New York, NY: Legislative Update
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Quick Look
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Discussion
Earned Safe and Sick Time Act Amendments
The New York City Council approved amendments to the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA). The most notable changes are summarized below.
Unpaid Leave Bank. Employers shall provide to employees upon hire and on the first day of each calendar year, a minimum of 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick time that is immediately available for use. An employer is not required to carry over to the following calendar year any unused unpaid safe/sick time.
Prenatal Leave. Employers shall provide employees 20 hours of paid prenatal leave during any 52-week calendar period.
New Covered Uses. In addition to the existing reasons for safe/sick time, employees can now take leave:
- For a public disaster that prevents the employee from reporting to their work location;
- At the direction of a public official to remain indoors or to avoid travel;
- For caregiving for a minor child or care recipient;
- To initiate, attend or prepare for a legal proceeding or hearing related to subsistence benefits or housing to which the employee, the employee’s family member, or the employee’s care recipient is a party, or to take actions necessary to apply for, maintain, or restore subsistence benefits or shelter for the employee or their family member or care recipient; and
- Due to being a victim of having a family member who is a victim of workplace violence.
Temporary Schedule Change. Employees can still request a temporary schedule change, but employers is not required to agree to the requested change. Employers cannot retaliate against an employee for requesting a schedule change.
Although the amendment has been passed, the Mayor has not yet signed it. The amendments will become law 120 days after the Mayor signs.
Minimum Pay for Drivers Amended
Effective September 22, 2025, the minimum per-mile rate for high-volume for-hire vehicle trips that begin in New York City and end outside of New York City has been increased by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. Drivers must be paid $1.700 per mile for a trip dispatched to a vehicle that is not an accessible vehicle and no less than $2.122 per mile for a trip dispatched to an accessible vehicle.
Action Items
- Review and revise Earned Sick and Safe Time Policies, pending the Mayor’s signing of the bill.
- Revise applicable pay rates for high-volume for-hire drivers, as applicable.
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