• The DCWP has released proposed rules to implement the recent amendments to New York City’s ESSTA.
• The ESSTA amendments included the addition of thirty-two unpaid leave hours, expansion of ESSTA reasons, new pay statement documentation requirements, and modification of potential penalties.
• Employers and other stakeholders may submit comments to the DCWP. A public hearing on the proposed rules is scheduled for March 2, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. EST.

Recent Amendments to the ESSTA

The recent amendments aligned the ESSTA with New York City’s Temporary Schedule Change Law, expanding the circumstances under which employees may take protected time off. Those circumstances now include:

• caring for a child or for a member of an employee’s household with a disability;
• attending legal proceedings related to benefits for an individual under an employee’s care;
• the closure of an employee’s place of business or a child’s school or place of care due to a public disaster;
• government directives to avoid travel or stay indoors during a public disaster;
• seeking legal services or assistance if an employee or a family member is a victim of workplace violence; and
• other reasons that would qualify for safe/sick time under the ESSTA.

Further, the amendments provide employees with a separate bank of thirty-two hours of unpaid protected time off, available immediately upon hire, in addition to the forty or fifty-six hours, depending on employer size, already mandated under the ESSTA.

The Proposed...

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