Int. No. 1368

By Council Members Salamanca, Louis and Cabán

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring specified employers to provide paid time off to their employees for bereavement following any firearm related death of a family member of the employee

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Section 20-912 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

§ 20-912 Definitions. [When] As used in this chapter, the following terms [shall be defined as follows] have the following meanings:

Bereavement time. The term “bereavement time” means paid time that is provided by an employer to an employee that can be used for the purposes described in section 20-913.1 of this chapter.  

[“Calendar year” shall mean] Calendar year. The term “calendar year” means a regular and consecutive [twelve] 12-month period, as determined by an employer.

[“Chain business” shall mean] Chain business. The term “chain business” means any employer that is part of a group of establishments that share a common owner or principal who owns at least [thirty] 30 percent of each establishment where such establishments (i) engage in the same business or (ii) operate pursuant to franchise agreements with the same franchisor as defined in general business law section 681; provided that the total number of employees of all such establishments in such group is at least [five] 5.

[“Child” shall mean] Child. The term “child” means a biological, adopted or foster child, a legal ward, or a child of an employee standing in loco parentis.

[“Commissioner” shall mean] Commissioner. The term “commissioner” means the commissioner of consumer and worker protection.

[“Department” shall mean] Department. The term “department” means the department of consumer and worker protection.

[“Domestic partner” shall mean] Domestic partner. The term “domestic partner” means any person who has a registered domestic partnership pursuant to section 3-240 of the code, a domestic partnership registered in accordance with executive order number 123, dated August 7, 1989, or a domestic partnership registered in accordance with executive order number 48, dated January 7, 1993.

[“Domestic worker” shall mean] Domestic worker. The term “domestic worker” means any person who provides care for a child, companionship for a sick, convalescing or elderly person, housekeeping, or any other domestic service in a home or residence.

[“Employee” shall mean] Employee. The term “employee” means any “employee” as defined in subdivision 2 of section 190 of the labor law who is employed for hire within the city [of New York] who performs work on a full-time or part-time basis, including work performed in a transitional jobs program pursuant to section 336-f of the social services law, but not including work performed as a participant in a work experience program pursuant to section 336-c of the social services law, and not including those who are employed by (i) the United States government; (ii) the state of New York, including any office, department, independent agency, authority, institution, association, society or other body of the state including the legislature and the judiciary; or (iii) the city [of New York] or any local government, municipality or county or any entity governed by section 92 of the general municipal law or section 207 of the county law.

[“Employer” shall mean] Employer. The term “employer” means any “employer” as defined in subdivision (3) of section 190 of the labor law, but not including (i) the United States government; (ii) the state of New York, including any office, department, independent agency, authority, institution, association, society or other body of the state including the legislature and the judiciary; or (iii) the city [of New York] or any local government, municipality or county or any entity governed by general municipal law section 92 or county law section 207. In determining the number of employees performing work for an employer for compensation during a given week, all employees performing work for compensation on a full-time, part-time, or temporary basis shall be counted, provided that where the number of employees who work for an employer for compensation per week fluctuates, business size may be determined for the current calendar year based upon the average number of employees who worked for compensation per week during the preceding calendar year, and provided further that in determining the number of employees performing work for an employer that is a chain business, the total number of employees in that group of establishments shall be counted.

[“Family member” shall mean] Family member. The term “family member” means an employee’s child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling, grandchild, or grandparent; the child or parent of an employee’s spouse or domestic partner; and any other individual related by blood to the employee; and any other individual whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

[“Family offense matter” shall mean] Family offense matter. The term “family offense matter” means an act or threat of an act that may constitute disorderly conduct, harassment in the first degree, harassment in the second degree, aggravated harassment in the second degree, sexual misconduct, forcible touching, sexual abuse in the third degree, sexual abuse in the second degree as set forth in subdivision 1 of section 130.60 of the penal law, stalking in the first degree, stalking in the second degree, stalking in the third degree, stalking in the fourth degree, criminal mischief, menacing in the second degree, menacing in the third degree, reckless endangerment, strangulation in the first degree, strangulation in the second degree, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, assault in the second degree, assault in the third degree, an attempted assault, identity theft in the first degree, identity theft in the second degree, identity theft in the third degree, grand larceny in the fourth degree, grand larceny in the third degree, or coercion in the second degree as set forth in subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 135.60 of the penal law between spouses or former spouses, or between parent and child or between members of the same family or household.

