Stay Tuned: Potential Expansion of NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time
Key Takeaways:
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If passed, New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time will be greatly expanded.
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Safe and Sick Time is separate from other types of requisite paid leave, including prenatal leave and preventative screening leave.
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If passed, employers will also be required to provide additional unpaid leave to all employees, including new employees upon hire, with no probation period.
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If passed, the administrative burden of complying with the Temporary Schedule Change Act would be removed.
New York City employers may soon face sweeping changes to their paid leave obligations. On September 25, 2025, the City Council passed a major expansion to the city’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA). The legislation now sits with Mayor Eric Adams, and unless vetoed by October 25, it will automatically become law – taking effect 120 days after it was passed – around January 23, 2026. This alert summarizes key changes and what employers need to know.
Current Law Overview
Under the current ESSTA, NYC employers must provide up to 40 hours of paid Safe and Sick Time annually (or 56 hours for employers with 100+ employees) to all employees. Their employees may use leave for the following reasons: their own illness or medical care; to care for a family member who is ill or needs medical care; workplace or school/childcare closures caused by public health emergencies; or to comply with public directives to remain indoors or avoid travel due to such emergencies. Leave may also be used to seek legal or social services, or take other safety measures, if the employee or a family member is a victim of certain offenses, such as domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking.
Employers must track leave for each employee within a rolling 52-week calendar period.
Employers may request documentation only if they have a written policy in place clearly stating this, and only after three or more consecutive days of absence.
Key Proposed Amendments
The proposed changes to the ESSTA expand permitted uses, introduces new categories of leave, and removes the administrative burdens of compliance with the Temporary Schedule Change Act.
First, in addition to the above permitted uses, employees would be able to use Safe and Sick Time for the following:
- workplace, school/childcare closures due to public disaster (which includes events such as a fire, explosion, terrorist attack, severe weather conditions, and other public emergencies or disasters declared by the United States President, the governor of New York, or the mayor of New York City),
- public emergency directives to remain indoors and/or avoid travel,
- seeking legal or social services, or taking safety measures for workplace violence,
- minor child or care recipient care duties,
- attending or preparing for legal proceedings for housing or subsistence benefits, or taking necessary actions to apply, maintain, or reinstate those benefits.
Second, the expanded ESSTA clarifies that Safe and Sick Time is separate from other types of requisite paid leave, including prenatal leave and preventative screening leave. Employers must provide 20 hours of paid prenatal leave annually, separate from Safe and Sick Time. Prenatal leave is permitted to be used for pregnancy-related healthcare, fertility treatment, and end-of-pregnancy care. Employers must also provide five hours of paid preventative screening leave annually.
Employers must be aware that they will also be required to provide 32 hours of unpaid leave annually for all employees. Importantly, these unpaid hours must be front-loaded and available immediately upon hire.
Additionally, the proposed expansion of the ESSTA also removes the administrative burden of complying with the Temporary Schedule Change Act. The amendments would repeal the Temporary Schedule Change Act, and its core provisions would be absorbed into the expanded ESSTA framework. Previously, the Temporary Schedule Change Act allowed employees to request up to two temporary changes to their work schedule per year for qualifying personal events, such as caregiving responsibilities or legal obligations. Under the revised ESSTA, these types of schedule-change requests would be treated as valid reasons for using accrued Safe and Sick Time, streamlining compliance for employers and simplifying access to leave for employees. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate Temporary Schedule Change policies and procedures while broadening ESSTA’s scope.
Under the proposed changes, employees would continue to have the right to request a temporary change to their work schedule for qualifying personal events and would be protected from retaliation for making such a request. While employers must respond as soon as practicable, employers would no longer be obligated to grant these requests automatically. Employers may offer an alternative adjustment, which the employee may accept or decline. This approach preserves the employee’s ability to seek flexibility while allowing employers to manage operational needs within the framework of the updated ESSTA provisions.
Under the proposed law, provisions of ESSTA may be waived if a collective bargaining agreement grants “superior or comparable benefits” in the form of paid or unpaid leave. However, for purposes of paid Safe and Sick Time or paid prenatal leave, unpaid time off does not qualify as a “comparable benefit.”
Comparison Chart: New York City Current ESSTA vs. Proposed ESSTA
| Category | Current Law | Proposed Amendments |
| Annual Safe and Sick Time | Up to 40 hours (or 56 for large employers) | No change |
| Uses | – Employee/family member illness or medical care, – care of a child whose school/childcare provider is closed due to a public health emergency, – seeking legal/social services or taking safety measures for employee/family member impacted by domestic violence, sexual offense, stalking, human trafficking. |
All that are included in the Current ESSTA, plus: – Workplace, school/ childcare closures due to public disaster, – public emergency directives to remain indoors/avoid travel, – seeking legal/social services or taking safety measures for workplace violence, – minor child or care recipient care duties, – attending/preparing for legal proceedings for housing or subsistence benefits, or taking necessary actions to apply, maintain, or reinstate those benefits. |
| Prenatal Leave | Not covered | Separate bank of 20 paid hours annually |
| Preventative Screening Leave | Not covered | Separate bank of 5 paid hours annually |
| Unpaid Leave Bank | Not provided | 32 hours annually for all employees, including new employees upon hire |
| Documentation Requirements | Allowed only if policy provides and after 3+ days | Same |
| Makeup Time | Not explicitly prohibited, but generally considered interference | Explicitly prohibited for preventative screening leave |
| Temporary Schedule Change Act Compliance | Required | Removed |
| Leave Period | 52-week calendar | Same |
For next steps, NYC-based employers should monitor the mayor’s action. The expanded ESSTA will automatically become law if not vetoed by October 25, 2025. If this becomes law, then NYC-based employers should promptly take the following actions:
- Review and revise leave policies to reflect expanded uses and new leave categories.
- Update employee handbooks and onboarding materials.
- Train HR and payroll teams on documentation rules and tracking requirements.
For any questions, or for assistance with making necessary changes to handbooks, written policies, and onboarding materials, or any other employment and labor topic, please contact:
- Joanne J. Romero
- Cali L. Chandiramani
- Caroline J. Berdzik
- Stephen C. Mazzara
- Scott R. Green
- Or another member of the Employment and Labor practice group.