Seyfarth Synopsis:
As
expected, on Friday, March 12, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed
New York State s COVID-19 Vaccine Paid Leave Bill into law. The
law took immediate effect and will expire on December 31,
2022.
On March 12, Governor Cuomo
signed legislation granting public and private employees
up to 4 hours of paid leave per COVID-19 vaccine injection. As
reported in our prior
alert, it is not clear whether the bill, which took effect
immediately, will be retroactively effective for those employees
who received a COVID-19 vaccine before March 12, 2021. It is also
not clear whether, if COVID-19 vaccine paid leave does have
retroactive effect, how employers should handle other paid time off
Seyfarth Synopsis:
As expected, on Friday, March 12, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed New York State’s COVID-19 Vaccine Paid Leave Bill into law. The law took immediate effect and will expire on December 31, 2022.
On March 12, Governor Cuomo
signed legislation granting public and private employees up to 4 hours of paid leave per COVID-19 vaccine injection. As reported in our prior
alert, it is not clear whether the bill, which took effect immediately, will be retroactively effective for those employees who received a COVID-19 vaccine before March 12, 2021. It is also not clear whether, if COVID-19 vaccine paid leave does have retroactive effect, how employers should handle other paid time off that may have been used by an employee for their vaccine-related time off.
Seyfarth Synopsis: Earlier this month, the New York State Legislature passed a
that would require employers to provide every employee a paid leave of absence for each COVID-19 vaccine injection they receive. The paid leave of absence would need to cover a sufficient period of time, not to exceed four hours per COVID-19 vaccine injection. Outside of a few potential caveats (see below), the entire leave period provided for in the bill would be in addition to any other leave the employee is entitled to, including, but not limited to, paid sick leave under the
. If signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo, which is expected, the bill would become effective immediately and expire on December 31, 2022.
Part VII of our “Paid Leave and Coronavirus” series, the New York COVID-19 Paid Leave Law provides for job-protected employer funded paid and unpaid sick leave,[1] as well as an expansion of the state’s paid family leave (“PFL”) and statutory disability benefits, to certain employees who are “subject to mandatory or precautionary orders of quarantine or isolation” related to COVID-19. Unlike most other state and local COVID-19 emergency or supplemental paid sick leave mandates in the United States,[2] the Law does not have a specified sunset date or criteria. The specific amount and type of COVID-19 leave available to employees under the Law is as follows:
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Seyfarth Synopsis: This Legal Update is a reminder to employers that important aspects of the New York State Paid Sick Leave Law and amended New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act began on January 1, 2021. Under the state law, January 1 marked the date that covered employers must permit eligible employees to begin using sick leave benefits they have accrued since the law’s September 30, 2020 effective date. Although the statewide mandate is now fully in effect, employers should continue to look out for further developments at the state level, including final regulations. Under the city mandate, January 1 marked the beginning of the law’s increased annual usage cap for certain sized employers. New York City employers should also take note of their city-specific compliance obligations and related recent deadlines, as well as potential forthcoming developments.