New York Employers Must Provide Paid Leave for Pre-Natal Care
In April 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul signed an amendment to New York Labor Law § 196-b, requiring New York employers to provide paid prenatal leave to pregnant employees.
Starting January 1, 2025, pregnant employees will be entitled to twenty (20) hours of paid leave during a 52-week period for prenatal care, including healthcare services, medical appointments, testing, or other procedures relating to pregnancy.
Employers must note that the NYLL § 196-b prenatal paid leave is separate from other forms of leave available, such as New York paid sick leave, family leave, or FMLA leave. Employers may not require employees to disclose confidential information regarding their prenatal leave and may not discriminate or retaliate against employees for taking this leave.
To prepare for the new requirements, employers should review and revise their policies including any handbook policies, and procedures regarding pregnancy, sick leave, and prenatal leave, and train their supervisors and managers on the new law.
We previously posted on this issue here, and if you have questions or concerns about the New York paid prenatal leave law, please contact Chaim Book at CBook@booklawllp.com, Sheryl Galler at SGaller@booklawllp.com, or Nadav Zamir at NZamir@booklawllp.com.
