New York State has joined the growing list of states and localities (including New York City and Westchester County) mandating that employers provide paid sick leave to employees.

The new obligation is separate and distinct from the New York State Quarantine Leave Law enacted in response to COVID-19.

The statewide sick leave law applies to all employers with employees in the state. The law goes into effect on September 30, 2020 when employers must allow employees to start accruing paid sick leave, but employers are not obligated to allow use of sick leave until January 1, 2021.

Similar to the New York Quarantine Leave Law, the amount of paid sick leave an employer must provide an employee varies based on an employer’s size. Employers with 100 or more employees must provide 56 hours of paid sick leave per calendar year. Employers with fewer than 100 employees must provide 40 hours of paid sick leave; except employers with less than 5 employees, and a net income of less than $1 million, can provide 40 hours of unpaid time. The law does not specifically address whether multistate employers should count employees outside of New York in determining an employer’s size.