Key Points
- New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act: Beginning Feb. 22, 2026, most employers in New York City must provide 32 hours of unpaid sick and safe leave.
- More paperwork: Under the proposed rules, employers must separately track and report paid sick and safe leave, unpaid sick and safe leave, and prenatal leave on pay stubs and maintain related records for at least three years.
- Increased penalties: Employers that fail to provide required sick and safe leave may be required to restore leave hours and pay $500 per employee per calendar year for each year a noncompliant policy was in effect.
New York City recently proposed rules addressing amendments to the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (the Amendments) that provide 32 hours of unpaid leave to most New York City employees. The Amendments take effect on Feb. 22, 2026. A hearing on the proposed rules will be held on March 2, 2026, after the Amendments go into effect.
As discussed in our prior alert, the Amendments will require employers to provide 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick leave to nearly all New York City employees upon hire and each calendar year thereafter. Through the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), the City has proposed rules clarifying the Amendments. Among other things, the proposed rules note that unlike paid safe and sick leave, unpaid safe and sick leave does not need to be carried over from year to year because it must be frontloaded (provided in full and available for employee use) at the commencement of each calendar year.
Employers Will Be Required to Keep Track of Three Types of Leave
For the most part, the proposed rules apply old requirements to this new form of unpaid leave in order to maintain consistency. The proposed rules require employers to keep track of each employee’s 32-hour balance of unpaid leave in the same way that they are required to keep track of paid leave.
Specifically, the proposed rules require employers to list on each wage statement (i.e., pay stub) a separate accrual and balance of paid safe and sick leave, unpaid safe and sick leave, and prenatal leave. Employers will also need to maintain records for at least three years indicating each employee’s balance of each type of leave. Previously, employers were only required to track paid safe and sick time and prenatal leave.
Penalties For Policy Violations Pertaining to Each Type of Leave Will Be Revised For Consistency
The proposed rules increase the penalties for violating safe and sick leave requirements. If an employer is found to have failed to provide required safe and sick leave, the employer must restore the required hours to the employee’s balance and pay $500 per employee per calendar year for each year that the employer violated the law.
Next Steps for Employers
The proposed rules will be discussed via public hearing at 11:00 a.m. on March 2, 2026. Employers have until that day to comment on the rule changes before they take effect. Comments can be proposed to the DCWP at rules.cityofnewyork.us. Alternatively, employers may email comments to Rulecomments@dcwp.nyc.gov or sign up via email to attend the hearing. Speakers will be given the opportunity to speak for up to three minutes. Comments from the community are considered in rulemaking procedures and may affect implementation of the final rules that the City will release after the hearing.
Regardless, employers should be prepared to track unpaid safe and sick leave accrual balances when the Amendments go into effect on Feb. 22, 2026.
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