New York City Council Enacts Paid Sick Time Law; Employees Now Entitled To Paid Sick Time From Certain Employers

On June 26, 2013, New York City joined the growing list of jurisdictions requiring employers to give workers paid sick time.1 The Earned Sick Time Act—enacted after the City Council's decision to overrule Mayor Bloomberg's veto earlier this month—allows employees to earn a minimum amount of paid sick time from businesses that employ at least 20 employees.

After the first 18 months, the act will expand its coverage to employers with 15 or more employees and to all who employ domestic workers. Public-sector employers are not covered by this law. The effective date of this new law is unique, as it is tied to economic indicators requiring New York City's economy to be doing the same or better than in 2012 for it to go into effect. If, as of December 16, 2013, the local economy has not worsened, the act will go into effect on April 1, 2014. If the economic triggers are not met, the act is not repealed, just delayed.

This act not only requires that paid leave be provided by "larger" employers (thresholds of 15 to 20 employees), but also that unpaid leave be provided to workers employed by employers under the statutory thresholds.

Under the new law, covered employers must provide all full- and part-time workers who work over a mere 80 hours annually with up to five days of paid sick time per year, calculated at the rate of one hour per 30 hours worked, with a cap of 40 hours per calendar year. Businesses that employ less than the 15-to-20 minimum number of employees must still provide their workers with up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave once the law takes effect.

Employers who already have a paid or unpaid time off policy (i.e., vacation, personal days, sick days, etc.) that is as or more generous than the benefits provided for in the act and who allow such leave to be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions (i.e., earned at an 30:1 accrual rate or faster) are not required to provide additional sick time pursuant to this new law.

The new law, unfortunately, has more wrinkles than a linen shirt caught in a summer rainstorm; indeed, it is approximately 20 pages in length. Here are some of the special provisions of the new law.

Employees who do not use all accrued sick time during a calendar year are entitled to carry over all of their earned sick leave. The law, however, permits employers to limit the amount of sick leave used by an employee in any one year to no more than 40 hours of sick leave (whether paid or unpaid). Employers...