Major Changes to New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act

Introduction

On February 22, 2026, amendments to New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”) went into effect. These amendments, together with rules proposed by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (“DCWP”), provide heightened obligations to employers by (among other policies) requiring employers to provide a new bank of unpaid safe and sick leave that is immediately available for use and expanding the reasons for which eligible employees may use their paid and unpaid safe and sick leave. This Client Alert summarizes these updates and provides steps that New York City employers should take to ensure continued compliance with ESSTA.

The ESSTA Amendments

Before the amendments to ESSTA went into effect, ESSTA generally required employers to provide employees with paid safe and sick leave. Specifically, most employers with 99 or fewer employees were required to provide up to 40 hours of paid safe and sick leave per year, and employers with 100 or more employees were required to provide up to 56 hours of paid safe and sick leave per year. An exception applies for employers with fewer than five employees and an annual net income of less than $1 million. Such smaller employers are required to provide 40 hours of unpaid safe and sick leave per year.

The amendments now require employers, regardless of size, to provide an additional minimum of 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick leave per year that is immediately available for use. The 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick leave must be provided in full upon hire and on the first day of each calendar year. Current employees receive the full 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick leave as of February 22, 2026. Unlike paid safe and sick leave under ESSTA, employers are not required to allow employees to carry over any unused unpaid safe and sick leave into the next calendar year. However, the bank of unpaid safe and sick leave replenishes (is front-loaded) at the start of each calendar year.

An employee may use unpaid safe and sick leave for the same reasons that an employee may use paid safe and sick leave. Eligible reasons for such covered leaves have been expanded by the ESSTA amendments to include:

• closure of the employee’s place of business by order of a public official due to a public disaster
• the employee’s need to care for a child whose school or childcare provider has restricted in-person operations by order of a public official due to a public health emergency or public disaster
• direction by a public official to remain indoors or avoid travel during a public disaster which prevents the employee from reporting to the employee’s work location
• when the employee or the employee’s family member has been the victim of workplace violence, to take the same measures allowed under ESSTA for victims of domestic violence, a family offense, stalking, and human trafficking
• when the employee is a caregiver for a minor child or care recipient, to provide care to the minor child or care recipient
• 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
• to take actions necessary to apply for, maintain, or restore subsistence benefits or shelter for the employee or the employee’s family member or care recipient

Note, however, that employers must allow employees to use paid safe and sick leave before using unpaid safe and sick leave.

Paid Prenatal Leave

The amendments also require employers to offer 20 hours of paid prenatal leave during any 52-week period in addition to paid and unpaid safe and sick leave. Notably, this requirement generally corresponds to the requirement for employers in the state of New York to provide their employees with paid prenatal leave, so this development should not have a significant impact on employers.

Changes to the Temporary Schedule Change Act

Finally, although not technically an amendment to ESSTA, New York City contemporaneously enacted amendments to its Temporary Schedule Change Act which were likely prompted by the ESSTA amendments. Until recently, employers were required to grant a temporary schedule change to an employee’s work schedule at least twice per year. Now, employers are no longer required to grant any temporary schedule changes, but they must respond to an employee’s request for a temporary schedule change as soon as practicable.

Guidance by the DCWP

Shortly before the amendments went into effect, the DCWP issued proposed rules implementing the amendments. A hearing on the proposed rules was held on March 2, 2026. It is anticipated that the DCWP will issue its final rules concerning the amended ESSTA in the coming months.

As a nominal change, the DCWP rebranded the leave offered by ESSTA by replacing the traditional “safe/sick time” term with “protected time off.”

As to substantive guidance, employers must modify their pay stubs to include the amount of both paid and unpaid protected time off that has been accrued and used during the applicable pay period. The pay stubs must also include the employee’s paid and unpaid protected time off balances.

In addition, the DCWP issued an updated “Notice of Employee Rights,” which has been revised to incorporate the amendments to ESSTA. Employers must provide the updated Notice of Employee Rights to their current employees and use the updated Notice of Employee Rights for new hires going forward. Employers must also post the Notice of Employee Rights in an area that is visible and accessible to employees in the workplace.

The DCWP also issued updated FAQs that address questions and nuances about the ESSTA, including the amendments, and provide important interpretive guidance.

Enforcement and Remedies for Violations

Employees may pursue claims for violation of ESSTA by either a private right of action in court or by filing an administrative complaint with the DCWP. Employers who violate the ESSTA may be subject to treble damages, fines of $500 per violation, and injunctive relief.

Action Items for Employers

Employers covered by ESSTA should:

• post the updated “Notice of Employee Rights” at the workplace and promptly distribute a copy of it to their employees
• update their employee handbooks and policies to reflect the ESSTA amendments
• modify their pay stubs to comply with the rules proposed by the DCWP in anticipation of the proposed rules taking effect

Employers seeking further guidance to comply with ESSTA should contact Albert J. Solecki, Jr., Eric Roth, Jacob Hoback, or any other Goodwin employment specialist.

This informational piece, which may be considered advertising under the ethical rules of certain jurisdictions, is provided on the understanding that it does not constitute the rendering of legal advice or other professional advice by Goodwin or its lawyers. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.