Beginning on January 1, 2025, New York State’s amended Paid Sick Leave Law will require employers to provide New York employees with up to 20 hours of paid leave every year for “prenatal personal leave,” which is defined as “leave taken for the health care services received by an employee during their pregnancy or related to such pregnancy.”
The New York State Department of Labor recently issued informal guidance for employers concerning paid prenatal personal leave. We summarize below some of the key issues the guidance addressed.
Who Is Covered Under Paid Prenatal Personal Leave?
The new paid prenatal personal leave obligation will apply to all private-sector employees in New York State, even those who are part-time or temporary.
However, the guidance provides that the leave will be available only to an employee who is directly receiving pregnancy-related care. Paid prenatal personal leave cannot be used, for example, by a spouse who wishes to attend an appointment with their pregnant partner.
Reasons for Taking Paid Prenatal Personal Leave
Employees may use paid prenatal personal leave for the purpose of receiving healthcare services during their pregnancy or related to their pregnancy. This includes physical exams, medical procedures, monitoring, testing, and discussions with healthcare providers related to their pregnancy.
Paid prenatal personal leave may also be used for pre-pregnancy care such as fertility treatments and in vitro fertilization as well as end-of-pregnancy care appointments. However, according to the guidance, paid prenatal personal leave does not extend to post-natal or postpartum care appointments.
Eligibility and Frequency
Unlike New York paid sick leave, which generally accrues at a rate based on hours worked, all employees will be eligible immediately upon hire to use 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave.
An employee may use paid prenatal personal leave on more than one pregnancy per year, but only 20 hours are available in a 52-week period. The 52-week period begins the first time an employee uses paid prenatal personal leave. For example, the triggering date is the date the leave is first recorded on an employee’s timesheet.
Is Documentation Required?
Employers cannot require employees to provide documentation before taking paid prenatal personal leave. Both the statute and the guidance state that an employer may not require the disclosure of confidential health information as a condition of providing paid prenatal personal leave.
The guidance states that employees should request time off for paid prenatal personal leave by using “existing notification/request procedures” like any other time-off policies.
Existing Sick Leave or Vacation Policies Don’t Count
Employers must provide paid prenatal personal leave as a separate bank of time in addition to existing sick leave or vacation policies.
The guidance refers to paid prenatal personal leave as a “separate employee benefit from [New York State] Sick Leave” and a “stand-alone benefit” available to employees. The statutory language also appears to require employers to provide a separate bank of paid prenatal personal leave, regardless of their other time-off policies.
How Should Employers Prepare?
New York State employers should create a paid prenatal personal leave policy for New York employees and update time-off procedures to ensure that paid prenatal personal leave is available to eligible employees upon request in 2025 and future years.
If you have any questions about New York State paid prenatal personal leave or would like help drafting a paid prenatal personal leave policy, please contact Charles H. Kaplan (646-218-7513), or any other member of Hodgson Russ LLP’s labor and employment practice.