S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6620
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 6, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. BORES -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the  labor  law,  in  relation  to  requiring  employers
   provide its employees with paid leave
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. This act shall be known  and  may  be  cited  as  the  "let
 employees access vacation time easily (LEAVE) act".
   §  2.  Section 196-b of the labor law, as added by section 1 of part J
 of chapter 56 of the laws of 2020, subdivision 2, paragraph a of  subdi-
 vision  5, subdivisions 7 and 10 as amended and subdivision 4-a as added
 by section 1 of part M of chapter 55 of the laws of 2024, is amended  to
 read as follows:
   §  196-b. [Sick] PAID SICK leave AND PAID LEAVE requirements. 1. Every
 employer shall be required to provide its employees with sick leave  AND
 PAID LEAVE as follows:
   a.  For  employers  with four or fewer employees in any calendar year,
 each employee shall be provided with up to forty hours  of  unpaid  sick
 leave in each calendar year; provided, however, an employer that employs
 four  or  fewer employees in any calendar year and that has a net income
 of greater than one million dollars  in  the  previous  tax  year  shall
 provide  each  employee  with  up  to forty hours of paid sick LEAVE AND
 FORTY HOURS OF PAID leave pursuant to this section;
   b. For employers with between five and ninety-nine  employees  in  any
 calendar year, each employee shall be provided with up to forty hours of
 paid sick leave AND FORTY HOURS OF PAID LEAVE in each calendar year; and
   c.  For  employers  with one hundred or more employees in any calendar
 year, each employee shall be provided with up to fifty-six hours of paid
 sick leave AND FORTY HOURS OF PAID LEAVE each calendar year.
   For purposes of determining the number of employees pursuant  to  this
 subdivision,  a  calendar  year  shall mean the twelve-month period from
 January first through December thirty-first. For all other  purposes,  a
 calendar  year  shall  either  mean the twelve-month period from January
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07972-01-5
 A. 6620                             2
 
 first through  December  thirty-first,  or  a  regular  and  consecutive
 twelve-month period, as determined by an employer.
   2.  Nothing  in this section shall be construed to prohibit or prevent
 an employer from providing an amount of sick leave, paid or unpaid, PAID
 LEAVE, or paid prenatal  personal  leave  which  is  in  excess  of  the
 requirements set forth in subdivision one and subdivision four-a of this
 section,  or  from adopting a paid leave policy that provides additional
 benefits to employees. An employer may elect to  provide  its  employees
 with  the  total amount of sick leave AND PAID LEAVE required to fulfill
 its obligations pursuant to subdivision  one  of  this  section  at  the
 beginning of the calendar year, provided, however that no employer shall
 be permitted to reduce or revoke any such sick leave OR PAID LEAVE based
 on  the number of hours actually worked by an employee during the calen-
 dar year if such employer elects pursuant to this subdivision.
   3. Employees shall accrue sick leave AND PAID LEAVE at a rate  of  not
 less  than  one  hour  per  every  thirty hours worked, beginning at the
 commencement of employment or the effective date of this section, which-
 ever is later, subject to the use and accrual limitations set  forth  in
 this section.
   4.  a.  On  and after January first, two thousand [twenty-one] TWENTY-
 SEVEN and upon the oral or written request of an employee,  an  employer
 shall provide accrued sick leave for the following purposes:
   (i)  for  a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition of
 such employee or such employee's family member,  regardless  of  whether
 such illness, injury, or health condition has been diagnosed or requires
 medical care at the time that such employee requests such leave;
   (ii)  for  the  diagnosis,  care, or treatment of a mental or physical
 illness, injury or health condition of, or need  for  medical  diagnosis
 of,  or  preventive  care  for,  such employee or such employee's family
 member; or
   (iii) for an absence from work due to any  of  the  following  reasons
 when  the  employee  or  employee's family member has been the victim of
 domestic violence pursuant to subdivision  thirty-four  of  section  two
 hundred  ninety-two  of  the  executive  law,  a  family offense, sexual
 offense, stalking, or human trafficking:
   (a) to obtain services from a domestic violence shelter,  rape  crisis
 center, or other services program;
   (b)  to  participate  in  safety  planning, temporarily or permanently
 relocate, or take other actions to increase the safety of  the  employee
 or employee's family members;
   (c)  to  meet  with  an  attorney or other social services provider to
 obtain information and advice on, and prepare for or participate in  any
 criminal or civil proceeding;
   (d)  to file a complaint or domestic incident report with law enforce-
 ment;
   (e) to meet with a district attorney's office;
   (f) to enroll children in a new school; or
   (g) to take any other actions necessary to ensure the health or safety
 of the employee or the employee's family member or to protect those  who
 associate or work with the employee.
