New York City amends rules for employee paid prenatal leave

New York City’s (NYC) Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) has amended its rules concerning the NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) to meet the paid parental leave obligations created on January 1, 2025, by New York State’s (NYS) Paid Prenatal Leave Law. The new DCWP rules, which took effect on July 2, 2025, incorporate the NYS Paid Prenatal Leave Law’s mandates and also create additional obligations for NYC employers concerning paid prenatal leave.

Written policies must be amended

The NYS Paid Prenatal Leave Law requires New York employers to provide up to 20 hours of paid leave during any 52-week period for employees to receive prenatal care regardless of the employer’s size. This 52-week period commences on the first day an employee takes prenatal leave.

The new DCWP rules require NYC employers to amend their required written ESSTA policies to incorporate the paid parental leave mandates and then to distribute the modified written ESSTA policies to all employees within 14 days of such changes. NYC employers must also continue to distribute their written ESSTA policies to new employees and to current employees when they request a copy.

New notice of employee rights published