Earlier this year, we covered New York State’s (NYS’s) Paid Prenatal Personal Leave (PPPL) law that took effect on January 1, 2025. As the first law of its kind, it amended the state’s Paid Sick Leave Law to provide employees an additional 20 hours of paid leave in a 52-week period for pregnancy-related healthcare — on top of existing sick leave entitlements.
On June 3, 2025, New York City’s (NYC’s) Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) amended its Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA), to incorporate the state’s PPPL law, which is effective July 2, 2025. While the DCWP’s rules aim to align with the state law, they introduce several important distinctions — and some compliance challenges — that NYC employers need to understand.
Reporting Requirements
New NYC Requirement: One of the most notable changes under the DCWP’s amended rules is the requirement for NYC employers to report paid prenatal leave (PPL) usage and balances to employees during each pay period. For any pay period in which PPL is used, employers must inform employees in writing about the amount of PPL used during the relevant pay period and the total balance of PPL available for use. This can be done either through the employee’s pay statement or another form of written documentation provided to employees. Note, this reporting requirement is new for PPL, but NYC employers are already required to provide similar reporting for safe and sick leave usage and balances.
Electronic Method: If an employer uses an electronic system to issue pay statements, the employer may comply by doing the following:
- Electronically alerting the employee each pay period to the availability of the required information
- Making the content readily accessible by the employee outside of the workplace within the electronic system
- Maintaining accrual, use, and balance information for any past pay period in the electronic system
This reporting requirement may present some challenges for employers, as the 52-week PPL period is employee-specific, starting from the first time of use. Employers will need to track each employee’s PPL year individually. Also, because only employees who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant are eligible, identification and tracking may be complex.
State Requirement: While the state law does not specifically require recordkeeping on paystubs, it is a best practice for employers to maintain clear records of the available types of leave and the amounts of leave types used in a manner accessible to both the employer and employee.
Written Notice and Policy Requirements
Notice of Rights: Under the ESSTA, employers are required to provide written notice of employees’ safe and sick leave rights when they begin employment, when their rights change, and upon request. As of May 30, 2025, the DCWP updated the official Notice of Rights to include the right to paid prenatal leave. Employers must post the updated notice in the workplace and distribute it to each employee .
Written PPL Policy: In addition to the updated Notice of Rights, employers must also maintain written safe/sick time and paid prenatal leave policies in a single writing. This policy should include:
- A clear statement that employees are entitled to a separate bank of 20 hours of paid prenatal leave during any 52-week calendar period
- Any minimum increment and advance notice requirements
- The employer’s approach to discipline for misuse of the leave
- A confidentiality statement affirming that the employee will not be required to provide details about the medical condition that led the employee to use prenatal leave and that any information received by the employer will be kept confidential
The policy must be distributed to employees upon commencement of employment, within 14 days of the effective date of any policy changes, and upon request by the employee.
Recordkeeping
Under the ESSTA, records must be retained for at least 3 years and include the employee’s name, dates of leave, hours used, and type of leave (i.e., prenatal). Records must be provided to the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection upon request, and to employees within 3 business days of a request. Employers should include PPL records in their retention processes.
Documentation Requests
The ESSTA amended rules allow employers to request documentation to support the employee’s use of PPL after the employee has been absent for more than three consecutive workdays. However, this conflicts with state guidance that says employees are not required to provide any medical records or documents, and that employers cannot ask employees to disclose confidential information related to their PPL-related condition. Therefore, employers risk violating state law if they request any supporting documentation.
Reasonable Notice for “Foreseeable” Absences
The ESSTA amended rules also allow employers to require “reasonable notice” for foreseeable PPL absences, but they must outline the procedures for this in a written policy. Employers can require employees to sign a form when requesting to use earned safe or sick leave for a foreseeable need and may utilize the Model Form.
On the other hand, New York state law does not differentiate between “foreseeable” and “unforeseeable” absences or give employers greater notice rights for “foreseeable” absences. Therefore, employers may want to utilize regular time-off procedures required for other leave types without imposing additional notice burdens for PPL to avoid compliance issues.
Time Increment Requirements
Under ESSTA rules, employers may require a minimum increment of “one hour per day” while state law specifies that PPL must be available in hourly increments without limiting it to one hour per day. Employers should consider aligning with the more flexible state standard to reduce administrative friction and ensure compliance.
Penalties for Violations
For a violation of one of the PPL requirements, an employee or former employee, are entitled to, but not limited to:
- The full amount of any underpayment of wages owed plus interest
- Liquidated damages up to 100% of the total amount of wages found to be due, unless the employer proves a good faith basis for believing in its underpayment
- For prohibited retaliations: All appropriate relief, including injunctive relief, liquidated damages not more than $20,000, rehiring or reinstatement to a former or equivalent position, and an award of lost compensation or of front pay in lieu of reinstatement and an award of lost compensation
For a violation of one of the PPL requirements, employer penalties include , but are not limited to:
- For prohibited retaliations: A civil penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000
- For underpayment of wages: A civil penalty of $500 for each failure to pay wages owed
Dual Compliance Required
NYC employers must take proactive steps to ensure compliance with the overlapping New York state and New York City requirements. Now is the time to review and update leave policies, train HR teams, and communicate clearly with employees to stay compliant.
Recommended Employer Action
- Update existing ESSTA policy to incorporate prenatal leave entitlements
- Distribute updated internal handbooks and leave policies with PPL information
- Coordinate with payroll providers and/or systems to meet reporting/tracking and employee communication requirements
- Post the updated Notice of Rights in the workplace and give a copy to employees during the prescribed times
- Update recordkeeping processes to include PPL records
- Train HR and managers to avoid compliance issues
- Consult legal counsel to ensure compliance with both city and state regulations
Additional Resources
- Sequoia Foreword Blogs
- NYC Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law FAQs (also, in PDF format)
- New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Website
- DCWP Paid Prenatal Personal Leave Adopted Rules
- New York State’s Paid Sick Leave Law
Connect with a Sequoia consultant to learn how Sequoia’s compliance services are integrated in our benefits services and tailored solutions. And if you’re already a Sequoia client, stay on top of your employer obligations with your Compliance Checklist that highlights important compliance dates, action items, and resources.
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