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New York Expands Employee Benefits due to Coronavirus

On March 18, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law an emergency paid sick leave bill which goes into effect immediately. The new law addresses employee benefits, including paid sick leave and job protection, in the event an employee is subject to a quarantine due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019. The legislation provides the following requirements:

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

The paid sick leave days provided by this legislation are in addition to an employee’s accrued sick leave days provided under the employer’s policy.

Please contact us for assistance with reviewing or updating your company’s related employee benefits policies to ensure compliance with New York law.