Under New York State’s new sick leave law, employers must allow employers to begin accruing sick leave effective September 30, 2020. Employees, however, must wait until January 1, 2021, before they can use the time off.
(New York City and Westchester County have their own Sick Leave laws).
Employer Guidelines
Employers with existing Paid Sick Leave or PTO policies will not be required to provide any additional sick leave if their policies are as generous as the law regarding amount of leave, accrual, carryover and use requirements.
Employees accrue sick leave at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked in a calendar year effective September 30 or their hire date, whichever is later.
Employees may begin to use sick leave on or after January 1, 2021.
Employers may choose to front load sick leave by providing the total amount of sick leave at the beginning of the calendar year.
Accrued/unused sick time must carry over to the next calendar year.
Other Things to Know
Employers with 4 or fewer employees
Unpaid or paid sick leave is accrued based on the company’s net income in the previous tax year: $1 million or less – up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave; greater than $1 million – up to 40 hours of paid sick leave
Employers with 5 or more employees
Paid sick leave is accrued based on the number of employees within the company: 5-99 employees – up to 40 hours of paid sick leave; 100 or more employees – up to 56 hours of paid sick leave.
Interested in keeping up with changes in the law without the added stress? Schedule a free consultation with Aspire HR today.