COVID-19 Sick Leave Laws Pass

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Both New York and the federal government have passed laws requiring certain employers to provide paid sick leave for certain employees who are unable to work due to COVID-19. If you are sick, subjected to quarantine/isolation, or unable to work due to caregiving responsibilities, you may be entitled to sick leave under either the State or federal law -- or both. If you have questions about these leave laws, or you believe you are entitled to leave, you should contact an attorney.

New York:

New York requires all employers to provide sick leave to any employee who subject to a mandatory or  precautionary order of quarantine or isolation issued by the state of New York, the department of health, local board of  health, or any governmental entity. The nature and amount of leave depends on the size of employer:

  • Employers with 10 or fewer employees and net income of less than $1M must provide unpaid sick leave for the duration of quarantine or isolation.

  • Employers with 10 or fewer employees and net income of more than $1M must provide five days of paid sick leave plus additional unpaid sick leave for the duration of quarantine or isolation.

  • Employers with 11-99 employers must provide at least 5 days of paid sick leave plus additional unpaid sick leave for the duration of quarantine or isolation.

  • Employers with 100 or more employees and all public employers must provide at least 14 days of paid sick leave during any order of quarantine or isolation.

New York has issued guidance about how to obtain a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine. You can also view more information at the State’s Paid Leave Law website. If you believe that you are entitled to paid sick leave due to COVID-19 and your employer will not provide it, contact an attorney.

Federal Law:

The federal sick leave law applies only to public employers and private employers with fewer than 500 employees. For those covered, the law provides:

  • Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay where the employee is unable to work because the employee is quarantined and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or

  • Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay because the employee is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine or to care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19, and/or the employee is experiencing a substantially similar condition as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor; and

  • In addition to either of the above, up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay where an employee, who has been employed for at least 30 calendar days, is unable to work due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

For more information, contact an attorney or view the Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet.

Disclaimer: This post is meant to inform the reader about the state of the law. Nothing in this post is intended to nor does create an attorney-client privilege, convey legal advice, or guarantee any outcome in a legal matter.

Employment discriminationKLLF LawCOVID-19, coronavirus, termination, employment, sick leave