NYS Paid Prenatal Leave: Effective 1/1/25

Starting January 1, 2025, the New York State Paid Prenatal Leave Law requires all private sector employers in New York State to provide their employees with 20 hours of Paid Prenatal Leave each year.

What employees are eligible?

All private sector employees are entitled to Paid Prenatal Leave, including those who work part-time or are overtime exempt.

An employee does not need to work a minimum number of hours to accrue Paid Prenatal Leave. All employees working for a private sector employer, including newly hired employees, are automatically entitled to 20 hours of Paid Prenatal Leave, each year.

Only the employee directly receiving prenatal health care may use Paid Prenatal Leave. A spouse, partner, or another support person attending prenatal appointments with a pregnant person is not entitled to Paid Prenatal Leave.

What type of leave is eligible?

Employees are entitled to take Paid Prenatal Leave for prenatal health care appointments during or related to their pregnancy. Health care appointments after pregnancy are not covered by Paid Prenatal Leave.

An employee has the option to use NYS Sick Leave, Paid Prenatal Leave, or an existing employer leave policy to attend prenatal health care appointments. However, an employer cannot require an employee to use one leave type over another.

What do employers need to know?

Paid Prenatal Leave is a separate, stand-alone benefit from other leave laws and policies, such as the New York State Sick Leave. Employers must provide 20 hours of Paid Prenatal Leave to their employees annually in addition to any other leave options available to them.

Employers must pay employees using Paid Prenatal Leave at their regular rate of pay, or at the appropriate minimum wage for their occupation, whichever is greater.

If an employee stops working for an employer without using all of their Paid Prenatal Leave, the employer is not required to pay an employee for any unused Paid Prenatal Leave hours.

More information can be found here:

https://www.ny.gov/programs/new-york-state-paid-prenatal-leave

https://www.ny.gov/new-york-state-paid-prenatal-leave/information-employers