Firearm. The term “firearm” means anything from which any shot, bullet, missile, or other projectile can be discharged by force of explosive including anything that has been adapted so that it can be used to discharge a shot, bullet, missile, or other projectile by force of explosive.

Firearm related death. The term “firearm related death” means a death of a person caused by a discharge of a firearm whether or not the discharge was: (i) by another person; (ii) self-inflicted; (iii) intentional; or, (iv) accidental.

[“Grandchild” shall mean] Grandchild. The term “grandchild” means a child of an employee's child.

[“Grandparent” shall mean] Grandparent. The term “grandparent” means a parent of an employee's parent.

[“Health care provider” shall mean] Health care provider. The term “health care provider” means any person licensed under federal or New York state law to provide medical or emergency services, including, but not limited to, doctors, nurses and emergency room personnel.

[“Hourly professional employee” shall mean] Hourly professional employee. The term “hourly professional employee” means any individual (i) who is professionally licensed by the New York state education department, office of professions, under the direction of the New York state board of regents under education law sections 6732, 7902, or 8202, (ii) who calls in for work assignments at will determining his or her own work schedule with the ability to reject or accept any assignment referred to them and (iii) who is paid an average hourly wage which is at least [four] 4 times the federal minimum wage for hours worked during the calendar year.

[“Human trafficking” shall mean] Human trafficking. The term “human trafficking” means an act or threat of an act that may constitute sex trafficking, as defined in section 230.34 of the penal law, or labor trafficking, as defined in section 135.35 and 135.36 of the penal law.

[“Member of the same family or household” shall mean] Member of the same family or household. The term “member of the same family or household” means (i) persons related by consanguinity or affinity; (ii) persons legally married to or in a domestic partnership with one another; (iii) persons formerly married to or in a domestic partnership with one another regardless of whether they still reside in the same household; (iv) persons who have a child in common, regardless of whether such persons have been married or domestic partners or have lived together at any time; and (v) persons who are not related by consanguinity or affinity and who are or have been in an intimate relationship regardless of whether such persons have lived together at any time.

[“Parent” shall mean] Parent. The term “parent” means a biological, foster, step- or adoptive parent, or a legal guardian of an employee, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child.

[“Public disaster” shall mean] Public disaster. The term “public disaster” means an event such as fire, explosion, terrorist attack, severe weather conditions, or other catastrophe that is declared a public emergency or disaster by the president of the United States, the governor of the state of New York, or the mayor of the city[ of New York].

[“Public health emergency” shall mean] Public health emergency. The term “public health emergency” means a declaration made by the commissioner of health and mental hygiene pursuant to subdivision d of section 3.01 of the New York city health code or by the mayor pursuant to section 24 of the executive law.

[“Public service commission” shall mean] Public service commission. The term “public service commission” means the public service commission established by section 4 of the public service law.

[“Safe time” shall mean] Safe time. The term “safe time” means time that is provided by an employer to an employee that can be used for the purposes described in subdivision b of section 20-914 of this chapter, whether or not compensation for that time is required pursuant to this chapter.

[“Safe/sick time” shall mean] Safe/sick time. The term “safe/sick time” means time that is provided by an employer to an employee that can be used for the purposes described in subdivisions a and b of section 20-914 of this chapter, whether or not compensation for that time is required pursuant to this chapter.

[“Sexual offense” shall mean] Sexual offense. The term “sexual offense” means an act or threat of an act that may constitute a violation of article 130 of the penal law.

