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Starting February 22, New York City Employers Must Provide Additional Unpaid Safe and Sick Leave

By Stephanie M. Steinberg and Glenn S. Grindlinger
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Key Points:

  • Additional Unpaid Leave Requirement. Under the amended Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA), New York City employers must provide employees with an additional 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick time  beginning February 22, 2026.
  • Expanded Uses. The amended ESSTA adds four new permissible uses for safe and sick time: care for a minor child, attending legal proceedings for subsistence or housing benefits, responding to public disasters, and addressing incidents of workplace violence. 
  • Policy Updates Required. Employers should review and update their employee handbooks and other relevant policies to incorporate these amendments and ensure ongoing compliance with New York City law.

Beginning February 22, 2026, New York City employers must provide employees with an additional 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick time, frontloaded at hire.

This new requirement is a result of amendments to the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) that were enacted in October 2025. Currently, the ESSTA requires employers, depending on their size, to provide employees who work in New York City with 40 to 56 hours of paid safe and sick leave. Under the changes, those employers will need to also provide employees with 32 hours of unpaid leave.

The amended ESSTA also adds four potential uses for safe and sick time, including care for a minor child, attending legal proceedings for subsistence or housing benefits, public disasters and incidents of workplace violence. Additionally, as of February 22, 2026, employers must provide 20 hours of paid prenatal leave per 52-week period, which is concurrent with New York State law.

The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection requires all employers to maintain written policies that comply with the ESSTA. Accordingly, New York City employers must review and update their employee handbooks and other relevant policies to include these amendments to ESSTA so that they remain in compliance with New York City law.

To learn more about the requirements for Sick and Safe Leave for New York City Employers, please review our prior alerts:

For more information, please contact Glenn S. Grindlinger at ggrindlinger@foxrothschild.com, or another member of Fox Rothschild’s New York Labor & Employment Department.

This information is intended to inform firm clients and friends about legal developments, including the decisions of courts and administrative bodies. Nothing in this alert should be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion. Readers should not act upon the information contained in this alert without seeking the advice of legal counsel. Views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily this law firm or its clients.