On February 20th, Mayor Mamdani of New York City, together with the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner, announced a new enforcement action, issuing a warning to over 50,000 employers across the city to remind them to ensure that their employees receive paid leave.
According to Local Law 145, starting from February 22nd of this year (Sunday), employers must immediately provide an additional 32 hours of unpaid protected leave time to employees upon hire, and provide an additional 32 hours on the first day of each calendar year. This update ensures that employees have immediate access to protected leave time and safeguards them from disciplinary actions for using up their paid protected leave time.
These leaves can be used for purposes such as caring for children, caring for disabled family members, attending welfare or housing hearings, staying home during extreme weather, and addressing needs related to workplace violence.
Under New York City’s Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law, which has been in effect since 2014, most employees are entitled to up to 40 or 56 hours of paid protected leave each year. In addition to protected leave, employers are also required to provide 20 hours of paid family leave.
In addition to the reasons added by Local Law 145, employees can also use protected leave time for purposes such as receiving medical care or recovering from illness or injury, caring for sick family members or those with medical appointments, and addressing needs related to domestic violence and certain other crimes.
On the 20th, the DCWP initiated an enforcement action, sending letters to over 56,000 employers in the five boroughs, including all restaurants in the city, previous enforcement targets of the DCWP, and DCWP license holders. The letters outlined legal requirements, employee notification obligations, compliance tools, and the consequences of non-compliance.
Employers who violate this law will face penalties and civil fines, with fines ranging from $250 to $2500 per affected employee, in addition to back pay.
According to a report released by the DCWP, if an employer’s records show an unusually low rate of sick leave usage, the DCWP will consider this as strong evidence of potential violations and will take enforcement action on behalf of all affected employees immediately.
Employers who fail to provide the required paid leave must compensate each affected employee with a minimum of $500 per year, plus an equal amount in civil fines. For example, an employer with 100 employees who repeatedly violate the law within three years may need to pay $300,000 in compensation, with half going to employees as compensation and the other half as civil fines. Subsequent violations could result in fines of up to $1000 per employee per year.
Employers and workers can find regulatory information on the DCWP official website at this link: https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/index.page