New York is the first State in the country to establish a paid prenatal leave benefit for pregnant workers.
The New York paid prenatal personal leave amendment was signed by Governor Kathy Hochul on April 19, 2024 and will go into effect on January 1, 2025. The law is an amendment to New York Labor Law § 196-b, updating what is also known as the New York State Paid Sick Leave Law.
What is Paid Prenatal Personal Leave?
The law defines prenatal leave as “leave taken for the health care services received by an employee during their pregnancy or related to such pregnancy, including physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussions with a health care provider related to the pregnancy.”
This language seems to demonstrate that prenatal leave is available only for those employees who are pregnant, although the phrase “related to such pregnancy” may possibly open the door for employees who are partners of a pregnant woman to take the leave, too.
For nerds like us, the law specifically says:
4-a. In addition to the sick leave provided for in this section, on and after January first, two thousand twenty-five, every employer shall be required to provide to its employees twenty hours of paid prenatal personal leave during any fifty-two week calendar period. Paid prenatal personal leave shall mean leave taken for the health care services received by an employee during their pregnancy or related to such pregnancy, including physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussions with a health care provider related to the pregnancy. Paid prenatal personal leave may be taken in hourly increments. Benefits for paid prenatal personal leave shall be paid in hourly installments. Employees shall receive compensation at the employee’s regular rate of pay, or the applicable minimum wage established pursuant to section six hundred fifty-two of this chapter, whichever is greater, for the use of paid prenatal personal leave. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an employer to pay an employee for unused paid prenatal leave upon such employee’s termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment.
What does this mean for employers?
- Every employer will be required to provide employees with 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave during any 52-week period.
- The leave may be taken in hourly increments.
- Compensation must be at the employee’s regular rate of pay and at least minimum wage.
- Employers aren’t required to pay an employee for any unused prenatal leave upon separation from employment.
- This is job-protected leave, just like ordinary Paid Sick Leave, which means the employee can come back to her job after using it.
- This paid leave is not dependent on the number of employees in the workforce or the employer’s annual revenue. It is applicable to all employers.
Prenatal leave may be taken in addition to – and separate from – other sick leave benefits available to New York employees, depending on the size of the employer.
What steps should employers take now?
First, as a reminder, the law goes into effect on January 1, 2025, so it’s not immediately in place right now.
Second, however, it’s important to prepare. To eliminate potential issues, be sure to update your leave policies to reflect this change and make employees aware of the availability of this benefit.
Third, get with your payroll company and ensure it has prenatal leave as a component of employee compensation.
And, fourth, make sure managers, human resources specialists, and others supervisory employees are aware of this new leave law prior to January 1st when it becomes effective. You don’t want them denying an employee’s prenatal leave request and creating risk for your company.
We expect more from the State between now and January first, and we’ll be watching the New York Department of Labor for any regulations attached to this new law. We’ll be sure to let you know any developments.
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Should you need any assistance navigating this or other employment laws, The Coppola Firm is here to help. Our team can answer any questions that you may have and work alongside you to develop business practices that are practical, useful, and compliant.
