New York City Employers: Proposal to Add Paid Prenatal Leave to New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act
By: Charlotte Moriarty on 2/27/25
We previously reported that New York State added paid prenatal personal leave (“PPPL”) to its sick leave law as of January 1, 2025. Now, New York City (“NYC”) has proposed amending its own sick leave law, the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”), to incorporate the NYS paid prenatal leave law. The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (“DCWP”) would have the authority to enforce the new rule.
The proposed NYC amendments would mostly mirror the NYS paid prenatal leave law, with a few notable differences. Under the proposed NYC rule,
· Employers may require written documentation only if an employee uses paid prenatal leave for more than three consecutive workdays.
· Employers and employees may agree to adjust an employee’s work schedule instead of using paid prenatal leave; however, employers cannot require employees to work extra hours to make up for prenatal leave time and cannot require employees to find someone to cover their shift.
· Employers must distribute to employees a written notice of rights to paid prenatal leave and a written statement of the employer’s prenatal leave policy.
· Employers must include in pay statements (or pay stubs) the number of hours of prenatal leave an employee used during the pay period, if applicable, and the employee’s available balance.
· The DCWP may impose remedies and penalties that include back pay, interest, liquidated damages, injunctive relief, and fines for violations of the employee’s rights under the amended law.
The DWCP invited the public to submit comments on the proposed amendment until February 14, 2025, when it held a public hearing on the proposal. We will continue to track developments.
Meanwhile, all private employers in New York State are already obligated to provide eligible employees with up to twenty (20) hours of paid prenatal leave within a 52-week period, and may not retaliate against employees who take such leave.
If you have questions about the NYS and NYC sick leave laws and the NYS paid prenatal personal leave law, please contact Sheryl Galler at sgaller@booklawllp.com or Chaim Book at cbook@booklawllp.com.