   For  purposes  of  this  subdivision,  the  reasons  outlined above in
 [subparagraph] CLAUSES (a) through (g)  OF  THIS  SUBPARAGRAPH  must  be
 related to the domestic violence, family offense, sexual offense, stalk-
 ing,  or  human  trafficking.  Provided  further  that  a person who has
 committed such domestic violence, family offense, sexual offense, stalk-
 ing, or human trafficking shall not be eligible  for  leave  under  this
 A. 6620                             3
 
 subdivision  for  situations  in which the person committed such offense
 and was not a victim, notwithstanding any family relationship.
   b. For purposes of this section, "family member" shall mean an employ-
 ee's  child,  spouse,  domestic  partner, parent, sibling, grandchild or
 grandparent; and the child or parent of an employee's spouse or domestic
 partner. "Parent" shall mean a biological,  foster,  step-  or  adoptive
 parent,  or  a  legal  guardian of an employee, or a person who stood in
 loco parentis when the employee was a minor child. "Child" shall mean  a
 biological,  adopted  or  foster  child,  a legal ward, or a child of an
 employee standing in loco parentis.
   4-a. In addition to the sick leave AND PAID LEAVE provided for in this
 section, on and after January first,  two  thousand  twenty-five,  every
 employer  shall  be required to provide to its employees twenty hours of
 paid prenatal personal leave during any fifty-two week calendar  period.
 Paid  prenatal personal leave shall mean leave taken for the health care
 services received by an employee during their pregnancy  or  related  to
 such  pregnancy,  including  physical  examinations, medical procedures,
 monitoring and testing, and discussions  with  a  health  care  provider
 related  to  the pregnancy. Paid prenatal personal leave may be taken in
 hourly increments. Benefits for paid prenatal personal  leave  shall  be
 paid in hourly installments. Employees shall receive compensation at the
 employee's  regular  rate  of pay, or the applicable minimum wage estab-
 lished pursuant to section six hundred fifty-two of this chapter, which-
 ever is greater, for the use of paid prenatal personal leave.    Nothing
 in  this  section  shall  be  construed to require an employer to pay an
 employee for unused paid prenatal  leave  upon  such  employee's  termi-
 nation, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment.
   5.  a.  An  employer  may  not  require the disclosure of confidential
 information relating to a mental or physical illness, injury, or  health
 condition of such employee or such employee's family member, or informa-
 tion  relating  to  absence from work due to domestic violence, a sexual
 offense, stalking, or human trafficking, as  a  condition  of  providing
 sick leave, PAID LEAVE, or paid prenatal personal leave pursuant to this
 section.
   b.  An employer may set a reasonable minimum increment [for the use of
 sick leave which shall] not TO exceed four hours OF PAID LEAVE  PER  DAY
 OR PAID SICK LEAVE PER DAY. IF A COVERED EMPLOYEE'S SCHEDULED WORKDAY IS
 LESS  THAN  THE  MINIMUM INCREMENTS ABOVE, THE MINIMUM INCREMENT OF TIME
 SHALL NOT EXCEED  THE  COVERED  EMPLOYEE'S  REGULAR  SCHEDULED  WORKDAY.
 Employees  shall  receive  compensation  at [his or her] SUCH EMPLOYEE'S
 regular rate of pay, or the applicable minimum wage established pursuant
 to section six hundred fifty-two of this chapter, whichever is  greater,
 for the use of paid sick leave OR PAID LEAVE.
