PAID SICK LEAVE LAW IN EFFECT FOR ALL NYC EMPLOYERS

New York City's Paid Sick Leave law went into effect April 1, 2014.

• Paid sick time requirement coverage threshold has been reduced to 5 from 15 employees. Mayor de Blasio predicts this reduced coverage threshold will affect an additional 500,000 employees, increasing the total to more than 2 million employees. Employers with fewer than 5 employees will still have to provide unpaid sick time.
• The law went into effect for all employers on April 1, 2014. Index tests that would have delayed the Act's implementation indefinitely, and a delay in the compliance starting date for employers with 20 or more employees, have been eliminated. It is still the case that employers with 20 or more employees may not be subject to certain penalties until after October 2014.
• There has been an expansion in the Mayor's authority to enforce and administer the law. Because the Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs is no longer limited to responding to formal employee complaints of violations; it can proactively initiate an investigation. In addition, the Mayor can elect to transfer enforcement and administration responsibilities to another governmental agency from the Department of Consumer Affairs.
• "Family Member" definition has been expanded to also include "sibling, grandchild, and grandparent." "Grandchild" signifies the child of an employee's child, "Grandparent" signifies a parent of an employee's parent, and "Sibling" signifies an employee's brother or sister, including half-siblings, step-siblings and siblings related through adoption.
• The exemption previously extended to employers in the manufacturing industry has been eliminated.
• The number of years an employer must maintain sick time compliance records has been increased from two to three.
• Employees now have two years to file a complaint. This has been increased from 270 days.
• Although there is a 120 waiting period before an employee can utilize paid sick time, accrual begins on day 1.
• The Department of Consumer Affairs has been tasked with publishing a form notice for new employees. Employers will be obligated to start distributing these notices next month.
• Employers that already provide paid leave should check that they comply with the Act's technical requirements. For example, an employer could be in violation of the law if it doesn't allow for carryover from year to year. Or, potentially, the method in which sick leave requests are processed may not meet the law's requirements.