New York Enacts Paid Sick Leave and Mandates Further In-Person Workforce Reductions to Combat the Coronavirus Spread

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On March 19, 2020, New York enacted a paid sick leave law and Governor Cuomo entered an Executive Order requiring non-essential businesses in New York to reduce their workforces by 75% by March 21, 2020 at 8 pm. Earlier today, Governor Cuomo announced that he would be entering yet another Executive Order, requiring a 100% in-person workforce reduction of non-essential businesses by 8 pm on March 22, 2020.

Paid Sick Leave

Effective immediately, New York has enacted a sick leave law providing certain benefits to all employees in the state. The new law applies only to employees who are under a mandatory order of quarantine due to COVID-19 issued by the state, the department of health, a local board of health, or any entity authorized to issue such orders. Under the law, the amount of sick leave an employer must provide, and whether it is required to be paid, varies depending on the size of the employer, as follows:

  • Employers with ten or fewer employees must provide unpaid sick leave until the termination of the quarantine or isolation order.

  • Employers with ten or fewer employees and net income in the previous tax year of $1 million or more, must provide at least five paid sick days and then unpaid leave until the termination of the quarantine or isolation order.

  • Employers with between 11 and 99 employees must provide at least five paid sick days and then unpaid leave until the termination of the quarantine or isolation order.

  • Employers with 100 or more employees must provide employees with 14 days of paid sick leave.

The size of an employer for purposes of the sick leave law is determined by the number of employees of the business as of January 1, 2020.

It is important to note that this sick leave only applies to individuals under quarantine due to COVID-19. In fact, the law expressly excludes anyone who is asymptotic or has not been diagnosed and is physically able to work remotely (or through similar means) while under a precautionary order of quarantine or isolation (as opposed to a mandatory one).

New York’s sick leave law will not apply to any employee who is eligible for paid leave, paid family leave, or disability benefits under federal law, unless the New York law would provide for greater benefits. It remains unclear how the New York State sick leave law will interact with employer obligations under local sick leave laws, such as the ones in effect in New York City and Westchester County.

In-Person Workforce Reductions

Over the past few days Governor Cuomo has entered a number of Executive Orders requiring non-essential businesses to reduce their in-person workforce. As of March 22, 2020 at 8 pm, these orders will require non-essential businesses to reduce their workforces by 100%. Essential businesses are exempted from this workforce reduction.

Under the Executive Orders, “essential business” includes health care operations, essential infrastructure, essential manufacturing, essential retail, essential services, news media, financial institutions, providers of basic necessities, construction, defense, and vendors providing certain services to such essential businesses. The New York Empire State Development (ESD) Corporation has issued guidance for determining whether a business is subject to the workforce reduction.

Businesses in New York need to immediately prepare themselves to comply with the new sick leave requirements and, if applicable, the workforce reductions.

If you have questions about your business’s handling of coronavirus related employment or business issues, please contact us at (201) 345-5412 / (646) 503-5358 or through our online scheduling system.

Employment LawMichael MoreaNew York, paid sick leave, coronavirus