Compliance Stuff

On February 19, 2026, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) issued an updated set of  Frequently Asked Questions , as well as an updated  Notice of Employee Rights  that must be distributed to employees regularly working in New York City. These updates address the new unpaid sick leave and new covered uses for sick leave that took effect on February 22, 2026, pursuant to  amendments to the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act . The updated FAQs track some of the  newly proposed rules  issued by the DCWP, which the public may comment on during a scheduled March 2, 2026 public hearing. Importantly, several questions that were initially unanswered have been addressed, including: Whether part-time employees and/or mid-year hires must be provided the full 32 hours of unpaid sick leave at the beginning of the year (They must). Whether employers can provide 32 hours of additional paid sick leave in lieu of providing unpaid si...

Real World Impact : Effective July 2, 2025, New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection will amend its implementing rules to the City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act to include the City’s own version of New York State’s paid prenatal leave (“PPL”) obligations for employers. Much of the City’s rules will merely duplicate the requirements already mandated by State law. However, employers should be aware that the City’s version will impose some additional responsibilities. New Reporting Obligations: Unlike the State’s PPL requirements, the City’s rules will require employers to furnish specific written payroll disclosures to their employees. Specifically, for each pay period that an employee uses PPL, the employer will need to inform the employee on either (a) a pay stub or (b) a separate written document, of two things: (1) the amount of PPL used during that pay period; and (2) the total remaining balance of PPL available for use out of the twenty hours allotted per 52...