New York Employers Need to Ensure Compliance with New Paid Prenatal Leave Law | Hinckley Allen

The New York State Paid Prenatal Leave Law, an amendment to New York Labor Law § 196-b, requires all private-sector employers in New York State to provide their employees with 20 hours of Paid Prenatal Leave each year. This means leave taken for the health care services received by an employee during their pregnancy or related to such pregnancy, e.g., physical exams, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, end-of-pregnancy care, and fertility treatments.  The law further prohibits employers from retaliating or discriminating against an employee for requesting and using Paid Prenatal Leave.

While an employee has the option to use Paid Sick Leave, Paid Prenatal Leave, or an existing employer leave policy to attend prenatal health care appointments, an employer cannot require an employee to use one type of leave over another. Notably, employers must allow employees to use Paid Prenatal Leave when they request it until all 20 hours of leave they are entitled to each year have been used.

Leave can be taken in hourly increments and must be paid at the regular rate of pay.  Unused time does not have to be paid out at termination, resignation, or at the end of the year. An employee does not need to work a minimum number of hours to accrue Paid Prenatal Leave.

Finally, while the law does not require recordkeeping on paystubs, the State of New York recommends employers “maintain clear records of available types of leave and amounts of types of leave used in a manner accessible to both the employer and employee.” Employers are further encouraged to communicate how employees can request leave.

Additional guidance on the law is available here.

Employers need to review their policies and procedures to ensure they are up-to-date and in compliance with the requirements outlined above.