19 June 2024 New York law requires that employees receive paid prenatal leave and repeals COVID-19 paid sick leave law Contained in New York's final budget for fiscal year 2025 (AO8805, Part M) is a new requirement that New York employers provide their employees with up to 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave during any 52-week calendar period. The prenatal paid leave benefit is in addition to paid sick leave already required under New York state law. The law is effective January 1, 2025. Additionally, the final budget establishes an end date of July 31, 2025, for the COVID-19 paid sick leave law that has been in effect since March 2020. Prenatal paid leave may be granted for employees' healthcare services received during, or in connection with, their pregnancy and includes time off for physical exams, medical procedures, monitoring and testing and discussions with a healthcare provider. Paid prenatal leave may be taken in hourly increments and must be compensated at the employee's regular rate of pay or the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher. Employers are not required to pay unused paid prenatal leave to employees upon termination, resignation, retirement or other separation from employment. New York is the first state to require that employers provide a separate bank of paid leave for purposes of prenatal care that is above and beyond existing paid leave benefits.
Document ID: 2024-1224 | ||||
