This article is a revised version of our March 18, 2021 publication.
Really … another new paid leave requirement from New York? Yes indeed. On Friday, March 12, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed a new law amending New York’s Labor Law and granting employees up to four hours of paid leave per COVID-19 vaccine injection. The law became effective immediately, and the new leave entitlement is currently set to expire on Dec. 31, 2022. The idea is to encourage New Yorkers to get vaccinated.
Under this new law, employees are now entitled to paid leave to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine for “a sufficient period of time, not to exceed four hours per vaccine injection.” For employees receiving vaccines that require two doses, this means that employers must grant up to eight hours of total leave for vaccination (up to four hours on two different occasions). For the newer vaccine that is administered in a single dose, an employee would only be entitled to one four-hour leave. The law does not place a cap on the number of times an employee may take paid leave for a COVID-19 vaccine injection before the law expires, so presumably, if booster shots will be required/recommended before the law expires, employees would be entitled to receive additional paid time off for that.