor organization.
Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave
Alaska’s minimum wage will increase to $13.00 an hour on July 1, 2025. Under Alaska Statute 23.10.055 the salary of exempt employees must be at least twice the minimum wage based off a 40-hour week. Changes to the minimum wage also affect the minimum salary level to qualify as a salary-exempt employee, which is currently $952.80/week ($49,546/year). This will increase to $1,040.00/week on July 1, 2025.
Effective July 1, 2025, small employers, fewer than 15 employees, are required to allow employees to accrue and use up to 40 hours of sick leave per year. Employers with 15 or more employees are required to allow employees to accrue and use up to 56 hours of sick leave per year. An employee can carry a sick leave balance forward into a new year and must begin to accrue sick leave again. While usage and accrual of sick leave are capped at either 40 or 56 hours per year, an employee's sick leave balance can exceed this. An employer is not required to provide additional paid sick leave if their current paid time off (PTO) program meets the minimum requirements for paid sick leave and the employee is allowed to use that time for absences due to sickness or injury.
Under Alaska's paid sick leave law, employers must give written notice of paid sick leave to employees by June 1, 2025, or when employment begins, whichever is later. Notice that beginning July 1, 2025, employees are entitled to paid sick leave and the amount of paid sick leave, the terms of its use guaranteed under AS 23.10.066 and .067, and that retaliation against employees who request or use paid sick leave is prohibited.
For Alaska FAQs on the above minimum wage and paid sick leave updates, click here.
For the full ballot measure, click here.
