NYC workers now get 32 extra hours off each year, and bosses must allow it

NYC expands its sick leave law

New York City workers just got more protected time off.

The city’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, known as ESSTA, expanded on Feb. 22, 2026, and now requires every employer in the city to provide 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick leave per year.

That’s a separate bank on top of whatever paid leave employers already owe. The unpaid time starts the day someone gets hired and resets every Jan. 1.

It covers all workers, full-time and part-time.

Paid leave rules were already in place

The new unpaid leave stacks on top of rules that have been around for years.

Employers with 100 or more workers already owe up to 56 hours of paid safe and sick leave each year. Those with five to 99 workers owe up to 40 paid hours.

Very small businesses with four or fewer workers and under $1 million in net income owe up to 40 hours of unpaid leave. ESSTA first took effect in 2014, making the city one of the earliest to require paid sick leave.

City Council passed the bill last fall

The New York City Council passed the bill, known as Int. 0780-2024, on Sept. 25, 2025.

Then-Mayor Eric Adams let it become law without signing it on Oct. 25, 2025. It became Local Law 145 and took effect 120 days later, on Feb. 22, 2026.

The law also folds protections from the city’s Temporary Schedule Change Act into ESSTA, putting more worker protections under one roof.

Workers can take leave for new reasons

The law adds several new reasons workers can use both paid and unpaid leave.

Parents can now take time off to care for a minor child during school holidays or unexpected child care closures.

Workers can also use leave to care for a family member with a disability, or to get legal help and safety services if they face workplace violence.

Leave now covers public disasters too, like severe storms, fires, or declared emergencies that keep people from getting to work.

Housing and benefits needs now qualify

Workers can also use leave to attend or prepare for legal proceedings tied to housing. That includes situations where a family member or someone they care for needs help.

Leave now covers steps to apply for, keep, or restore government benefits like food assistance or shelter.

Before this change, the Temporary Schedule Change Act only gave workers two days a year for some of these situations. The new law gives them much more flexibility.

Paid leave gets used before unpaid

When a worker needs time off for a covered reason, the employer must use paid leave first. Unpaid leave only kicks in after paid time runs out, or if the worker specifically asks to use unpaid hours.

Unused unpaid leave does not carry over to the next year. Employers can set a minimum of up to four hours per day for unpaid leave usage.

They also must track and report paid and unpaid leave balances separately on every pay stub.

Prenatal leave joins the city law

The new law also writes the state’s paid prenatal leave requirement directly into city law.

Employers must provide 20 hours of paid prenatal leave per 52-week period, and that time is separate from all other leave banks.

New York State already required this benefit starting Jan. 1, 2025, but it now sits formally inside ESSTA. Prenatal leave covers pregnancy-related health care, including fertility treatments and end-of-pregnancy care.

Mayor Mamdani launches enforcement push

Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrated the expansion and announced an enforcement campaign on Feb. 20, 2026.

The city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) sent compliance warning letters to more than 56,000 employers across all five boroughs.

The list included all city restaurants, businesses that previously faced enforcement action, and DCWP-licensed businesses.

DCWP Commissioner Sam Levine, who formerly led the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, is heading the effort.

City uses data to spot violations

DCWP released a report outlining a new way to catch employers who break the rules.

The agency compares employer sick leave usage rates against national data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If an employer’s records show unusually low usage, DCWP treats that as strong evidence of possible violations.

The agency said it will go after violations on behalf of all affected workers at that employer, not just the person who filed a complaint.

Fines can reach hundreds of thousands

Employers that break the law face civil penalties ranging from $250 to $2,500 per worker, plus back pay.

According to the Mayor’s office, an employer with 100 workers could owe up to about $300,000 for violations over three years.

Since 2024, workers also have the right to sue their employer directly in court for ESSTA violations without filing a DCWP complaint first.

Courts can award triple damages for unpaid leave, plus set amounts for unlawful denial and retaliation.

Employers face a tight compliance deadline

Employers must give all current workers an updated Notice of Employee Rights within 30 days of the effective date, which puts the deadline around March 24, 2026.

The notice must go up in a visible spot in the workplace, in English and any other language workers speak.

Employers also need to update their written leave policies and adjust payroll systems to track paid and unpaid leave separately. DCWP held a public hearing on March 2, 2026, and final rules are still pending.

Workers now have up to 88 hours of protected time

At the largest employers, workers now have access to up to 88 hours of combined paid and unpaid protected time off per year, plus 20 hours of prenatal leave.

The law protects workers from retaliation for using leave, and they do not have to explain the specific reason for their absence.

Workers who believe their employer broke the rules can file a complaint with DCWP or go directly to court.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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