A New Yorker’s Guide to Earned Safe and Sick Time
Key Takeaways: The NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) grants most workers in the five boroughs the right to accrue and use paid or unpaid leave for health and safety reasons. Coverage applies to any worker who physically performs work in New York City, regardless of employment status (the 80-hour threshold was removed by the 2023 ESSTA Final Rules, effective October 15, 2023). Leave accrues at one hour per 30 hours worked and can be used for personal or family illness, public health emergencies, and safety situations involving domestic violence, stalking, or trafficking. Employers must maintain payroll and leave records for six years. ESSTA works alongside New York State sick time law, with the more generous protection governing where both apply.
The NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) gives most workers in the five boroughs the right to accrue and use paid or unpaid leave for health and safety reasons. Covered employees can use sick leave for care and treatment of themselves or family members. If you work in New York City, you likely earn this leave simply by working. When employers fail to provide or pay for earned time, the issue can become a wage claim.
Who Is Covered by ESSTA in New York City
Coverage under ESSTA is broad and reaches workers often excluded from other benefits. If you physically perform work within the five boroughs, you are covered, whether full-time, part-time, temporary, or undocumented. The 2023 ESSTA Final Rules, effective October 15, 2023, removed the prior 80-hour annual threshold. This low threshold captures seasonal staff, hourly workers, and people with multiple jobs.
Your employer’s size and net income determine whether your sick time is paid or unpaid. Businesses with 5 or more employees must provide paid sick time. Businesses with 4 or fewer employees must provide paid leave if their net income was $1 million or more in the previous tax year; smaller employers may provide unpaid leave. Employers of domestic workers must provide paid leave regardless of size.
💡 Pro Tip: Keep your own record of hours worked and leave used. Your contemporaneous notes can corroborate official records if disputes arise.
How You Earn and Use Safe and Sick Leave
Accrual happens steadily as you work, not all at once. Employees accrue leave at a minimum rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. Over a full year of steady work, this adds up to meaningful protected time.
The law recognizes that life rarely waits for convenient moments, so permitted uses are wide-ranging. Acceptable reasons include personal illness, caring for family members, public health emergencies, and situations involving domestic violence, sexual contact, stalking, or human trafficking. The “safe” portion extends protections to violence survivors, allowing time off without choosing between safety and a paycheck.
You generally do not need to over-explain yourself. An employer can require a health care provider’s note only if you use sick time for more than 3 consecutive days, and the note need not specify the nature of your health issue. This privacy protection guards against intrusive documentation demands.
The Records Your Employer Must Keep
Recordkeeping sits at the heart of any sick leave or wage dispute in New York City. New York Labor Law § 195(4) requires employers to establish, maintain and preserve for not less than six years contemporaneous, true, and accurate payroll records that include the amount of sick leave provided to each employee. You can review the employer payroll recordkeeping statute text. Missing or inaccurate records can themselves become evidence supporting a worker’s claim.
You are entitled to see your leave balance regularly. Employers must provide written documentation of accrued, used, and remaining safe and sick leave each pay period. If your pay stub never mentions sick leave, that gap warrants questioning.
💡 Pro Tip: Save every pay stub and leave statement. Because the law requires six-year retention, a complete personal file can become powerful evidence if you need to reconstruct your earned time.
Special Rules for Construction and Public Works Jobs
Workers in construction and public works face additional recordkeeping obligations. NY Labor Law § 220(3)(i)(iii) requires contractors to maintain payroll records showing for each worker the hours and days worked, occupations, hourly wage rates, and supplements paid or provided, with civil penalties up to one thousand dollars per day for willful failure to file. These records, submitted to relevant agencies, can be critical evidence in unpaid sick leave or wage theft disputes.
For prevailing wage workers, supplements often include benefits like sick leave. A single set of payroll records can speak to multiple potential violations. If you work on a public project and suspect underreported hours or supplements, those §220 filings are a logical first place to look.
Understanding the NYS Sick Time Law Alongside the City Rule
The nys sick time law operates as a statewide floor, while ESSTA adds city-specific protections. All private-sector employees in New York State are covered, regardless of industry, occupation, or part-time status, though government employees are not. The state framework and city ordinance are related but distinct, and differences affect how much leave you earn.
