NYC Paid Sick Leave Law

On April 1, 2014, the first law enacted under New York Mayor Bill de Blasio will likely go into effect. This new legislation will require any business with at least five employees to provide a minimum of 5 paid sick days per year. This bill supersedes the previous legislation, which required employers to offer the same 5 paid sick days per year, but only applied to businesses with at least 15 employees. The new law will also remove certain “political compromises” included in the previous legislation which would have lessened its initial impact, specifically: a gradual phase-in period, exemptions for the manufacturing sector, and “economic triggers” that would allow implementation of the law to be delayed based on certain economic benchmarks. This new policy is advanced in accordance with Mayor de Blasio’s election campaign promises, where he used paid sick leave as one of his major platforms. It also reflects a shift from the independent values of former Mayor Bloomberg to the more liberal leaning values of new Mayor de Blasio.

Mayor de Blasio is hopeful that this new policy will strengthen families throughout the city. He asserts that this policy means that they will no longer have to sacrifice their health, or the health of a loved one, in order to keep up with their bills. Further, between 300,000 and 500,000 employees are expected to realize some benefit from this new policy. Opposition of the new policy is fearful that it may hinder small businesses who could have difficulty absorbing the costs of unpaid sick leave, while placing decisions formerly decided by employers into the hands of the government. This legislation is seen as part of Mayor de Blasio’s initiate to lift working families, while avoiding undue hardship on employers.