[“Sibling” shall mean] Sibling. The term “sibling” means an employee's brother or sister, including half-siblings, step-siblings, and siblings related through adoption.

[“Sick time” shall mean] Sick time. The term “sick time” means time that is provided by an employer to an employee that can be used for the purposes described in subdivision a of section 20-914 of this chapter, whether or not compensation for that time is required pursuant to this chapter.

[“Spouse” shall mean] Spouse. The term “spouse” means a person to whom an employee is legally married under the laws of the state of New York.

[“Stalking” shall mean] Stalking. The term “stalking” means an act or threat of an act that may constitute a violation of section 120.45, 120.50, 120.55, or 120.60 of the penal law.

§ 2. Section 20-913 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

§ 20-913 Right to safe/sick time; accrual. a. All employees have the right to safe/sick time pursuant to this chapter.

1. All employers that employ [five] 5 or more employees, all employers of [one] 1 or more domestic workers, and any employer of [four] 4 or fewer employees that had a net income of [one] 1 million dollars or more during the previous tax year, shall provide paid safe/sick time to their employees in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. An employer shall pay an employee for paid safe/sick time at the employee’s regular rate of pay at the time the paid safe/sick time is taken, provided that the rate of pay shall not be less than the highest applicable rate of pay to which the employee would be entitled pursuant to subdivision 1 of section 652 of the labor law, or any other applicable federal, state, or local law, rule, contract, or agreement. Such rate of pay shall be calculated without allowing for any tip credit or tip allowance set forth in any federal, state, or local law, rule, contract, or agreement.

2. All employees not entitled to paid safe/sick time pursuant to this chapter shall be entitled to unpaid safe/sick time in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

b. All employers shall provide a minimum of [one] 1 hour of safe/sick time for every [thirty] 30 hours worked by an employee, provided that employers with [ninety-nine] 99 or fewer employees shall not be required under this chapter to provide more than a total of [forty] 40 hours of safe/sick time for an employee in a calendar year and further provided that employers with [one hundred] 100 or more employees shall not be required under this chapter to provide more than a total of [fifty-six] 56 hours of safe/sick time for an employee in a calendar year. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to discourage or prohibit an employer from allowing the accrual of safe/sick time at a faster rate or the use of safe/sick time at an earlier date than this chapter requires.

c. An employer required to provide paid safe/sick time pursuant to this chapter who provides an employee with an amount of paid leave, including paid time off, paid vacation, paid personal days or paid days of rest required to be compensated pursuant to subdivision 1 of section 161 of the labor law, sufficient to meet the requirements of this section and who allows such paid leave to be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as safe/sick time required pursuant to this chapter, is not required to provide additional paid safe/sick time for such employee whether or not such employee chooses to use such leave for the purposes included in section 20-914 of this chapter. An employer required to provide unpaid safe/sick time pursuant to this chapter who provides an employee with an amount of unpaid or paid leave, including unpaid or paid time off, unpaid or paid vacation, or unpaid or paid personal days, sufficient to meet the requirements of this section and who allows such leave to be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as safe/sick time required pursuant to this chapter, is not required to provide additional unpaid safe/sick time for such employee whether or not such employee chooses to use such leave for the purposes set forth in section 20-914 of this chapter.

d. Safe/sick time as provided pursuant to this chapter shall begin to accrue at the commencement of employment or on the effective date of the local law that created the right to such time, whichever is later. An employee shall be entitled to use safe/sick time as it is accrued, except that employees of any employer of [four] 4 or fewer employees that had a net income of [one] 1 million dollars or more during the previous tax year may use paid safe/sick time as it is accrued on or after January 1, 2021, and that employees of any employer of [one hundred] 100 or more employees may use any accrued amount of paid safe/sick time that exceeds [forty] 40 hours per calendar year on or after January 1, 2021. 

e. Employees who are exempt from the overtime requirements of New York state law or regulations, including the wage orders promulgated by the New York commissioner of labor pursuant to article 19 or 19-A of the labor law, shall be assumed to work [forty] 40 hours in each work week for purposes of safe/sick time accrual unless their regular work week is less than [forty] 40 hours, in which case safe/sick time accrues based upon that regular work week.

