In yesterday’s State of the State, Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed legislation that would require private employers to provide sick leave to their workers. Under his proposal, employers with five to 99 employees would be required to provide at least five days of job-protected paid sick leave per year and employers with 100 or more employees would be required to provide at least 7 days of paid sick leave per year. Small businesses with 4 or fewer employees would be required to provide 5 days of unpaid sick leave.

A similar sick leave law has been in effect for New York City employers since 2014 and for Westchester County employers since April 2019. While we must wait to review the actual text of the legislation, the Governor’s comments suggest that the State law will be more expansive than the New York City and Westchester County laws by requiring employers with 100 or more employees to provide at least 7 paid sick days. In New York City and Westchester County there is no distinction for large employers and all employers may limit employees to using 40 hours in a calendar year.

Stay tuned for further updates.

For guidance on leave management issues, please contact a Jackson Lewis attorney. Register here if you would like to receive information about our workthruIT® Leave & Accommodation Suite. The Leave & Accommodation Suite provides subscribers an expanding array of tools to manage leave and accommodation issues, including electronic access to a state and local leave law database that is developed and updated continually by our Disability, Leave & Health Management attorneys.

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Photo of Tara K. Burke Tara K. Burke

Tara K. Burke is the knowledge management (“KM”) attorney for Jackson Lewis P.C.’s Disability, Leave & Health Management practice group, and is based in the Cincinnati, Ohio, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She works with employers to build positive and inclusive workplaces and…

Tara K. Burke is the knowledge management (“KM”) attorney for Jackson Lewis P.C.’s Disability, Leave & Health Management practice group, and is based in the Cincinnati, Ohio, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She works with employers to build positive and inclusive workplaces and reduce legal risk through policy development, training, and employment law counseling.

Tara provides practical and legal advice to clients on employment law issues including harassment and discrimination prevention, diversity and inclusion, hiring and interviewing, internal investigations, disability accommodation and leave management, reductions in force, individual separations and employee relations issues. Tara works with clients, including multi-state employers, to identify the trends in workplace law and stay in compliance with the rapidly changing state-by-state legal landscape. Tara helps clients of all sizes and in all industries, create, revise and implement workplace policies and procedures including employee handbooks. She also routinely conducts workplace training for leadership, human resources, managers and employees on numerous topics including strong management practices that reduce legal risk and build effective teams, preventing sexual harassment by supporting respectful and positive workplaces, achieving winning results through diversity and inclusion, conducting investigations, and employee accommodations and leaves of absence.

Tara has defended employers in employment-related litigation and administrative proceedings.

In addition to working with for-profit clients, Tara also works with non-profit clients, including small non-profits, to provide employment law expertise to non-profit organizations supporting our communities across the country.

Photo of Francis P. Alvarez Francis P. Alvarez

Francis P. (Frank) Alvarez is a principal in the White Plains, New York, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He is the founder and co-leader of the firm’s Disability, Leave and Health Management (DLHM) practice group.