The minimum wage is rising in New York and a new law on sick leave is coming into force in 2021 as well.
New York is one of 15 states with paid sick leave law, and workers can use sick leave to recover from an illness on their own, to care for a sick family member, or to seek help for themselves or for a family member for domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment or human trafficking.
About 1.3 million New Yorkers did not have access to paid sick leave, according to the office of Governor Andrew Cuomo, and nearly 1 in 4 workers reported being fired or threatened with treatment because they took time off.
“No one should choose between going to work sick or caring for a sick loved one and not receiving a salary, especially since we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Employees in most businesses can start using the sick days that the new law allowed them to start accumulating in September, at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. Any unused sick leave must be carried over to the following year.
Companies with more than 100 employees must offer workers up to 56 hours – the equivalent of seven days – of paid sick leave each year. It drops to 40 hours – five days – for most companies with five to 99 employees.
Employees of companies with less than four employees and net income of less than $ 1 million must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave each year.
And the minimum hourly wage is now $ 14 an hour in Long Island and Westchester, following changes that went into effect Wednesday. Salary in the rest of New York rose to $ 12.50 from $ 11.80.
New York gradually began to introduce a statewide minimum wage increase of $ 15 in 2016, and New York City reached $ 15 in 2018 and 2019.
The minimum wage will continue to rise each year in the rest of the state until it reaches $ 15. The State Commissioner for Labor will announce the next increase until October 1 at a rate based on the consumer price index.
Minimum wage increases are unlikely to substantially affect the economic recovery of Long Island, Westchester and New York due to the global pandemic, according to State Commissioner Roberta Reardon, in a report in mid-December. Unemployment rates fell from an April high of 15.9% in Long Island and Westchester and 15.4% in the north to 7.1% and 6.8% in October.
“Before this crisis, we achieved low unemployment rates while raising the minimum wage – improving the lives of thousands of New Yorkers – and we will rebuild our economy by continuing to lead the nation in the fight for economic justice,” she said. This investment in our workers proves once again that in New York we believe that a fair day’s work is worth a fair day’s pay. “