State entitlements scale with employer size and income. New York State law requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide up to 56 hours of paid sick leave, employers with 5 to 99 employees to provide up to 40 hours of paid leave, and employers with 4 or fewer employees to provide up to 40 hours, paid or unpaid depending on net income. Read the state’s New York Paid Sick Leave overview. Our discussion of the New York sick leave law explains where city and state coverage diverge.
Employer Size | NYS Leave Entitlement |
|---|---|
100 or more employees | Up to 56 hours, paid |
5 to 99 employees | Up to 40 hours, paid |
4 or fewer employees | Up to 40 hours, paid or unpaid by net income |
💡 Pro Tip: When city and state rules both apply, the more generous protection governs. Comparing both standards can reveal leave you may not have realized you earned.
When Unpaid Sick Time Becomes a Wage Claim
Earned sick time that goes unpaid can become an unpaid wages problem. Earned sick time must be compensated at the employee’s regular rate of pay, which cannot fall below the applicable wage floor. NY Labor Law § 652(1-b)(a) provides that on and after January first, two thousand twenty-seven, every employer regardless of size shall pay each employee for each hour worked in New York City a wage of not less than the adjusted minimum wage rate established annually by the commissioner. Employers who pay sick time below the required rate may face claims under both ESSTA and the Minimum Wage Act.
Retaliation for using protected leave is unlawful. NY Labor Law § 215 prohibits employers from discharging, threatening, penalizing, or discriminating against any employee because that employee filed a complaint or instituted a proceeding, and no pay, position, seniority, or other benefits may be lost for the exercise of any right provided under New York’s sick leave law (§ 196-b).
Timing matters, and the window to act is short. The primary anti-retaliation protection for wage and sick leave complaints in New York is NY Labor Law § 215, which provides a two-year civil statute of limitations for private lawsuits; administrative complaint deadlines may also apply depending on the claim. NY Labor Law § 880(4) governs retaliation in the narrow context of toxic substances rights (Article 28) and is not the applicable statute for sick leave or general wage retaliation claims. Courts and agencies read these deadlines strictly, so prompt action is important. If you believe you have a claim, speaking with a sick time law lawyer can clarify which deadlines apply.
Document dates you requested and used leave.
Note any change in schedule, pay, or duties that followed.
Preserve emails, texts, and pay records referencing your leave.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does ESSTA apply if I only work part-time?
Yes. The law covers part-time, temporary, full-time, and undocumented workers who physically perform work within the five boroughs. Part-time classification does not remove coverage.
2. Can my employer ask why I need to use my sick time?
Generally, no detailed explanation is required for short absences. A health care provider’s note may be requested only after more than three consecutive days of leave, and the note need not disclose your specific condition. This protects your medical privacy while allowing limited verification.
3. What is the difference between the NYC and state sick time rules?
They are separate frameworks that often overlap. The state nys sick time law sets a baseline tied to employer size and income, while ESSTA layers on city-specific protections. Where both apply, the standard benefiting the employee more generally controls.
4. Can I be fired for using my earned sick leave?
Retaliation for exercising these rights is prohibited. Under Labor Law § 215, employees who use protected leave are shielded from discharge, discipline, and loss of pay or seniority. Workers facing retaliation may seek remedies such as reinstatement and back pay.
5. How do I know if unpaid sick time counts as wage theft?
It can, depending on how your employer handled the time. If earned leave was never paid, was paid below the required rate, or was erased from records, those facts may support a wage claim. Reviewing your pay records is usually the starting point.
Protecting the Leave You Have Already Earned
The NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time Act ensures New Yorkers don’t sacrifice health, safety, or paychecks because of illness or crisis. From accrual at one hour per thirty worked, to strict recordkeeping duties, to firm anti-retaliation protections, the law gives employees real and enforceable rights. Still, these rights only matter when honored, and disputes over unpaid leave can quickly become wage theft questions. Because every situation turns on its own facts, questions about coverage, timing, and remedies are best answered with your specific records in hand.
