NYS Announces Plan For New Sick Leave and Paid Leave in Response to COVID-19

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced legislation on March 17, 2020, creating emergency job protections and paid sick leave for workers affected by COVID-19. New York State has reached an agreement that will allow those affected by a government-issued mandatory order of quarantine or isolation for themselves or their minor child due to COVID-19 to seek emergency paid sick leave protections. This means that if your local government has issued a mandatory order of quarantine or isolation, or closed the schools due to Coronavirus, you will be protected. For reference, here are links to New York City and Dutchess County’s Emergency Orders.

This institutes a permanent policy for workers who need to take paid sick leave for themselves or for a family member as a result of the novel coronavirus, if they are subject to a government-order of quarantine or isolation. Those who have been ordered for quarantine, either mandatorily or out of precaution, will be provided with the following:

• Employers with 10 or fewer employees and a net income less than $1 million will provide job protection for the duration of the quarantine order and guarantee their workers access to Paid Family Leave and disability benefits (short-term disability) for the period of quarantine including wage replacement for their salaries up to $150,000.
• Employers with 11-99 employees and employers with 10 or fewer employees and a net income greater than $1 million will provide at least 5 days of paid sick leave, job protection for the duration of the quarantine order, and guarantee their workers access to Paid Family Leave and disability benefits (short-term disability) for the period of quarantine including wage replacement for their salaries up to $150,000.
• Employers with 100 or more employees, as well as all public employers (regardless of number of employees), will provide at least 14 days of paid sick leave and guarantee job protection for the duration of the quarantine order.

This legislation does not apply to everyone who has been impacted by closures. For example, in Dutchess County, private day care facilities have not been ordered to close, yet many have for safety reasons. This means that a parent whose work remains open during the crisis, and whose day care is closed (despite not being ordered to do so), does not necessarily have the protections offered under the proposed new legislation.

We will continue to update this page as the legislation is passed and implemented. You can find additional information about the bill from the Governor’s office, or from A Better Balance. 

Contact us if you have any questions about how to use or implement these new protections, as the law is enacted.