Legislative lowdown: NYC’s expanded time off law takes effect as Mamdani steps up enforcement

As enhanced time off protections for New York City workers took effect, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a new enforcement initiative to ensure businesses are granting workers benefits enshrined in the law.

New paid leave protections. Most employees in the city are already entitled to take up to 40 or 56 hours of paid time off a year for a variety of reasons, including caring for themselves or a family member who is sick, or taking safety measures in the case of incidents such as domestic or workplace violence.

On Feb. 22 amendments took effect expanding the reasons New York City workers can request paid time off under this law, including caring for a family or household member with a disability, as well as staying home when the government declares public emergencies like snowstorms (prescient, given the historic snowfall New York City recently experienced).

The recently enacted amendments also require employers to grant workers 32 additional hours of unpaid protected time off immediately when they’re hired, and then on an annual basis. Employers are required to offer the protected paid leave on an accrual basis, with workers earning one hour of time off for every 30 hours worked.

In addition to paid sick and safe leave, New Yorkers also have access to 20 hours of paid prenatal leave annually.

Putting businesses on notice. Despite the robust paid leave protections currently in place in New York City, 50% of employees with access to these benefits still miss at least one workday each year because they are ill, injured, or disabled, according to a new report from the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP).

To ensure businesses are complying with the law, the mayor’s office sent letters to more than 56,000 employees reminding them of their obligations. “New Yorkers shouldn’t have to choose between doing their job and caring for their family, protecting their safety, or keeping their housing secure,” Mamdani said in a statement, adding, “When life happens, your job shouldn’t be the thing that falls apart.”

If employer records show that workers are taking leave at “unusually low” rates, i.e. below what’s standard for their industry, “DCWP will treat that as strong evidence of potential violations and, effective immediately, pursue enforcement on behalf of all affected employees,” the mayor’s office said.

Among the violations that could get employers in trouble with the city are maintaining “nonexistent or insufficient written policies,” or neglecting to offer a protected time off benefit at all.