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One of the top areas our clients reach out to us for assistance with relates to time-off. If you’re a private employer in New York state, you may want to get acquainted with the many types of leave – paid and unpaid; mandatory and optional – available to help you engage and motivate employees and, in several cases, to comply with state and Federal laws. We’ve compiled highlights below to help get you started.
It's important to know that certain rules may apply to how your company accrues, tracks, communicates, and administers different time off laws and policies. To avoid issues, it’s critical to ensure consistent execution.
If you need help creating or implementing time off policies or practices, have questions, or need other HR support, we would love to have the opportunity to show you how we can be Remarkably Better Together. Email jgiannetta@visionshr.com or call 845-567-3978. Visions Human Resource Services is an affiliate of RBT CPAs, a leading accounting, advisory, audit and tax firm in the Hudson Valley and beyond. (Click here to learn more.)
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Time Off Highlights for New York Employers
Adoption Leave As part of Family Leave (see below), employers must allow adoptive parents to take paid time off to bond with a newly adopted child within 12 months of adoption. Leave is at 67% of pay, up to a cap of the New York State Average Weekly Wage (amounting to a $1,151.16 weekly benefit in 2024). The number of days of paid leave is based on the average number of days an employee works each week. So, an employee working three days a week gets 36 days of paid leave (3x12).
Bereavement/Funeral Leave This is not mandatory and no pay is required, although many employers opt to provide paid time off when an employee loses an immediate family member.
Blood Donation Leave Employers with 20 or more employees must allow employees who work an average of 20 or more hours a week to take up to three hours of leave within a 12-month period to donate blood at a time and place set by the employer (for example, a blood drive on the premises). Leave does not have to be paid when an employee goes off-premises to make a donation. An employer may request proof of donation and require prior notice.
Bone Marrow Leave Employers must allow at least 24 hours of leave for an employee who works an average of 20 hours a week to donate bone marrow. The employer may require physician verification and decides whether the leave is paid or unpaid.
COVID Paid Sick Leave Employers are required to provide paid sick time off for employees who are subject to a mandatory quarantine or isolation order due to COVID. This requirement will sunset July 31, 2025.
Family Leave New York’s Paid Family Leave entitles eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks off at 67% of their wage up to a cap of the New York State Average Weekly Wage (amounting to a $1,151.16 weekly benefit in 2024) to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or assist when a family member is deployed abroad on active military service. Leave can be taken in full or in full days, and works within a 52-week rolling calendar.
Holidays Federal and New York state laws do not require private employers to close on holidays; offer paid or unpaid time off to employees for holidays; or pay premium wages to employees working on holidays. Private employers may choose to adopt practices or policies providing employees with time off on defined holidays or agreeing to pay premium wage to employees working on certain holidays. Once a practice or policy is established, compliance may become mandatory.
Jury Duty Employers are required to provide time off for jury duty. Employers with at least 10 employees must pay the first $40 of an employee’s wages for the first three days of service (special provisions apply to exempt employees). The law protects employees from being penalized for serving.
Military Leave Employment rights of individuals serving in the U.S. military are protected with Federal and New York employment laws. Employees must be re-employed after completing their service, which includes 10 days from completing school, reserve drills; 60 days after completing full-time or active-duty training; 90 days after discharge or annual training. Employees must be reinstated to the same position with no impact on seniority, status and pay.
Military Spouse Leave Employers with 20 or more employees must allow spouses of members of the National Guard, Reserves or Armed Forces to take up to ten days of unpaid leave when their spouse is on leave from deployment during a period of military combat to a combat theater or zone of operations. Employees must work an average of at least 20 hours a week and be married to the service member to be eligible.
Nursing Leave Starting June 19, 2024, employers must provide a separate 30 minute paid break each workday for a nursing employee to express breast milk and allow existing paid break or mealtimes to be used for any time over the 30 minutes.
Prenatal Leave Starting January 1, 2025, employers must provide employees with 20 hours of paid prenatal leave during any 52-week period, in addition to any required paid sick leave. Prenatal leave can be taken in hourly increments and used for healthcare services related to a pregnancy, including physicals, medical procedures, monitoring, testing and discussions with healthcare providers. Unused amounts are not paid out upon separation from employment.
Sick and Safe Leave Private sector employers are required to provide Sick and Safe Leave to all employees.
Safe leave covers time off related to when the employee or a family member the employee cares for has been the victim of family violence, sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking and requires time to obtain related services, relocate, meet with an attorney or other service provide for advice, file a complaint with law enforcement, enroll children in a new school, or take other actions to protect the health and safety of the employee or family member.
Sick leave covers time off for an employee’s mental and physical illness, injury or health conditions, as well as the diagnosis, care or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition, as well as diagnostic and preventive care. An employee may also request sick leave when a family member they provide care for is sick.
The amount of sick and safe leave a covered business must provide is based on its size and net income. Businesses with:
- Four or fewer employees and a net income of less than $1 million must provide up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave.
- Net income over $1 million and/or between five and 99 employees must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave.
- 100 employees or more must provide up to 56 hours of paid sick leave.
Pay must be based on the higher of an employee’s regular rate of pay or the minimum wage.
Vacation New York employers are not mandated to provide paid or unpaid vacation time. If an employer opts to offer vacation time, it must comply with New York labor law section 198-c, and the employer must define and communicate how time accrues, how to request time, any carryover provision, and forfeitures.
Voting Leave Employees have a right to take time off work to vote. However, employers do not have to allow employees to take time off if the employees have four consecutive hours off at the beginning or end of shift and when polls are open. Otherwise, employers must provide as much time as needed to vote, when combined with off-duty time; up to two hours of this time must be paid. Employees must request time off for voting between two and ten working days before an election.
Note: Vision HR Services is not a law firm. Our team consists of HR professionals with extensive experience helping clients navigate and adopt the many practices, policies and programs that keep the people side of business running smoothly.
Authored by: Janet Giannetta, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Partner
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