The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (“DCWP”) recently adopted final rules implementing amendments to the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”) that incorporate and expand upon New York State’s paid prenatal leave law. These new rules apply to all private-sector NYC employers, regardless of size, and impose new obligations relating to policies, documentation, notices, recordkeeping, and payroll as of July 16, 2025.

As discussed previously here, New York State began requiring all employers to provide up to 20 hours of paid prenatal leave as of January 1, 2025. The newly adopted NYC rules enhance employer prenatal leave obligations under ESSTA,

Pursuant to the ESSTA amendments:

• Employees may use PPL in minimum increments of 1 hour. Fixed intervals (e.g., 30-minute blocks) may apply beyond that increment if set in a written policy.
• When an employee uses PPL, employers must include both the hours used and the remaining balance on the employee’s pay statement or other written documentation.
• All employers must update and distribute their written ESSTA policy to include the amendments. The policy must address accrual, notice, documentation, confidentiality, and use. Distribution is required upon hire, within 14 days of any change, and upon request.
• Employers must post and distribute the updated Notice of Employee Rights, which now includes PPL and the ESSTA amendments. A record of receipt must be retained.

While there are additional references to prenatal leave within the ESSTA rules, such as with respect to notice and documentation, they are more restrictive than the New York Prenatal Leave requirements and we anticipate that such differences will be clarified in further iterations of the ESSTA rules.

New York City employers should take immediate steps to ensure that their prenatal leave policies comply with the ESSTA requirements, distribute updated policies to their employees, set up a mechanism for tracking and reporting prenatal leave balances, and distribute the updated Notice of Employee Rights.

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If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact our Labor & Employment attorneys or the primary EGS attorney with whom you work.