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New York State Passes Paid Leave for Quarantined Employees


6 minute read | March.23.2020

On March 18, 2020, New York State passed legislation (the “Act”) to provide emergency sick leave and other benefits to employees who are unable to work because they are subject to a government order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19.  The key provisions of Act, which took effect immediately, are as follows:

Covered Employers

The Act applies to all New York State employers and imposes varying obligations based upon the size of the employer’s workforce and/or the employer’s income.

Covered Employees

Any employees who are subject to a “mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation because of COVID-19” issued by any governmental entity are eligible for benefits under the Act (“eligible employees”).  The Act does not define “mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation.”  However, the Act expressly excludes the following two categories of employees from coverage:

  1. Any employee who is “deemed asymptomatic or has yet to be diagnosed with any medical condition” and is physically able to work “remotely or through similar means” while under a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation. In the event New York City or New York State issues an order of mandatory or precautionary quarantine or isolation for all individuals (which has not occurred as of March 23, 2020), this exclusion indicates that the law would only apply to those individuals who cannot work remotely (regardless of whether they display symptoms of COVID-19).
  2. Any employees who become subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine because of non-business travel to a country for which the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a level-two or level-three health notice.

COVID-19-Related Sick Leave

The Act requires the following categories of employers to provide the following paid and unpaid leaves to eligible employees:

  • Employers with 10 or fewer employees as of January 1, 2020 and a net income of less than $1 million in the previous tax year must provide unpaid sick leave until the termination of the order of quarantine or isolation.
  • Employers with either (1) 11 to 99 employees as of January 1, 2020; or (2) 10 or fewer employees as of January 1, 2020 and a net income greater than $1 million in the previous tax year must provide at least five days of paid sick leave (at the employee's regular rate of pay), and then (after the five days of paid leave) unpaid sick leave until the termination of the order of quarantine or isolation.
  • Employers with 100 or more employees as of January 1, 2020, as well as public employers (regardless of the number of employees) must provide at least 14 days of paid sick leave (at the employee's regular rate of pay) during any order of quarantine or isolation.
The paid and unpaid leave benefits required under the Act must be provided without a reduction in any other accrued sick leave benefits eligible employees may have under an employer’s existing policy.

Disability And Paid Family Leave
The Act also provides that eligible employees who work for employers with fewer than 100 employees (i.e. those who receive less than 14 days of paid leave to cover the entire time period of the order of quarantine or isolation) may utilize New York Paid Family Leave (“NYPFL”) and New York short-term disability benefits for the remainder of an order of quarantine or isolation. The Act expands the coverage of disability to specifically cover an employee’s inability to work as a result of an order of quarantine or isolation and expands the coverage of the NYPFL to specifically cover an employee’s leave from work due to such an order or in the event the employee must care for a dependent child subject to an order of quarantine or isolation.  The NYPFL and disability benefits will run concurrently, and an employee may recover a weekly maximum of $840.70 in NYPFL benefits and $2,043.95 in disability benefits.  These benefits are administered through the existing mechanisms under New York State’s short-term disability scheme and the NYPFL. The Act waives the usual qualifying waiting period for NYPFL and short-term disability benefits.

The table below summarizes the specific benefits employers in New York will be required to provide to eligible employees:
Employer Size Sick Leave Benefits for Eligible Employees NYPFL for Eligible Employees Disability Benefits for Eligible Employees
Employers with 10 or fewer employees as of January 1, 2020, and with a net income of less than $1 million in the previous tax year. Unpaid sick leave until the termination of any mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19. Available on the first full day of the employee’s unpaid sick leave, up to a maximum of $840.70 per week. Available on the first full day of the employee’s disability, up to a maximum of $2,043.92 per week.
Employers with either: (1) 11 to 99 employees as of January 1, 2020, or (2) 10 or fewer employees as of January 1, 2020, and with a net income greater than $1 million in the previous tax year. At least five (5) days of paid sick leave (at the employee's regular rate of pay) followed by unpaid leave until the termination of any mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19. Available on the first full day of the employee’s unpaid sick leave, up to a maximum of $840.70 per week. Available on the first full day of the employee’s disability, assuming the employee has exhausted all paid sick leave provided pursuant to the law, up to a maximum of $2,043.92 per week.
Employers with 100 or more employees as of January 1, 2020, as well as all public employers (regardless of number of employees). At least 14 days of paid sick leave (at the employee's regular rate of pay) until the termination of any mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19. Not available. Not available.

 
Job-Protection

Regardless of the employer’s size, the Act requires that any eligible employee utilizing sick leave (paid or unpaid) under the Act must be restored to the same position he/she held, including with respect to pay and terms and conditions of employment, prior to going out on such leave.  Moreover, employers are prohibited from discharging, penalizing, discriminating, or retaliating against an employee taking sick leave pursuant to the Act.

Interplay With Federal Law

If the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) provides greater sick leave or other benefits for an employee related to COVID-19, the employee will be entitled to the benefits provided by the FFCRA only and cannot also claim the benefits provided by the Act. However, if the Act provides greater benefits to the employee, the employee can claim sick leave and employee benefits in an amount that is equal to the difference between the benefits provided by the Act and the FFCRA. Notably, employers with more than 500 employees are not covered by the FFCRA and are fully subject to the Act.