Tag: sick leave

NYC Pet Leave

Paid Pet Leave for NYC Employees?

On October 23, 2024, a new pet leave bill was introduced before the New York City Council. The bill proposes to amend NYC’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) to allow employees to use paid sick time for the care of pets. Below is a summary of the proposal and insights on what employers should consider as this legislation progresses.

Key Provisions of the Pet Leave Bill

The proposed law, introduced by Council Members Shaun Abreu and Tiffany Cabán, expands the existing NYC sick leave to include absences related to the care of “covered animals.” Here are the essential elements:

  1. “Covered Animals” includes any animal primarily kept for companionship in compliance with local laws and service animals. This ensures a broad application, covering both household pets and certified service animals.
  2. Types of Permitted Leave: Under the new law, employees could use sick leave for:
    • Medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of an animal’s physical illness, injury, or health condition.
    • Preventive medical care for the pet.
  3. Existing Sick Leave Entitlement Remains Unchanged: The law does not increase the amount of sick leave available to employees. Instead, it adds pet care to the list of permitted uses for existing sick leave hours.
  4. Effective Date: Should the bill pass, it will take effect 120 days post-enactment, giving employers some time to adjust policies accordingly.

Implications for Employers

Policy Adjustments: Employers may need to revise their sick leave policies to explicitly include pet care as a covered absence.

Employee Documentation and Requests: As with other types of sick leave, it may be necessary to establish guidelines for requesting pet leave to prevent misuse. Unfortunately, employers don’t currently have much latitude in questioning sick leave requests.

Potential Operational Impacts: New York City has a high rate of pet ownership. Thus, the potential increase in short-term absences is worth consideration, especially for roles that require continuous coverage.

Supporting Employee Well-being: This initiative reflects a growing focus on mental health and well-being in the workplace. For employees, being able to care for their pets without the fear of losing pay or facing disciplinary action could enhance morale and reduce anxiety, particularly for those who rely on their pets for companionship. Employers should look for ways to benefit from the law. Some employers already allow pet care leave voluntarily.

Potential Pet Leave Implications Beyond New York City

The proposed pet leave bill specifically amends New York City’s ESSTA. IT would not directly apply to employees outside the City. However, New York State also has a statewide paid sick leave law modeled after NYC’s ESSTA. So, this proposal could prompt consideration of similar measures at the state level. If the pet leave bill gains support and proves effective in NYC, it may set a precedent that encourages the New York State Legislature to consider a statewide extension.

Employers across the state (and country?) should monitor this proposal as its implementation in NYC might foreshadow future legislative developments. In particular, those with locations in both New York City and elsewhere should evaluate how this potential change aligns with their broader leave policies.

Next Steps for Employers

The pet leave bill is still under consideration. However, employers should proactively evaluate their current leave policies and consider how they might integrate this potential change. By staying informed and prepared, businesses can ensure they remain compliant while demonstrating that they support their employees’ diverse needs.

As this bill advances through the New York City Council, stay updated and consult legal professionals if you need further guidance. This proposed change could set a precedent for future legislation that might even expand to other aspects of employee pet ownership.

Stay tuned for updates on the passage of this law and potential best practices for implementation!

 

For more employment law updates, sign up for the Horton Management Law email newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn.

Employee Pregnancy

New York Expands Employee Pregnancy-Related Rights

New York continues to set trends in expanding employee rights. The state’s 2024-25 budget legislation includes two amendments that grant paid time off for certain employee pregnancy-related conditions. Employees may now take paid breaks to express breastmilk and paid leave for prenatal care. The details of these new entitlements are described below.

Employer Coverage

These new requirements are not limited to employers with a minimum number of employees. The paid break time for nursing mothers applies to all New York employers. However, along with the rest of the New York Paid Sick Leave Law, the paid prenatal personal leave provisions only apply to private (i.e., non-governmental) employers.

Paid Break Time for Breast Milk Expression

Section 206-c of the New York Labor Law previously required employers to provide reasonable unpaid break time for employees to express breast milk at work. The new amendment mandates that employers must provide 30 minutes of paid break time “each time such employee has reasonable need to express breast milk.” Employees may use any existing paid break or meal time for expressing breast milk if they need more than 30 minutes.

This expansion of employee rights is highly unusual in requiring paid break time. Existing break time requirements for meal periods only require unpaid time.

How Much Time?

