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The New York City Council recently passed several bills that, if signed by the Mayor would place even more financial and administrative burdens on employers by increasing employee leave entitlements and imposing pay reporting requirements.
One bill would significantly amend the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”) to incorporate provisions of the Temporary Schedule Change Law and expand the reasons employees may use safe/sick leave. These changes include allowing employees to use safe/sick leave for:
- personal events currently covered under the Temporary Schedule Change Law;
- care of children or household members during public disasters;
- to comply with public safety directives that prevent travel to work; and
- to seek legal or social services in cases of workplace violence.
The bill also establishes a separate bank of thirty-two (32) hours of unpaid leave, available immediately upon hire, replacing the two days of temporary schedule changes previously required.
A second bill package, focusing on pay equity, would require private employers with at least 200 employees in New York City to submit employee demographic and pay data to a designated city agency. The data, which mirrors federal EEO-1 reporting requirements, would include employees’ salaries and rates of pay broken down by job title, sex, and race/ethnicity, with optional reporting for other gender identities and explanatory notes. Employers would be required to certify the accuracy of the data, and first-time non-compliance would trigger a written warning with a 30-day cure period, followed by civil penalties if the reporting obligations remain unmet.
Taken together, these legislative developments reflect a direction from New York City lawmakers: leave policies and pay transparency are under heightened focus. Employers now face not only expanded obligations to grant and track safe and sick leave but also the potential requirement to collect, certify, and submit pay data. While the legislation is not yet law, employers should begin preparing now, as these changes could be implemented shortly after mayoral approval.
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