Press Release
Statement on New York State’s New Paid Sick Leave Law
During an unprecedented public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, New Yorkers should not have to choose between their paycheck and caring for themselves or a loved one. Now, thanks to Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature, they won’t have to—starting January 1, 2021, New Yorkers can begin using sick leave benefits under New York State’s new paid sick leave law, which was enacted as part of the Executive FY 2021 Budget.
The new law is now the strongest paid sick leave measure nationwide, further cementing New York State as a leader in expanding workers’ rights. Statewide paid sick leave will strengthen the economic security of all workers—especially our state’s most vulnerable low-wage service and immigrant workers at the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic—as well as protect the future health of all New Yorkers.
We thank the governor for prioritizing statewide paid sick leave as part of his Executive FY 2021 Budget and for working with the Community Service Society and other leaders in the New York Statewide Paid Leave Coalition to make the new law strong and inclusive. The New York Statewide Paid Leave Coalition, of which CSS is a member, represents more than 60 statewide and regional organizations who have been working for over a decade to win paid family and medical leave benefits for all New York workers and their families. CSS was an early proponent of paid sick leave and a leading advocate for the passage of New York City’s landmark 2013 law, and its expansion in 2014, which guaranteed workers the right to sick time as a basic labor standard.
The new state paid sick leave law would build on the success of paid sick days in New York City, and in Westchester, where a similar law went into effect in 2019. It would benefit an estimated 1.3 million workers across the state who currently lack a single paid sick day. The new law provides permanent paid sick leave that is separate from the statewide provisions already in place for COVID-19-related emergency paid leave. Under the new law, most workers statewide will be able to earn and use at least five job-protected paid sick days per year to care for themselves or their family members. The leave can also be used to deal with certain non-medical needs related to domestic violence, stalking or human trafficking. The amount of paid sick leave required under the city’s existing law was modified to be consistent with the state law. Now, under both the city and state paid sick leave laws, employers with 100 or more employees must provide up to 56 hours of paid sick and safe leave per calendar year, employers with 5-99 employees must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick and safe leave per calendar year, and employers with four employees or less must provide paid sick and safe leave if the employer’s net income is greater than $1 million or unpaid sick and safe leave if net income is $1 million or less in the last tax year.
Now that workers can begin using their paid sick time, we urge Governor Cuomo and the New York State Department of Labor to prioritize targeted outreach and enforcement of the new law. Lack of awareness of paid leave laws can prevent low-income and other vulnerable workers from reaping the full benefits of these laws. As documented in our 2018 Expanding Workers’ Rights report and a recent blog post, CSS’s research shows that many low-income workers are still unaware of their right to paid leave. According to our 2020 Unheard Third survey, less than half of low-income workers were familiar with the city’s existing paid sick days law (39 percent), and even smaller shares knew about the state COVID-19 emergency leave (37 percent) or federal emergency paid leave (33 percent).