New York recently enacted laws requiring accommodations for pregnant and nursing employees that significantly expand protections for workers in New York. The laws apply to businesses of all sizes.
Effective June 19, 2024, all private sector employees, regardless of size, must provide nursing employees with 30 minutes of paid break time to express breast milk, for up to three years following childbirth. (New York Labor Law § 206-c) Under the law, employees are also permitted to use any existing paid break or meal time for breast milk expression in excess of 30 minutes. The law further provides that employers must provide paid lactation breaks “each time such employee has reasonable need to express breast milk,” suggesting that employees may be entitled to multiple paid lactation breaks per day. This law enhances previous legislation that allowed for “reasonable” unpaid break time.
Effective January 1, 2025, New York will become the first state to mandate paid prenatal leave. Under the new New York Labor Law Section 196-b, private employers in New York will be required to provide 20 hours of paid leave per year for pregnant employees to attend prenatal medical appointments and procedures in addition to any paid sick, safe or family leave already provided. Employees may take paid prenatal leave in increments of one hour and must be paid out in hourly installments at the employee’s regular rate or the minimum wage under New York law, whichever is greater. The law does not address recordkeeping or notice requirements, carryover obligations or how the new law affects other types of paid time off, if at all. We expect that the New York Department of Labor will publish regulations or FAQs to clarify these questions in the coming months.
Employers must update their leave policies and practices to conform with these new laws and inform their HR and benefits team members of these changes. We will continue to monitor these changes in the law and provide updates as developments unfold.
The attorneys at Kane Kessler are available to assist companies in the formulation of these policies as well as a range of labor and employment issues. Please contact Dana Susman, dsusman@kanekessler.com at 212 519-5136, Naomi Lantsberg, nlantsberg@kanekessler.com at 212 519 – 5117, or Jonathan Sabin, jsabin@kanekessler.com at 212 519- 5113 for additional information.