   6.  An  employee's  unused  sick leave AND PAID LEAVE shall be carried
 over to the following calendar year, provided,  however,  that:  (i)  an
 employer with fewer than one hundred employees may limit the use of sick
 leave  to  forty  hours  per calendar year AND UP TO FORTY HOURS OF PAID
 LEAVE; and (ii) an employer with one hundred or more employees may limit
 the use of sick leave to fifty-six hours per  calendar  year  AND  FORTY
 HOURS OF PAID LEAVE PER CALENDAR YEAR.  Nothing in this section shall be
 construed  to  require  an  employer  to pay an employee for unused sick
 leave OR PAID  LEAVE  upon  such  employee's  termination,  resignation,
 retirement, or other separation from employment.
   7.  No  employer or their agent, or the officer or agent of any corpo-
 ration, partnership, or limited liability company, or any other  person,
 shall discharge, threaten, penalize, or in any other manner discriminate
 A. 6620                             4
 
 or  retaliate  against  any employee because such employee has exercised
 their rights afforded under this section, including, but not limited to,
 requesting sick leave, PAID LEAVE, or paid prenatal leave and using sick
 leave,   PAID  LEAVE,  or  paid  prenatal  leave,  consistent  with  the
 provisions of section two hundred fifteen of this chapter.
   8. An employer shall not be required to provide  any  additional  sick
 leave OR PAID LEAVE pursuant to this section if the employer has adopted
 a sick leave policy or PAID time off policy that provides employees with
 an  amount of leave which meets or exceeds the requirements set forth in
 subdivision one of this section and satisfies  the  accrual,  carryover,
 and use requirements of this section.
   9.  Nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  construed to: a. prohibit a
 collective bargaining agreement entered into, on or after the  effective
 date  of  this  section  from, in lieu of the leave provided for in this
 section, providing a comparable benefit for  the  employees  covered  by
 such agreement in the form of paid days off; such paid days off shall be
 in  the  form  of  leave, compensation, other employee benefits, or some
 combination thereof; or
   b. impede, infringe, or diminish the ability of a certified collective
 bargaining agent to negotiate the terms and  conditions  of  sick  leave
 different from the provisions of this section.
   Provided, however, that in the case of either paragraph a or b of this
 subdivision,  the agreement must specifically acknowledge the provisions
 of this section.
   10. Upon return to work following any sick leave, PAID LEAVE, or  paid
 prenatal  leave  taken  pursuant  to  this section, an employee shall be
 restored by their employer to the position of employment  held  by  such
 employee  prior  to any sick leave or paid prenatal leave taken pursuant
 to this section with the same pay and  other  terms  and  conditions  of
 employment.
   11. Upon the oral or written request of an employee, an employer shall
 provide  a  summary  of the amounts of sick leave AND PAID LEAVE accrued
 and used by such employee in the current calendar year and/or any previ-
 ous calendar year.  The employer shall provide such information  to  the
 employee within three business days of such request.
   12.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a city with
 a population of one million or more from enacting  and  enforcing  local
 laws or ordinances which meet or exceed the standard or requirements for
 minimum  hour  and  use  set forth in this section, as determined by the
 commissioner. Any paid sick leave OR PAID LEAVE benefits provided  by  a
 sick  leave OR PAID LEAVE program enforced by a municipal corporation in
 effect as of the effective date of this section shall not be  diminished
 or limited as a result of the enactment of this section.
   13.  The  commissioner  shall  have authority to adopt regulations and
 issue guidance to effectuate any of  the  provisions  of  this  section.
 Employers  shall comply with regulations and guidance promulgated by the
 commissioner for this purpose which may include but are not  limited  to
 standards  for  the  accrual,  use, payment, and employee eligibility of
 sick leave.
   14. The department shall conduct a public awareness outreach  campaign
 which  shall  include  making  information  available on its website and
 otherwise informing employers and employees of the  provisions  of  this
 section.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.