New York’s sick leave laws ensure that all workers in the state, regardless of their immigration status, can earn time off to manage illnesses, help family members, or take other actions to protect the safety and well-being of themselves or their loved ones.
These laws protect all employees, whether full-time, part-time, temporary, or domestic workers. If you have any questions about employment law or your rights as a worker, call Joseph & Norinsberg today at 212-227-5700.
What Are the Sick Leave Policies for Companies in New York?
New York employers are required to provide their workers with a minimum of up to 40 hours of safe and sick leave, regardless of their size or income.
Under New York state law, employers with five or more employees or a net income of more than $1 million must provide employees with paid sick leave. Those with fewer than five employees and a net income of $1 million or less must provide unpaid sick leave to employees.
The amount of leave required depends on the size of the company. Employers with 5 to 99 employees must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per calendar year. All employers with 100 or more workers must provide up to 56 hours of paid leave. A company’s size is generally measured by the number of its employees across the state, not per individual location.
How Do Employees Earn Sick Leave Hours?
Employees accrue their sick leave time at a pace of at least one hour for every 30 work hours, although employers are allowed to provide more generous rates. Workers can begin using sick leave hours as soon as they’ve earned them, but some companies may require employees to take time off in chunks of at least four hours a day.
Employers must allow workers to carry over unused sick leave time into the next calendar year. However, they can decide not to allow employees to use more leave in a year than the 40 or 56-hour minimum they can earn based on the company’s size.
Under NYC law, there are exceptions to this rule for companies that “front-load” the minimum required annual amount of sick leave by granting it to their employees at the beginning of the year. Companies that switch from an accrual system to front-loading must pay workers for any unused leave from the previous year, and employers aren’t required to allow carryover for frontloaded sick leave when they will also front-load next year’s leave.
Do Employees Need to Provide a Doctor’s Note to Take Sick Leave?
N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 12 §193-1.3 provides that employees do not need to provide any documentation to their employer to take sick leave for up to three consecutive scheduled shifts or workdays. Employers can’t require workers to disclose confidential medical information or sensitive reasons for taking safe leave.
For leave longer than three days, companies can request a statement from the employee or a doctor’s note detailing the amount of time off needed. However, employers cannot force their workers to pay any fees related to verifying eligibility for leave, so companies must cover the cost of any documentation they demand from employees.
When Can Employers Refuse Sick Leave?
An employer may require an employee to provide reasonable notice of the need to use sick leave. However, the employer must set forth the notice requirement and the method of providing notice in a written policy. NYC law allows employers to reject a worker’s request to use sick leave if they fail to provide adequate notice per the company’s written safe and sick leave policies. However, companies can’t refuse to grant leave in unforeseen circumstances or other situations where giving earlier notice would be impossible or unreasonable.
What Should I Do if My Employer Refuses My Sick Leave Request?
New York law forbids employers from retaliating against their workers for using their earned sick leave. If you believe your employer is violating the law, you can contact the New York Department of Labor’s Anti-Retaliation Unit.
You can also file a complaint with the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, or DCWP, which is required to investigate all claims. City law prohibits companies from retaliating against employees for filing complaints with the DCWP.
If an employer refuses to correct illegal sick leave practices, the DCWP can issue monetary penalties for each violation and grant additional leave hours to affected employees.
Contact Joseph & Norinsberg For Your Employment Law Cases
Do you believe your employer is violating your legal rights as a worker? Contact Joseph & Norinsberg today for a free consultation. You can reach us online or call 212-227-5700 for more information.
