As set forth in our August alert, New York City's Earned Sick Time Act (the "Act") tentatively was scheduled to take effect in April 2014. On December 13, 2013, New York City's Independent Budget Office announced that economic indicators were valued above the threshold level that could have delayed the Act's effective date.
Accordingly, effective April 1, 2014, employers in New York City will need to comply with the Act and track the accrual of employee sick time. The Act generally requires that employers with 20 or more employees, and eventually 15 or more employees, provide a minimum of one hour of paid sick time for every thirty hours worked by an employee who works more than eighty hours in a calendar year, up to a maximum of forty hours of paid sick time in a calendar year. Furthermore, even if an employer does not meet the threshold requirements for providing paid sick time, it may be required to provide unpaid sick time pursuant to the Act's accrual schedule. Lastly, employers in New York City that already maintain paid leave policies will not be required to provide additional paid sick time if the paid leave policies currently in effect permit leave to be used "for the same purposes and under the same conditions" as provided in the Act.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