f. The provisions of this chapter do not apply to (i) work study programs under 42 U.S.C. section 2753, (ii) employees for the hours worked and compensated by or through qualified scholarships as defined in 26 U.S.C. section 117, (iii) independent contractors who do not meet the definition of employee under subdivision 2 of section 190 of the labor law, and (iv) hourly professional employees.

g. Employees shall determine how much accrued safe/sick time they need to use, provided that employers may set a reasonable minimum increment for the use of safe/sick time which shall not exceed [four] 4 hours per day.

h. For employees of employers with [ninety-nine] 99 or fewer employees, up to [forty] 40 hours of unused safe/sick time as provided pursuant to this chapter shall be carried over to the following calendar year, and for employees of employers with [one hundred] 100 or more employees, up to [fifty-six] 56 hours of unused safe/sick time as provided pursuant to this chapter shall be carried over to the following calendar year; provided that no employer with [ninety-nine] 99 or fewer employees shall be required to (i) allow the use of more than [forty] 40 hours of safe/sick time in a calendar year or (ii) carry over unused paid safe/sick time if the employee is paid for any unused safe/sick time at the end of the calendar year in which such time is accrued and the employer provides the employee with an amount of paid safe/sick time that meets or exceeds the requirements of this chapter for such employee for the immediately subsequent calendar year on the first day of such year; and further provided that no employer with [one hundred] 100 or more employees shall be required to (i) allow the use of more than [fifty-six] 56 hours of safe/sick time in a calendar year or (ii) carry over unused paid safe/sick time if the employee is paid for any unused safe/sick time at the end of the calendar year in which such time is accrued and the employer provides the employee with an amount of paid safe/sick time that meets or exceeds the requirements of this chapter for such employee for the immediately subsequent calendar year on the first day of such year.

i. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as requiring financial or other reimbursement to an employee from an employer upon the employee’s termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment for accrued safe/sick time that has not been used.

j. If an employee is transferred to a separate division, entity or location in the city[ of New York], but remains employed by the same employer, such employee is entitled to all safe/sick time accrued at the prior division, entity or location and is entitled to retain or use all safe/sick time as provided pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. When there is a separation from employment and the employee is rehired within [six] 6 months of separation by the same employer, previously accrued safe/sick time that was not used shall be reinstated and such employee shall be entitled to use such accrued safe/sick time at any time after such employee is rehired, provided that no employer shall be required to reinstate such safe/sick time to the extent the employee was paid for unused accrued safe/sick time prior to separation and the employee agreed to accept such pay for such unused safe/sick time.

§ 3. Chapter 8 of title 20 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 20-913.1 to read as follows:

§ 20-913.1 Right to bereavement time following firearm related death. a. An employee is entitled to bereavement time for absence of work pursuant to this section if any family member of the employee dies from a firearm related death.  

b. An employee’s entitlement to bereavement time pursuant to this section is available from the start date of the employee’s employment or the effective date of this local law that created this entitlement, whichever is later.

c. An employer must pay an employee for bereavement time at the employee’s regular rate of pay at the time the bereavement time is taken, provided that the rate of pay cannot be less than the highest applicable rate of pay to which the employee would be entitled pursuant to subdivision 1 of section 652 of the labor law, or any other applicable federal, state, or local law, rule, contract, or agreement. For the purposes of this subdivision, the rate of pay must:

1. Be calculated without allowing for any tip credit or tip allowance set forth in any deferral, state or local law, rule, contract, or agreement; and

2. Not be charged against an employee’s accrual or use of safe/sick time under this chapter.

d. An employer may require that, within 7 days of an employee’s use of bereavement time, the employee provide reasonable documentation that the use of bereavement time was authorized by this section. Reasonable documentation may include documentation signed by a licensed health care provider indicating the need for the amount of time taken is reasonable documentation. An employer must not require that such documentation specify that the employee has suffered a bereavement or to prove the firearm related death, except as required by law. If a health care provider, or other relevant person, charges an employee a fee for the provision of documentation requested by their employer, the employer must reimburse the employee for the fee charged.

e. An employer must not require an employee to work additional hours to make up for the original hours the employee was absent or to search for or find a replacement employee to cover the hours during which the employee is absent pursuant to this section.

