Press Release
Statement: State Leaders Deserve Praise for Enacting COVID-19 Paid Leave; Now Swift Action Needed on Permanent Sick Leave
The Community Service Society applauds the swift action taken yesterday by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State legislature to provide employees with immediate, emergency paid sick leave during the current coronavirus crisis. The legislation passed and signed into law by the governor will give private and public sector employees, subject to mandatory or precautionary quarantine or isolation due to Covid-19, job protection and pay during this 14-day period. Large employers with 100 or more employees and public employers would be responsible for providing the full paid leave. Employees working for medium or smaller employers would receive pay through a combination of employer-paid sick leave and expanded disability insurance and paid family leave benefits as described here.
While we commend the leadership of our state for addressing the immediate health and economic crisis facing working New Yorkers, we are deeply disappointed that the legislature failed to act yesterday to also pass the permanent statewide paid sick leave measure originally proposed by the governor in his State of the State address in January and executive budget. This would give employees statewide the right to paid sick leave for their own health needs and caring for their family, as New York City and Westchester have already done through local laws. Clearly, the coronavirus pandemic underscores the urgency of ensuring that all workers have the ability to stay home, get needed treatment, and care for family members when ill. With the measles outbreak just behind us, the flu season annually, and new health threats emerging, the need to act is right now to protect the future health and economic security of New Yorkers. We urge the legislature to pass a permanent paid sick leave law as part of the budget, or sooner.
As a member of the New York Statewide Paid Leave Coalition, we join with more than 50 organizations in issuing the following statement.
Learn more: the governor's office has released a fact sheet with resources relating to the COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave legislation. There is also a live hotline at 1-888-364-3065.