As readers of this blog know, on January 1, 2025, New York became the first state in the country to require a separate bank of paid leave specifically for prenatal healthcare services. The Paid Prenatal Leave (“PPL”) law guarantees 20 hours per year of paid leave for eligible employees to attend pregnancy-related healthcare appointments such as physical exams, medical procedures, monitoring/testing, pregnancy-related discussions with a health care provider, end of pregnancy care, and fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization.

New York State has since released FAQs that provide much-needed clarification on the PPL law.

• Although the law broadly defines eligible employees as “all employees working for private-sector employers,” there is one important limitation. PPL is reserved for use only by the employee directly receiving prenatal healthcare services, meaning spouses, partners, and others are not entitled to utilized PPL to attend prenatal appointments with a pregnant employee.
• Eligible employees are automatically entitled to the full 20 hours of PPL each year, and new hires are entitled to the full amount of PPL on their first day of employment. PPL does not accrue, and employers cannot impose any minimum work requirements before PPL can be used.
• PPL is a stand-alone benefit, available in additiontoany existing leave options. Employees may choose to utilize paid sick leave instead of PPL for eligible prenatal care appointments, but they cannot be forced to use one bank of paid leave before the other. Further, employers cannot require employees to exhaust one type of leave before taking PPL.
• Employees utilizing PPL must be paid at their regular rate, or the applicable minimum wage, whichever is greater. Although employers are not required to itemize PPL on an employee’s pay stub, the FAQs recommend doing so.
• Employers cannot require employees to provide medical records or other documents verifying their eligibility for PPL or the reason for their absence.
• The FAQs do not address employer obligations to develop and post any written PPL policy.

Following the PPL law’s enactment, the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (“DCWP”) proposed amended rules to the City’s Earned Sick and Safe Time Act (“ESSTA”) to address PPL obligations under New York City law. The final rules, which were adopted on June 2, 2025 and went into effect earlier this month, “incorporate into ESSTA by reference the [PPL] requirements set forth in” New York State law.

Although the City’s final rules mirror the State’s definition of “paid prenatal leave,” they differ from the PPL law in certain important respects. Two of the most salient differences are:

• Unlike NYS PPL, employers also covered by the ESSTA must inform employees (either on their pay stub or other separate written document) of the amount of PPL used during any pay period and any remaining balance. 
• Unlike NYS PPL, employers also covered by the ESSTA must develop and maintain a written PPL policy. Employers must distribute the policy to employees (i) upon hire; (ii) within 14 days of any changes to the policy; and (iii) upon an employee’s request.

The DCWP has also updated its Safe and Sick Leave Notice to incorporate the PPL’s 20-hour leave bank requirement. This updated notice must be posted in the workplace and distributed to new employees upon hire. Since ESSTA also requires employers to distribute updated notices to employees whenever their rights change, employers must ensure that the updated notice is provided to current employees as well. Note that distributing the updated ESSTA notice does not obviate the requirement for employers to maintain and distribute the PPL policy required by City law. Further, employers must maintain records showing (i) the date that the notice was provided to each employee; and (ii) proof of each employee’s receipt of this notice.

All New York State employers should ensure compliance with the new PPL law, but in particular, New York City employers should review their written paid sick leave policies and pay statements to ensure compliance with the amended ESSTA rules adopted in the wake of the PPL law’s adoption. In addition, City employers should ensure the updated Safe and Sick Leave Notice is provided to new hires and promptly distributed to current employees.

As always, we will monitor and provide updates as developments unfold.