NYC Amends the Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESSTA) to include Paid Prenatal Leave

On June 3, 2025, New York City (NYC) amended the Earned Sick and Safe Time Act (ESSTA) law to include paid prenatal leave requirements. These amendments took effect on July 2, 2025.

Previously, the paid prenatal leave requirements were covered under New York State (NYS) law. Employers with operations in NYC will now have to evaluate both the NYS Paid Prenatal Leave law and the amended NYC ESSTA (which now includes the paid prenatal leave), to ensure compliance with both laws.

While the amendments mostly mirror the NYS paid prenatal leave law, there are a few notable differences. They are:

1. Written policy notification: The policy notification requirements regarding ESSTA will now apply to the paid prenatal leave amendment. Employers must maintain and distribute a written paid prenatal leave policy. This policy must be given to new hires, upon request to an employee, and within 14 days of the effective date of any changes to the policy. (NYS does not require notification.)
2. Leave balance notification: The amendments require that for each pay period an employee uses paid prenatal leave, the employer must inform the employee of the amount of paid prenatal leave used during that pay period and the total balance of paid prenatal leave available for use going forward. This notification can be on the paystub or on another form of written documentation required by section 20-919(c) or in separate written documentation. (NYS does not require leave balance notification but suggests as a best practice to maintain clear records of available types of leave and amounts of types of leave used in a manner accessible to both the employer and employee.)
3. Documentation: When an employee’s use of safe/sick time or paid prenatal leave results in an absence of more than three consecutive workdays, an employer may require reasonable written documentation that the use was for a purpose authorized under the law. However, the NYS prenatal leave law does not refer to documentation but the FAQs relating to same suggest that requiring documentation is not permitted. Therefore, employers operating in NYC should be aware of this conflict and should not request documentation where the leave is covered by both laws.
4. Employee notification of need for paid prenatal leave: An employer can require notice of the need to use paid prenatal leave. When the need for paid prenatal leave is foreseeable, the employer’s standard for notification cannot be more than seven days. When the need is not foreseeable, the employer’s standard for notification would be as soon as practicable. Additionally, the procedures for employees to give notice of the need to use paid prenatal leave when the need is not foreseeable may not include any requirement that an employee appear in person at a worksite or deliver any document to the employer prior to using paid prenatal leave.

The NYS prenatal leave guidance suggests that employers should only require individuals taking NYS prenatal leave to follow the employer’s regular procedures for requesting time off. Employers should be sure to comply with both the state and city laws and guidance and implement the least restrictive notice requirements for the employee.

5. Recordkeeping: In addition to the ESSTA recordkeeping requirements, the amendments for the paid prenatal leave require employers to maintain the following additional records for each employee: the date and time of each instance of paid prenatal leave used by the employee, the amount paid for each instance; the amount of paid prenatal leave used during the pay period, and the employee’s total balance of paid prenatal leave.
6. Penalties: A violation of one or more paid prenatal leave requirements may entitle an employee to several types of relief, including: the full amount of the underpayment of wages plus interest and liquidated damages up to 100% of the total amount of wages found to be due, unless the employer can prove a good faith basis for believing that its underpayment of wages was in compliance with the law. Penalties of hundreds to thousands of dollars per violation may also be imposed.

With regard to prohibited retaliation, damages may include all wages (potentially to include back pay and front pay), liquidated damages, reinstatement and other compensatory damages.

Paid Safe and Sick Leave: Notice of Employee Rights – UPDATED

As a reminder, under New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA), employees have a right to safe and sick leave. Employers must provide the written notice of safe and sick leave rights to employees when they begin employment or when there have been updates to the law. Employers must also post the notice in the workplace in an area that is visible and accessible to employees in English and in any language that is the primary language of at least five percent of employees at the workplace.

The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) updated the “Notice of Rights” on May 30, 2025 to include the right to paid prenatal leave. Employers must post and give each employee this updated notice.

Next Steps

With the effective date of July 2, 2025, employers must review their policies on ESSTA, including the new category of paid prenatal leave, and make changes as necessary. Managers/supervisors should be made aware of the new requirements and employers should be preparing to distribute their revised policies and the required notices to employees immediately.

If you have any questions regarding this recent update, please reach out to Rimon Law for assistance.

Contact Rimôn Law if you have any questions about how to handle the final paycheck for your employee.

This summary is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice nor does it create an attorney-client relationship with Rimon, P.C. or its affiliates.