Under New Law, Co-ops, Condos, Other Businesses Must Grant Sick Leave

The Earned Sick Time Act, passed by City Council in an override of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's veto, affects all businesses based in New York City, including cooperative and condominium corporations. Passed by a 45-3 vote in the early-morning hours of June 27, it takes effect on April 1, 2014, for businesses employing 20 or more people, and on Oct. 1, 2015, for those employing at least 15. Workers must be employed at a business for four months before becoming eligible to take sick leave, although accrual begins from the day of hiring.

Specifics and Exceptions

Union employees, such as co-op and condo building workers in Local 32BJ, are allowed to waive the law's requirements if their collective bargaining agreement already offers comparable sick leave.

As well, businesses already offering paid vacation time and personal days equal to or greater than that the new sick-day formula will not have to provide additional sick days, so long as employees can still use those days for: 

• "such employee's mental or physical illness, injury or health condition or need for medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition or need for preventive medical care; or

• "care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition or who needs preventive medical care; or

• "closure of such employee's place of business by order of a public official due to a public health emergency or such employee's need to care for a child whose school or childcare provider has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency." 

An employer may require reasonable notice of the need to use sick time, up to seven days prior to the employee using it, such as for scheduled outpatient surgery. When the need isn't foreseeable — such as an accident on the way to work requiring an emergency-room visit and related issues during that day, such as a trip to a medical-equipment supply company — an employer may require notice of the need "as soon as practicable." For an absence of more than three consecutive work days, an employer may require reasonable documentation for the use of sick time. Workers and employers can work out mutually agreeable shift changes instead of sick leave.

Additionally, the law includes numerous provisions for confidentiality, enforcement, non-retaliation by employers and other details.

Nationwide Trend?

New York City — where an estimated one million workers will benefit — is one of four cites nationwide as well as the state of Connecticut now mandating some form of paid sick leave.

Those in favor of the law have said workers should not be expected to harm their physical well-being to earn a day's pay, nor potentially infect colleagues by going to work sick with communicable diseases. Critics of the law say it will lead to increase costs for employers, who, said Mayor Bloomberg, "will seek to offset them in any number of ways, including reducing other benefits employees receive."

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