Posted March 20th, 2020 in Top Stories, Legal Insights with Tags Employers, COVID-19, New York Employers, COVID-19 for Employers
New York Employers: New COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Law Explained
On March 18, 2020, the New York State Assembly passed and Governor Cuomo signed into law a response to the novel coronavirus that provides certain employees sick leave and job protection in the event they are subject to quarantine or isolation due to an order by a public health official. The new law also expands protections to certain employees under the New York Paid Family Leave and the New York disability benefits law to provide some measure of salary continuation during a quarantine or isolation order period.
Lawmakers also agreed to a package that will extend paid sick leave beyond the pandemic crisis. The immediate impact will require employers to provide sick leave and paid family and medical leave for reasons related to COVID-19, as outlined below.
Sick Leave Provisions
Under the new law, the following applies to individuals subject to a quarantine or isolation order issued by the state of New York, the Department of Health, local board of health, or any government entity authorized to issue an order due to COVID-19:
- Employers with 10 or fewer employees as of January 1, 2020, and a net income of less than $1 million in the previous tax year are required to provide unpaid, job-protected sick leave to each employee subject to an order through the termination of the order. Employees are also eligible for family leave benefits and disability benefits during the quarantine or isolation period, which is discussed below.
- Employers with 10 or fewer employees as of January 1, 2020, and a net income greater than $1 million in the previous tax year are required to provide at least 5 days of job-protected paid sick leave and then unpaid leave until termination of the order. After 5 days of paid sick leave, the employee is eligible for family leave benefits and disability benefits during the remainder of the quarantine or isolation period.
- Employers with 11-99 employees as of January 1, 2020, are required to provide at least 5 days of job-protected paid sick leave and then unpaid leave until termination of the order.After 5 days of paid sick leave, the employee is eligible for family leave benefits and disability benefits during the remainder of the quarantine or isolation period.
- Employers with 100 or more employees as of January 1, 2020, are required to provide at least 14 days of job-protected paid sick leave during the period of the quarantine or isolation order.
- Public employers are required to provide at least 14 days of job-protected paid sick leave during the period of the quarantine or isolation order.
Additional provisions include:
- An employer must return an employee to the position held prior to leave (including the same pay and terms and condition of employment) and are prohibited from terminating and/or retaliating against any employee taking leave.
- An employer is required to provide sick leave in addition to any sick leave an employee has accrued.
Employees not eligible for sick leave under the law include:
- Employees who are subject to an order because the employee returned to the United States from a country for which the CDC issued a level 2 or 3 health notice and the employee’s travel was not taken as part of his/her employment, and the employee had notice of the travel health notice. Such employees can use accrued leave or to the extent the employee does not have accrued leave or sufficient accrued leave, he/she is eligible for unpaid sick leave for the duration of the order.
- Employees who are asymptomatic or not yet diagnosed with any medical condition and are able to work while under an order, whether through remote access or other means.
Family Leave and Disability Benefits During Quarantine or Isolation
Under the new law, New York Paid Family Leave benefits will be available to:
- employees who are employed in a business with fewer than 10 employees (regardless of net income) and
- employers with 11-99 employees who take an otherwise unpaid leave due to an order of quarantine or isolation for their own leave or to care for a minor dependent child of the employee who is subject of an order (following the use of paid sick leave benefits).
Paid leave benefits are available in the amount already provided under the New York Paid Family Leave statute.
Under the new law, disability benefits also will be concurrently available to:
- employees who are employed in a business with fewer than 10 employees (regardless of net income) and
- employers with 11-99 employees as of the first unpaid day of a period of leave where, due to an order of quarantine or isolation, the employee is unable to perform the regular duties of his/her employment or the duties of any other employment which an employer may offer.
