Has your employer denied your request for paid time off this year? If so, be aware that you are most likely owed money or at least that time off. Since January 1st, New York has had a paid sick leave law in effect that requires employers to pay you for your earned time off. So why aren't businesses approving their workers requests to access those benefits?

Some say denied paid time off requests result from a lack of awareness of the relatively new law. Whether that is true or not, the law dictates that New Yorkers earn one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours they work and that is retroactive to September 30th of 2020. Businesses are required to provide different levels of sick leave depending on their size:

  • 100 or more employees - must provide up to 7 days of paid sick leave per year.
  • 5 to 99 employees - must provide up to 5 days of paid sick leave per year
  • 4 or fewer employees - must provide up to 5 of unpaid sick leave.

Regardless of company size, you are guaranteed sick leave to recover from an illness, care for a sick family member, or address safety needs if they or a family member are the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking.

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According to Spectrum News, with requests being denied, a state lawmaker and retired labor official in the Capital Region are teaming up to call for a study of the law and how effective it has been. The law was put in place as the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading through the Capital Region and beyond. If you needed the time off, you wouldn't have to worry about income.

Even as New York opens up and we reach a 70% vaccination rate, you and your family may need to take time from work. If that is the case know that there is a law in place to ease your mind and keep your income coming in.

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