The law does not further address how often an eligible employee may take the 30-minute paid break. There is no elaboration on when an employee should be considered to have “reasonable need to express breast milk.” The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office on Women’s Health indicates that “Women typically pump every 2 to 3 hours or around two to three times per 8-hour work period. Women who work 12-hour shifts may need to pump three to four times to maintain their milk production.” Accordingly, New York law arguably could give some employees two hours (or more) of paid break time each shift.

It is plausible that the Legislature only intended to require 30 minutes of paid break time per day. But that is not clear from the statutory language.

The only additional clarification is that eligibility extends for up to 3 years following childbirth. Presumably, this period would start over whenever the employee gives birth to a new child.

No Discrimination

Another open question is whether an employer may require a nursing mother to extend her work day to account for the break time. There is a risk that such a requirement would be considered discriminatory under existing anti-discrimination laws. Indeed, Labor Law Section 206-c itself provides, “No employer shall discriminate in any way against an employee who chooses to express breast milk in the work place.”

Effective Date

This amendment will take effect on June 19, 2024.

Paid Prenatal Personal Leave

The second major update comes to the New York Paid Sick Leave Law. In addition to existing sick leave obligations, the amendment introduces a separate requirement for “paid prenatal personal leave.” With this amendment, every non-governmental employer in New York will be required to provide an eligible employee with 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave in any 52-week period.

Covered Leave

This leave is specifically designed for “health care services received by an employee during their pregnancy or related to their pregnancy, including physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring, testing, and consultations with health care providers concerning the pregnancy.”

Based on the above-quoted language, it appears that only the pregnant employee is entitled to this form of leave. Non-pregnant parents-to-be are not covered.

Administrative Parameters

Employers must allow employees to take paid prenatal personal leave in hourly increments.

The law does not indicate that unused paid prenatal personal leave must carry over from year to year. It does clarify that employers are not obligated to pay out unused paid prenatal personal leave upon separation from employment.

Unlike traditional sick leave, which accrues based on hours worked by default, paid prenatal personal leave is available in full (up to 20 hours) when first needed.

Effective Date

This amendment will take effect on January 1, 2025.

Implications and Benefits for Employee Pregnancy

There are undoubtedly positive motivations behind these new laws designed to help accommodate work-related challenges pregnant employees and new mothers face. However, additional obligations to pay employees for time spent not working create new burdens for employers:

  • An employee using prenatal personal leave in hourly increments could take time off on up to 20 different days leading up to their pregnancy.
  • Nursing mothers may be entitled to 1-2 hours (and possibly more) of paid break time every day for up to three years following each birth.

It’s crucial to understand these changes thoroughly and prepare for their implementation. Employers will need to update policies, train human resources teams and supervisors, and take additional measures to ensure compliance.

 

Make sure you’re using NYS Department of Labor updated nursing mothers policy.

 

For more employment law updates, sign up for the Horton Management Law email newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn.

2023 New York Paid Family Leave Update

2023 New York Paid Family Leave Update (Webinar Recap)

On January 26, 2023, I presented a complimentary webinar entitled “2023 New York Paid Family Leave Update”. For those who couldn’t attend the live webinar, I’m happy to make it available for you to watch at your convenience.

In the webinar, I discuss:

  • Employer & Employee Coverage
  • Contributions & Benefit Rates
  • Qualifying Circumstances
  • Program Updates & Amendments
  • Interaction with Other Leaves

and much more!

The New York Paid Family Leave Program took effect January 1, 2018. Five years later, PFL continues to evolve each year, For example, employee contributions and benefit rates change annually. There have also been statutory amendments to the law since it launched. This webinar recaps the fundamental aspects of PFL, identifies the key updates, and discusses compliance issues and strategies.

Don’t have time to watch the whole webinar right now? Click here to download the slides from the webinar.

Why You Should Watch “2023 New York Paid Family Leave Update”

Virtually all private employers with at least one employee in New York State must be familiar with New York’s Paid Family Leave Program. Especially post-pandemic, this includes out-of-state employers with employees working remotely in the State of New York.

From describing the necessary insurance coverage and related administrative issues to contemplating the interaction between PFL, the FMLA, and other forms of employee leave, this webinar provides a broad overview of the New York Paid Family Leave program in 2023.

Whether you don’t know whether your company has all its bases covered or are looking for nuanced guidance on applying PFL in your workplace, this webinar will help further orient you. Materials include statistical charts on how the costs and benefits of PFL have changed over the past five years and other information that will help you answer questions from other members of management and employees alike.

Don’t Miss Our Future Webinars!

Click here to sign up for the Horton Law email newsletter to be among the first to know when registration is open for upcoming programs! And follow us on LinkedIn for even more frequent updates on important employment law issues.