§ 4. The section heading of section 20-914 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

§ 20-914 Use of safe/sick time and bereavement time.

§ 5. Paragraph 2 of subdivision a of section 20-914 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

2. For an absence of more than [three] 3 consecutive work days for sick time, an employer may require reasonable documentation that the use of sick time was authorized by this subdivision. For sick time used pursuant to this subdivision, documentation signed by a licensed health care provider indicating the need for the amount of sick time taken shall be considered reasonable documentation and an employer shall not require that such documentation specify the nature of the employee's or the employee's family member's injury, illness or condition, except as required by law. Where a health care provider charges an employee a fee for the provision of documentation requested by their employer, such employer shall reimburse the employee for such fee.

§ 6. The opening paragraph of paragraph 1 of subdivision b of section 20-914 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

b. Safe time. 1. An employee shall be entitled to use safe time for absence from work due to any of the following reasons when the employee or employee's family member has been the victim of domestic violence pursuant to subdivision [thirty-four] 34 of section [two hundred ninety-two] 292 of the executive law, a family offense matter, sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking:

§ 7. Paragraph 2 of subdivision b of section 20-914 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

2. For an absence of more than [three] 3 consecutive work days for safe time, an employer may require reasonable documentation that the use of safe time was authorized by this subdivision. For safe time used pursuant to this subdivision, documentation signed by an employee, agent, or volunteer of a victim services organization, an attorney, a member of the clergy, or a medical or other professional service provider from whom the employee or that employee's family member has sought assistance in addressing domestic violence, family offense matters, sex offenses, stalking, or human trafficking and their effects; a police or court record; or a notarized letter from the employee explaining the need for such time shall be considered reasonable documentation and an employer shall not require that such documentation specify the details of the domestic violence, family offense matter, sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking. An employer shall reimburse an employee for all reasonable costs or expenses incurred for the purpose of obtaining such documentation for an employer.

§ 8. Section 20-914 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended by adding a new subdivision c to read as follows:

c. Bereavement time. 1. An employee entitled to bereavement time under this chapter:

(a) Is entitled to 10 work days of bereavement time for each bereavement suffered under subdivision b of section 20-913.1; and

(b) Must complete their bereavement time within 60 days of the date the employee received notice of the death of their family member.

§ 9. Subdivisions c, d, e, and f of section 20-914 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, are amended to read as follows:

   [c.] d. An employer may require reasonable notice of the need to use safe/sick time or bereavement time. Where such need is foreseeable, an employer may require reasonable advance notice of the intention to use such [safe/sick] time, not to exceed [seven] 7 days prior to the date such [safe/sick] time is to begin. Where such need is not foreseeable, an employer may require an employee to provide notice of the need for the use of the [safe/sick] time as soon as practicable.

   [d.] e.  Nothing herein shall prevent an employer from requiring an employee to provide written confirmation that an employee used safe/sick time or bereavement time pursuant to this section.

   [e.] f.  An employer shall not require an employee, as a condition of taking safe/sick time or bereavement time to search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which such employee is utilizing time.

   [f.] g. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit an employer from taking disciplinary action, up to and including termination, against a worker who uses safe/sick time or bereavement time provided pursuant to this chapter for purposes other than those described in this section.

