New York State COVID-19 paid sick leave law to end July 31

New Yorkers who get sick from COVID-19 will no longer be able to tap the state-mandated paid sick leave starting Aug. 1, but employees can still use qualifying leave available under other state laws.

The state’s COVID-19 quarantine leave legislation, passed into law in March 2020 by then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo early in the pandemic, is set to expire on July 31, according to the state.

New York State implemented the leave in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to “guarantee workers job protection and financial compensation in the event they, or their minor dependent child, are subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation issued” by the state due to COVID-19, according to the state website.

On Long Island, 53 patients were hospitalized because of COVID-19 earlier this week, down from a high of 169 in February, according to the state's Daily Hospitalization Summary. Statewide, the peak of hospitalizations hit 1,000 in early January, while in late July, the total stood at 261. At the height of the pandemic, the state saw hospitalizations soar to 18,825 in early April 2020. During that same period on Long Island, total COVID-19 hospitalizations hit 4,108.

“After the expiration on July 31, COVID will be treated essentially the same as the flu or any other type of illness," said employment lawyer Jessica C. Moller, a partner at Bond, Schoeneck & King in Melville.

As part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2024-25 state budget passed in March 2024, the state set the expiration date for the COVID-19 paid sick leave for the end of July. New York is the last state to still have a COVID-19 paid sick leave benefit for workers.

At the time, Hochul cited guidance changes from health agencies.

Here are four things Long Islanders should know as the state’s COVID-19 sick leave law is set to sunset.

What does New York’s COVID-19 sick leave cover?

Shortly after the pandemic began, the state needed a mechanism to ensure that employees statewide had some form of paid sick leave available, said Domenique Camacho Moran, employment attorney and partner at Farrell Fritz in Uniondale.

“Employers with one to 10 employees got five days of unpaid sick leave for COVID, employers with 11 to 99 employees got five paid days of sick leave, and employers with more than 100 employees got 14 days of paid sick leave,” Camacho Moran said.

Initially, the COVID-19 leave required New Yorkers to be given an order of quarantine to access the benefit, she said.

Shortly after the pandemic began, employers were operating under the state requirements that required 14-day quarantines for COVID-19 infections. As guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed, individuals no longer needed a quarantine order to receive COVID-19 paid leave, Camacho Moran said.

The law was later interpreted to allow New Yorkers to use the leave only three times in total: once to care for an ill family member, and twice for individuals to take care of themselves, she said.

What if I need to take time off after July 31?

Employees who are unable to work due to a COVID-19 infection still have other options, including sick leave available to them under the state’s Paid Sick Leave law.

The Paid Sick Leave law, first signed into law in April 2020 and made effective on Jan. 1, 2021, gives employees paid sick leave hours depending on the size of their company, said Jessica M. Baquet, employment attorney and partner at Westerman Ball Ederer Miller Zucker & Sharfstein in Uniondale.

“Going forward, if you get COVID, you’ll have to use the other types of leave that are available to you,” Baquet said. “You’ll have to use your sick leave or other PTO (paid time off) you have.”

Currently, the state’s Paid Sick Leave law gives full-time employees who work for an employer with under 100 workers access to 40 hours of paid sick leave, and those working for an employer with over 100 employees 56 hours of paid leave annually, Baquet said.

Paid sick leave accrues at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked.

What are employers required to do once the law expires?

Employment law experts said employers are not required to communicate with the state or take further actions when the law sunsets. But now may be a good time to amend employee handbooks or benefits documents that list the leave for workers, they said.

“It’s possible that employers have policies discussing this COVID leave under New York State law, and it would be appropriate to remove those policies entirely from any handbooks,” Baquet said. “It would make it clear that the employer is not voluntarily providing a bank of leave for COVID.”

How do I apply for the Paid Family Leave and disability benefits?

Individuals who need to care for a family member who has become seriously ill due to COVID-19 may still be able apply for benefits through the state's Paid Family Leave law, which allows New Yorkers during a 52-week period to receive up to 12 weeks of job-secured paid time off to bond with a new child, help loved ones when a family member is deployed to active military service overseas or to care for seriously ill family members.

For more information on how to apply, visit PaidFamilyLeave.ny.gov, or call 844-337-6303.