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New York State’s Sick Leave Law

On Behalf of | Dec 25, 2022 | Employment Law, Firm News

While New York City has had in place a sick leave law for years now, New York State is now following suit by enacting its own laws as it pertains to sick time from employment.  See New York Labor Law §196-b.  These are permanent sick time measures that will require New York State employers to provide various amounts of sick time to employees starting on January 1, 2021.

Amount of Sick Time

Below is a summary of the amount of sick time that New York State employers must provide during any consecutive twelve (12) month period (e.g., fiscal or calendar year):

  • Employers with 4 or fewer employees AND a net income of less than $1,000,000 in the previous tax year must provide up to 40 hours (5 days) of unpaid sick leave each year;

 

  • Employers with 4 or fewer employees AND a net income of more than $1,000,000 in the previous tax year must provide up to 40 hours (5 days) of paid sick leave each year;

 

  • Employers with 5 to 99 employees must provide up to 40 hours (5 days) of paid sick leave each year;

 

  • Employers with 100 or more employees must provide up to 56 hours (5 days) of paid sick leave each year;

Commencing on September 30, 2020, employees will start accruing 1 hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to the maximum days set forth in the above summary.  This is a baseline for employers to follow, but they may enact policies that provide for more leave time or a faster accrual rate than the law requires. Employers may set reasonable minimum increment amounts for the use of sick leave, but such increments shall not exceed 4 hours.

Under the new law, employers must allow employees to carry over accrued but unused sick time into the next year.  However, the maximum hours of sick leave time do not need to change for the following year (so that it is still capped at 40 or 56 for the employee).

Importantly, unless otherwise stated in a policy, employers are not required to pay out unused sick time upon separation from the company.

Permitted Sick Leave Uses

The law allows for employees to use their accrued sick time for themselves or a “family member” (defined as a child, spouse, domestic partner, parent sibling, grandchild, grandparent, or child/parent of a spouse/domestic partner) for the following purposes:

  • for a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition of the employee or the
    employee’s family member, regardless of whether the illness, injury or health condition has been diagnosed or requires medical care at the time the employee requests leave;

 

  • for the diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition of, or the need for medical diagnosis of, or preventive care for, the employee or the employee’s family member; or

 

  • for an absence from work due to any of the following reasons when the employee or employee’s family member has been the victim of domestic violence, a family offense, sexual offense, stalking or human trafficking: (a) to obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, rape crisis center, or other services program; (b) to participate in safety planning, temporarily or permanently relocate, or take other actions to increase the safety of the employee or employee’s family members; (c) to meet with an attorney or other social services provider to obtain information and advice on, and prepare for or participate in any criminal or civil proceeding; (d) to file a complaint or domestic incident report with law enforcement; (e) to meet with a district attorney’s office; (f) to enroll children in a new school; or (g) to take any other actions necessary to ensure the health or safety of the employee or the employee’s family member or to protect those who associate or work with the employee.

 

Notably, the law specifies that an “employer may not require the disclosure of confidential information relating to a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition of such employee or such employee’s family member, or information relating to absence from work due to domestic violence, a sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking, as a condition of providing sick leave pursuant to this section.

Documentation Requirements

“Upon the oral or written request of an employee, an employer shall provide a summary of the amounts of sick leave accrued and used by such employee in the current calendar year and/or any previous calendar year.  The employer shall provide such information to the employee within three business days of such request.”  Accordingly, employers are required to track accrual and use of the sick time of its employees, which records must be maintained with other required payroll records for six years.

Violations of the Law

The law includes anti-retaliation and job security provisions.  Therefore, employers are prohibited from disciplining an employee in any way based upon the exercise of sick time leave rights or failing to restore the employee to their previous position (with the same pay and other conditions of employment) after taking leave.

Employer’s Existing Policies

Employers in New York State who meet or exceed the leave requirements, accrual rates and carryover rules that allow employees to take sick time for the reasons set forth above will not have to modify their policies.  Notably, however, there are some differences between the State and City laws, which should be reviewed to ensure compliance with both laws.