§ 10. Section 20-915 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

§ 20-915 Changing schedule. Upon mutual consent of the employee and the employer, an employee who is absent for a reason listed in subdivision a of section 20-914 of this chapter may work additional hours during the immediately preceding [seven] 7 days if the absence was foreseeable or within the immediately subsequent [seven] 7 days from that absence without using safe/sick time to make up for the original hours for which such employee was absent, provided that an adjunct professor who is an employee at an institute of higher education may work such additional hours at any time during the academic term. An employer shall not require such employee to work additional hours to make up for the original hours for which such employee was absent or to search for or find a replacement employee to cover the hours during which the employee is absent pursuant to this section. If such employee works additional hours, and such hours are fewer than the number of hours such employee was originally scheduled to work, then such employee shall be able to use safe/sick time provided pursuant to this chapter for the difference. Should the employee work additional hours, the employer shall comply with any applicable federal, state or local labor laws.

§ 11. Subdivision b of section 20-916 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

b. [Notwithstanding] Except as provided in subdivision a of this section, the provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any employee in the construction or grocery industry covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement if such provisions are expressly waived in such collective bargaining agreement.

§ 12. Section 20-916 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended by adding a new subdivision c to read as follows:

c. Except as provided in subdivisions a and b of this section, the requirement to provide bereavement time under section 20-913.1 cannot be waived.

§ 13. Subdivision c of section 20-918 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

c. Adverse actions include, but are not limited to, threats, intimidation, discipline, discharge, demotion, suspension, harassment, discrimination, reduction in hours or pay, informing another employer of an employee’s exercise of rights under this chapter, blacklisting, and maintenance or application of an absence control policy that counts protected leave for safe/sick time or bereavement time as an absence that may lead to or result in an adverse action. Adverse actions include actions related to perceived immigration status or work authorization.

§ 14. Section 20-919 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

§ 20-919 Notice of rights. a. 1. An employer shall provide an employee with written notice of such employee's right to safe/sick time and to bereavement time pursuant to this chapter[, including the accrual and use of safe/sick time, the calendar year of the employer, and the right to be free from retaliation and to file a complaint with the department.]. Written notice provided pursuant to this section must include information on the use of safe/sick time and bereavement time, the calendar year of the employer, and the right to be free from retaliation and to file a complaint with the department. Written notice provided pursuant to this section for safe/sick time must also include information on the accrual of safe/sick time. Such notice shall be in English and the primary language spoken by that employee, provided that the department has made available a translation of such notice in such language pursuant to subdivision b of this section. Such notice shall also be conspicuously posted at an employer's place of business in an area accessible to employees.

2. Such notice shall be provided to each employee at the commencement of employment. For employees who were already employed prior to the effective dates of provisions of this chapter establishing their right to safe/sick time or to bereavement time, such notice shall be provided within [thirty] 30 days of the effective date of the local law that established each such right.

b. The department shall create and make available notices that contain the information required pursuant to subdivision a of this section concerning safe/sick time and to bereavement time, and such notices shall allow for the employer to fill in applicable dates for such employer's calendar year. Such notices shall be posted in a downloadable format on the department's website in Chinese, English, French-Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian, Spanish and any other language deemed appropriate by the department.

c. The amount of safe/sick time accrued and used during a pay period and an employee's total balance of accrued safe/sick time shall be noted on a pay statement or other form of written documentation provided to the employee each pay period. The amount of bereavement time used during a pay period and an employee’s total balance of bereavement time remaining in respect of a bereavement shall be noted on a pay statement or other form of written documentation provided to the employee each pay period.

d. Any person or entity that willfully violates the notice requirements of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed [fifty] 50 dollars for each employee who was not given appropriate notice pursuant to this section.

§ 15. Section 20-920 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

§ 20-920 Employer records. Employers shall make and retain records documenting such employer’s compliance with the requirements of this chapter for a period of [three] 3 years unless otherwise required pursuant to any other law, rule or regulation, and shall allow the department to access such records, with appropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time of day, in furtherance of an investigation conducted pursuant to this chapter.

