Going into the 2026 new year, New York City employers should be preparing to provide additional safe/sick leave benefits to employees under the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act ("ESSTA") beginning on February 22, 2026. On October 25, 2025, the ESSTA was amended to expand benefits to employees in several key areas by: (1) providing 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick leave to new employees upon hire and to all employees at the beginning of each benefit year, in addition to the required paid safe/sick leave; (2) expanding the categories for which employees can use safe/sick leave; and (3) codifying paid prenatal leave into New York City law. These changes go into effect on February 22, 2026.
1. Additional Unpaid Leave
The ESSTA amendments will require covered employers to provide employees with 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick leave, in addition to the paid 40 or 56 hours of paid safe/sick leave already required under ESSTA. Employers must provide the 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick leave upon hiring and again at the start of each new calendar year. In contrast to unused paid safe/sick leave, unused unpaid safe/sick leave does not have to carry over from one calendar year to the next.
Employers must apply available paid leave before unpaid safe/sick leave, unless the employee requests otherwise.
The amended ESSTA will require employers to record and report unpaid safe/sick time on pay statements or on another form of written documentation that is provided to the employee each pay period.
2. Expanded Covered Uses of Leave Time
The amended ESSTA will broaden the qualifying reasons for the use of paid and unpaid sick leave. In addition to the pre-existing safe/sick leave qualifying reasons, as of February 22, 2026, employees can use paid or unpaid safe/sick leave for the following reasons:
- When an employee is a caregiver, to provide care for a minor child or care recipient (defined as "a person with a disability, including a temporary disability, who (i) is the caregiver's family member or resides in the caregiver's household and (ii) relies on the caregiver for medical care or to meet the needs of daily living");
- Where an employee's place of business is closed by order of a public official due to a public disaster;
- Where an employee’s child's school or childcare provider is closed or has restricted in-person operations by order of a public official due to a public disaster;
- Where a public official issues a directive to remain indoors or avoid travel during a public disaster which prevents the employee from reporting to their work location;
- When the employee or the employee's family member has been the victim of workplace violence (defined as "any act or threat of violence against an employee that occurs in a place of employment");
- To initiate, attend or prepare for a legal proceeding or hearing related to subsistence benefits or housing to which the employee, the employee's family member, or the employee's care recipient is a party, or to take actions necessary to apply for, maintain, or restore subsistence benefits or shelter for the employee or their family member or care recipient.
3. Modifications to the Temporary Schedule Change Law
The ESSTA amendments will also relieve employers of certain obligations under New York City's Temporary Schedule Change Law ("TSCL"). Previously, under the TSCL, employers were required to grant an employee's request for a temporary adjustment to their work schedule (either with paid time off or remote work) related to a "personal event" twice per calendar year. Under the ESSTA amendments, as a result of the 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick leave, an employer is not required to grant any requests for a temporary schedule change. Employers may propose an alternative temporary change, but an employee is not required to accept the alternative change. Under the amendments, employers must respond to an employee’s request "as soon as practicable".
4. Paid Prenatal Leave
The amendments also codify New York State's paid prenatal leave that took effect in January of 2025 (such leave was previously only required under New York City regulations). (See our prior alert here.) As of February 22, 2026, employers are required to provide at least 20 hours of paid prenatal leave in any 52-week period for "physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussions with a health care provider related to the pregnancy." This paid prenatal leave is in addition to the 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick leave and the 40/56 hours of paid safe/sick leave under ESSTA.
Recommendations and Key Takeaways for Employers
New York City employers should review their paid and unpaid leave-related policies and procedures to ensure compliance with these amendments. Specifically, covered employers should establish a separate bank of unpaid safe/sick leave time upon hire and at the beginning of each calendar year, and make sure they have a system in place for recording and reporting the used unpaid safe/sick leave time to employees each pay period. Employers should also be sure to update any presentations and handbooks given to employees to make them aware of these additional benefits, and to train all human resources professionals and supervisors on these new requirements.
A link to the ESSTA amendments is available here: Local Law 145.
Employers should also monitor the City's ESSTA website and separate TSCL website for additional related developments, including updates to FAQS and model notices.
For more information about this issue or other employment matters, please contact:
Carol M. Goodman at +1 212 592 1465 or cgoodman@herrick.com
Meaghan Roe at +1 212 592 1632 or mroe@herrick.com
Basil C. Sitaras at +1 212 592 1572 or bsitaras@herrick.com
Pamela A. Frederick at +1 212 592 1591 or pfrederick@herrick.com
Anna Boltyanskiy at +1 212 592 5986 or aboltyanskiy@herrick.com
