The New York City Council has approved a bill that, if ultimately enacted, would expand the city’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”).

As a reminder, currently under ESSTA, employers must provide up to 40 or 56 hours of paid safe/sick leave per year, depending on employer size (though employers with 4 or fewer employees and a net income of less than $1 million in the prior tax year may provide unpaid leave). Employees can use time under ESSTA as sick time for absences for illness, preventive care, care of a family member, or certain closures during a public health emergency, and/or as “safe time” for absences related to domestic violence, sexual offenses, stalking, or human trafficking.

Additional Reasons for ESSTA Leave

The bill would add several new qualifying reasons for leave under ESSTA including:

• closure of the employee’s place of business by order of a public official due to a public disaster (defined to include events such as a fire, terrorist attack, or severe weather conditions);
• to care for an employee’s child whose school or childcare provider has restricted in-person operations or is closed due to a public disaster or public health emergency;
• where a public official directs people to remain indoors or avoid travel during a public disaster which prevents an employee from reporting to their work location;
• where an employee or their covered family member has been the victim of workplace violence (defined as “any act or threat of violence against an employee...

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