On May 30, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) published its final amendments to the Rules of the City of New York (RCNY), incorporating into the Earned Sick and Safe Time Act the provision of 20 hours of paid prenatal leave under Section 196-b of the N.Y. Labor Law that went into effect on January 1, 2025, as discussed in our prior Insight, and adding certain related requirements. The amended rules go into effect on July 2, 2025. In connection with these amendments, the DCWP also updated its Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law FAQs (NYC FAQs) regarding employers’ paid prenatal leave obligations.
As a result, while all New York employers have been subject to the paid prenatal leave obligations under the N.Y. Labor Law since the start of 2025, New York City employers now face additional recordkeeping and notice requirements under these amendments, as detailed below. City employers will have until July 16, 2025, to update their written policies and distribute them to employees, and until August 1, 2025, to distribute to employees the updated Notice of Employee Rights published by the DCWP. RCNY Sections 7-211(b), 7-212(b)(6); N.Y.C. Admin. Code Section 20-919(a)(2). Employers also must conspicuously post the updated Notice of Employee Rights in a work area accessible to employees. N.Y.C. Admin. Code Section 20-919(a)(1).
NYS paid prenatal leave rights
As a reminder, since January 1, 2025, employers in New York have been required to provide 20 hours of paid leave, in addition to employees’ existing paid safe and sick leave, to employees for prenatal care or any medical care related to pregnancy, in a 52-week period beginning on the first day the employee uses paid prenatal leave. This prenatal leave entitlement applies only to employees receiving prenatal health care services such as physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, discussions with a health care provider related to pregnancy, fertility treatment or care appointments, and end-of-pregnancy care appointments. Spouses, partners or support persons are not eligible to use prenatal leave.
Employee obligation to provide advance notice
Whereas the N.Y. Labor Law is silent on the amount of notice an employer can require an employee to provide in advance for foreseeable use of prenatal leave, NYC’s amended rules provide that employers may require employees to give seven days’ advance notice if the use of prenatal leave is foreseeable, provided that the amount of notice required and the method for requesting notice is set forth in writing under the employer’s policy. RCNY Sections 7-205(a), 7-205(d). A need is foreseeable when the employee is aware of the need to use paid prenatal leave seven days or more before such use; otherwise, the need is unforeseeable. RCNY Section 7-205(e).
Minimum increment of use
With respect to using paid prenatal leave, NYC’s amended rules follow the N.Y. Labor Law, which permits employees to use paid prenatal leave in one-hour increments. RCNY Section 7-204(a); NYLL Section 196-b(4-a). Employers are permitted to establish smaller increments of time for the use of paid prenatal leave, provided the minimum does not exceed one hour, is reasonable under the circumstances and is set forth in the employer’s written paid prenatal leave policy. NYC FAQs, Section IV. Right to Paid Prenatal Leave, Question 8.
Reasonable documentation
The N.Y. Labor law is also silent regarding an employer’s right to request documentation from employees certifying that the use of paid prenatal leave was for a permissible purpose. Prior to the DCWP’s amendments, the only guidance available to employers on prenatal leave documentation requirements was under the FAQs published by the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL), which prohibit employers from conditioning employee requests for paid prenatal leave on disclosing confidential health conditions, and the New York State Paid Sick Leave regulations, which permit employers to request documentation from an employee confirming their eligibility to take leave where the employee used the leave for three or more consecutive and previously scheduled workdays or shifts. NYCCR Section 196.1.3(d).
The city’s amendments now provide that New York City employers may request reasonable documentation to certify that the use of paid prenatal leave was authorized under the law, provided, however, that the employee has been absent for more than three consecutive workdays (i.e., as of the employee’s fourth consecutive day of absence). Documentation may include written documentation signed by a licensed (a) clinical social worker, (b) mental health counselor or (c) other health care provider that indicates the employee’s need for the amount of paid prenatal leave used and cannot require details beyond the dates the employee needed to use the leave. RCNY Section 7-206(a).