§ 16. Section 20-921 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

§ 20-921 Confidentiality and nondisclosure. An employer [may] must not require the disclosure of details relating to an employee's or his or her family member's medical condition or require the disclosure of details relating to an employee's or his or her family member's status as a victim of domestic violence, family offenses, sexual offenses, stalking, or human trafficking as a condition of providing safe/sick time or bereavement time under this chapter. Health information about an employee or an employee's family member, and information concerning an employee's or his or her family member's status or perceived status as a victim of domestic violence, family offenses, sexual offenses, stalking or human trafficking obtained solely for the purposes of utilizing safe/sick time or bereavement time pursuant to this chapter, shall be treated as confidential and shall not be disclosed except by the affected employee, with the written permission of the affected employee or as required by law. Provided, however, that nothing in this section shall preclude an employer from considering information provided in connection with a request for safe time in connection with a request for reasonable accommodation pursuant to subdivision 27 of section 8-107.

§ 17. Section 20-922 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

§ 20-922 Encouragement of more generous policies; no effect on more generous policies. a. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to discourage or prohibit the adoption or retention of a safe time, [or] sick time, or bereavement time policy more generous than that which is required herein.

b. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as diminishing the obligation of an employer to comply with any contract, collective bargaining agreement, employment benefit plan or other agreement providing more generous safe time, [or] sick time, or bereavement time to an employee than required herein.

c. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as diminishing the rights of public employees regarding safe time, [or] sick time, or bereavement time as provided pursuant to federal, state or city law.

§ 18. Subdivision a of section 20-923 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 97 for the year 2020, is amended to read as follows:

§ 20-923 Other legal requirements. a. This chapter provides minimum requirements pertaining to safe time, [or] sick time, and bereavement time and shall not be construed to preempt, limit or otherwise affect the applicability of any other law, regulation, rule, requirement, policy or standard that provides for greater accrual or use by employees of safe time, [or] sick time, or bereavement time, whether paid or unpaid, or that extends other protections to employees.

§ 19. Subdivisions d and e of section 20-924 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law 22 for the year 2024, are amended to read as follows:

d. The department shall have the power to impose penalties provided for in this chapter and to grant each and every employee or former employee all appropriate relief. Such relief shall include: (i) for each instance of safe/sick time taken by an employee but unlawfully not compensated by the employer: 3 times the wages that should have been paid under this chapter or $250, whichever is greater; (ii) for each instance of safe/sick time requested by an employee but unlawfully denied by the employer and not taken by the employee or unlawfully conditioned upon searching for or finding a replacement worker, or for each instance an employer requires an employee to work additional hours without the mutual consent of such employer and employee in violation of section 20-915 of this chapter to make up for the original hours during which such employee is absent pursuant to this chapter: $500; (iii) for each violation of section 20-918 not including discharge from employment: full compensation including wages and benefits lost, $500 and equitable relief as appropriate; (iv) for each instance of unlawful discharge from employment: full compensation including wages and benefits lost, $2,500 and equitable relief, including reinstatement, as appropriate; [and] (v) for each employee covered by an employer's official or unofficial policy or practice of not providing or refusing to allow the use of accrued safe/sick time in violation of section 20-913, $500[.]; (vii) for each instance of bereavement time taken by an employee but unlawfully not compensated by the employer: 3 times the wages that should have been paid under this chapter or $250 dollars, whichever is greater; and (vii) for each instance of bereavement time unlawfully denied or charged against an employee’s safe time or sick time accrual, $500.

e. Any entity or person found to be in violation of the provisions of sections 20-913, 20-913.1, 20-914, 20-915 or 20-918 of this chapter shall be liable for a civil penalty payable to the city not to exceed $500 for the first violation and, for subsequent violations that occur within 2 years of any previous violation, not to exceed $750 for the second violation and not to exceed $1,000 for each succeeding violation. Penalties shall be imposed on a per employee and per instance basis.

§ 20. This local law takes effect 120 days after it becomes law, except that the commissioner of consumer and worker protection shall take such measures as are necessary for the implementation of this local law, including the promulgation of rules, prior to such effective date. 

MH

LS #18188

08/08/2025 4:12pm