On April 1, 2014, the New York City Earned Sick Time Act
went into effect. The law requires private
employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave to its employees who work more
than 80 hours per calendar year in New York City.
Under the law, employers with five or more employees are
required to provide at least 40 hours of paid sick leave per year to their
employees. Employers with less than five
employees must provide at least 40 hours of unpaid sick leave per year.
Employees earn one hour of sick time for every 30 hours
worked, up to 40 hours per year.
Employees begin accruing sick time on April 1, 2014 or their first day
of employment, whichever is later.
Employers are not required to provide sick leave until July 30, 2014 or
until the employee has worked for 120 days, whichever is later.
Employees are permitted to use sick leave for their own or
a family member’s illness, medical treatment, or preventive medical care. Employers are required to give written notice
to their existing employees by May 1, 2014 and to their new employees upon
commencement of employment. A copy of
the notice can be found here.
Please feel free to contact Connell Foley’s employment law attorneys for guidance on implementing New York City’s sick leave law or any
other leave issue you may be facing.
