Are you ready for the new leave, reimbursement protections for NY employees?

New York City and New York State have new protections for employees that are either in effect now, or will take effect soon. An expansion of the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act will take effect February 22. And a New York State ban on traditional employee reimbursement agreements took effect in December. Both of these are summarized below.

NEW YORK CITY

Effective February 22: Expansion of NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time Act

New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act generally requires covered employers to provide employees with time off for reasons related to the employee’s illness, or to care for a family member who needs medical diagnosis or treatment. It also applies to time off related to domestic violence, stalking, or similar issues. The leave is paid or unpaid, depending on the size and net income of the employer.

Currently, private sector employers in the City are covered by the ESSTA as follows:

• Employers with 100 or more employees must provide up to 56 hours of paid ESSTA leave per year.
• Employers with 5 to 99 employees must provide up to 40 hours of paid ESSTA leave per year.
• Employers with fewer than 5 employees and a net income of $1 million or more in the prior tax year must provide up to 40 hours of unpaid ESSTA leave per year.

The requirement to provide 40 hours of paid ESSTA leave per year also applies to employers who have

• One or more domestic worker, OR
• Fewer than 5 employees and a net income of $1 million or more in the prior tax year.

“Domestic worker” is defined as “any person who provides care for a child, companionship for a sick, convalescing or elderly person, housekeeping, or any other domestic service in a home or residence.”

The City expanded the qualifying reasons for paid leave under the ESSTA in October 2025. These changes will take effect near the end of this month, on February 22, 2026. As of the February effective date, employers in the City will be required to allow employees to use ESSTA leave for these additional reasons:

• To provide care for a minor child or care recipient.
• To attend legal proceedings for subsistence benefits or housing.
• For certain reasons related to a public disaster or workplace violence.

“Care recipient” is defined as “a person with a disability, including a temporary disability, who (i) is the caregiver’s family member or resides in the caregiver’s household and (ii) relies on the caregiver for medical care or to meet the needs of daily living.”

“Public disaster” is defined as “an event such as fire, explosion, terrorist attack, severe weather conditions or other catastrophe that is declared a public emergency or disaster” by the President, Governor, or Mayor.

“Workplace violence” means “any act or threat of violence against an employee that occurs in a place of employment.”

In addition, all employers regardless of the number of employees must provide the following:

• An additional 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick time leave at the time of hire and at the beginning of each calendar year for an employee's immediate use.
• A separate bank of 20 hours to be used for paid prenatal leave during any 52-week calendar period.

Employees are also now entitled to 1 hour of ESSTA leave for every 30 hours worked. This is subject to annual accrual and usage caps based on employer size:

• 40 hours for employers with 99 or fewer employees.
• 56 hours for employers with 100 or more employees.

Finally, the amendments eliminate the requirement that employees work a minimum amount of time in New York City to qualify for ESSTA leave.

It is anticipated that the administrative rule implementing the ESSTA will be updated to reflect these new requirements.

NEW YORK STATE

Effective now: NY State “Trapped At Work Act” bans many employment reimbursement agreements

Effective December 19, 2025, the New York State “Trapped at Work Act” prohibits employers from requiring a worker or prospective worker to sign an “employment promissory note.” Under these agreements, the worker agrees to pay the employer a sum of money if the worker leaves before the expiration of a certain period of time.

The law broadly defines “worker” as “an employee, independent contractor, extern, intern, volunteer, apprentice, [or] sole proprietor who provides a service or services to an employer or to a client or customer of an employer on behalf of such employer, and an individual who provides service through a business or nonprofit entity or association.”

“Employment promissory note” is defined as “any instrument, agreement, or contract provision that requires a worker to pay the employer, or the employer’s agent or assignee, a sum of money if the worker leaves such employment before the passage of a stated period of time” and includes agreements that “such payment of moneys constitutes reimbursement for training provided to the worker by the employer or by a third party.”

The Trapped at Work Act does not prohibit employment agreements that require

• A worker to repay money advanced by an employer, unless the money is used to pay for training related to the worker’s employment.
• A worker to pay the employer for any property that the employer has sold or leased to the worker.
• Educational personnel to comply with any terms or conditions of sabbatical leaves granted by their employers.

Significantly, the statute applies only to mandated promissory notes, so presumably agreements by an employee to elect a loan in exchange for a promissory note, which are routine in the securities industry, would not be covered.

In addition, the statute does not prohibit agreements that are part of a program agreed to by the employer and a collective bargaining representative.

Any agreements inconsistent with the Trapped at Work Act are void and unenforceable. Employers can be fined between $1,000 and $5,000 for each violation. In addition, the worker can recover attorneys’ fees that he or she incurred in defending an action to enforce a promissory note that violates the Act. There are no other private remedies apart from the worker’s right to recover these attorneys’ fees.

If you need guidance or assistance relating to these new requirements, please contact any attorney in Constangy’s New York offices.