Beginning January 1, 2025, all New York employers must provide up to 20 hours of “paid prenatal personal leave” in any 52-week period to pregnant employees. The leave may be used for any health care services received by an employee during their pregnancy or related to such pregnancy, such as physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussions with a health care provider related to the pregnancy. This leave is in addition to any paid sick and safe leave that New York employers must already provide to their employees.
Here are some important things to note about this new leave benefit:
- The leave does not accrue; rather, all 20 hours are immediately available for an employee’s use.
- There is no waiting period for an employee’s use of the leave.
- The leave may be taken in hourly increments.
- The leave will be paid in hourly installments, either at the employee’s regular rate of pay or the applicable minimum wage, whichever amount is greater.
- Employers need not pay out any unused prenatal personal leave to employees on termination of employment.