Effective March 20, employees in New York City can bring private actions against their employers for violations of the city’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, NYC Admin. Code § 20-911 et seq. The ordinance, which like many others around the country, requires employers to provide paid or unpaid safe and sick leave to their employees (depending on company size), had previously been enforceable only by complaint to the City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. The remedies that an employee can seek in a private suit are largely the same as those that could have been pursued by the Department, and include treble damages for unlawful withholding of wages, penalties of $500 for each instance of unlawfully requiring an employee to find a replacement worker or work extra hours to make up leave time, and similar amounts – but private plaintiffs can also seek attorneys’ fees and costs.

Employees can still complain to the Department while also bringing a lawsuit, in which event the agency could either stay the investigation until the lawsuit resolves or open its own investigation.

Nearly every employer in New York City is subject to the ESSTA, even those with fewer than five employees (though most of those would be obligated to provide only unpaid leave). Employees are entitled to take leave for reasons of their own illness or that of a close family member, closure of their workplace or child’s school due to a public health emergency, or the need to protect against domestic abuse, stalking, or sexual offenses.

The statute of limitations for an employee to bring such an action is two years from when the employee knew or should have known about the employer’s violation. If you are unsure about how to comply or whether you may have failed to comply the Act, seek legal counsel at once rather than waiting for one of your employees to talk to a lawyer – major violations could cost you in a big way.