New York Requires Paid Prenatal Leave Starting January 1, 2025

Effective January 1, 2025, New York now requires employers of any size to provide paid prenatal leave to its employees in New York, a separate benefit from New York’s existing paid sick leave.  The paid prenatal leave does not accrue based on hours worked like sick leave does, but instead 20 hours is automatically available at the start of each year for each employee.  There is no waiting/eligibility period before being entitled to use New York’s new paid prenatal leave.  Employers cannot require employees to use another type of leave before using this leave, but rather it is up to the employee to choose what type of leave to use.  After exhausting paid prenatal leave, the employee can still use any New York paid sick leave or any other leave the employee has available.  Because the prenatal leave is only for prenatal health care, it does not apply to post-natal or postpartum issues.  Employers cannot ask employees to disclose confidential information about their health condition(s) as a requirement to request or use this new paid prenatal leave.  The State’s FAQs about the new law are available here.