As with safe/sick leave, an employer that requires employees to provide reasonable documentation for uses of paid prenatal leave must set forth this requirement, along with instructions on how employees can submit the documentation to the employer, in a written policy. RCNY Sections 7-206(e), 7-211. Additionally, employees must be provided a minimum of seven days from the date the employee returns to work to obtain such documentation. RCNY Section 7-206(c).
The rules further provide that employers who require supporting documentation may withhold payment until the employee has provided such documentation, unless the required documentation is unattainable by the employee due to associated costs. RCNY Section 7-209(b). Moreover, if the employee provides proof of the fee incurred by the employee to obtain the documentation and the employer requests or requires documentation under its policy, the employer must reimburse the employee for the fee. RCNY Section 7-209(c). In the event an employer withholds payment until such documentation is received, instructions on submitting requests for reimbursement and proof of fees to the employer must be set forth in the policy. RCNY Section 7-209(d).
Employer recordkeeping requirements
As of July 2, city employers are now required to inform employees of their paid prenatal leave usage and available balance during any pay period in which an employee uses paid prenatal leave. RCNY Section 7-207(a). In contrast, as confirmed by the FAQs published by the NYSDOL, there is no express requirement under New York state law to record such information on employee pay stubs. Additionally, city employers will be required to keep records for three years of the date and time of each instance paid prenatal leave was used.
Moreover, unlike safe/sick time, where employers are required to track and inform employees of their accrual, usage and available balance on a pay stub or other form of written documentation each pay period, the requirement to inform an employee of their available paid prenatal leave balance during a relevant pay period is only triggered once an employee uses paid prenatal leave. RCNY Section 7-207(a). Accordingly, recordkeeping does not need to be implemented across the whole employee population as of July 2.
Employer notice obligations
Although New York employers have been required to provide paid prenatal leave since January 1, 2025, following the DCWP’s amendments, city-based employers are now subject to additional notice obligations beyond those required by the N.Y. Labor Law. In addition to maintaining a paid prenatal leave policy (the required elements of which are set forth under RCNY Section 7-211(c)), city employers must also distribute this policy to employees (1) upon hire, (2) within 14 days of the effective date of any changes to the policy, and (3) upon request by the employee. RCNY Section 7-211(b). Accordingly, employers have until July 16 to distribute the updated policy to current employees.
In addition to distributing the written policy, city-based employers must also conspicuously post and distribute to new hires and to current employees the Notice of Employee Rights published by the DCWP, which details employee rights to paid safe and sick leave along with paid prenatal leave. RCNY Sections 7-211(e), 7-107. The notice must be distributed to current employees no later than August 1, 2025 (i.e., within 30 days of the effective date of the amendments). N.Y.C. Admin. Code Section 20-919(a)(2). Employers must also (i) record the date the Notice of Employee Rights was provided to the employee and (ii) collect and record proof that the Notice of Employee Rights was received by the employee. RCNY Section 7-212(b)(6). Although a signed acknowledgment is not expressly required, the DCWP affirms that “[s]aving signed copies of the Notice or email receipts is a good way to document that employers gave employees the required Notice.” NYC FAQs, Section V. Notice of Employee Rights, Question 2. These records must be kept for three years. N.Y.C. Admin. Code Section 20-920.
Separating benefits
Finally, while expressed neither in the amended rules nor under the N.Y. Labor Law, the city’s FAQs prohibit employers from combining their paid safe and sick leave policies with the paid prenatal leave entitlement. In other words, simply adding 20 hours to an employee’s paid safe and sick leave or paid time off balance will not satisfy the requirement to provide paid prenatal leave; the leave must be distinct and administered separately. NYC FAQs, Section IV. Right to Paid Prenatal Leave, Questions 5 and 6.
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For questions or concerns regarding any of the issues raised in this alert, please contact a member of our Employment Law Department.