NYC Mandates 32 Hours Unpaid Sick Leave Starting February 22

Effective February 22, 2026—just 16 days away—New York City's Earned Safe and Sick Time Act expands to require all employers to provide 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick leave, frontloaded immediately upon hire and annually on January 1. This applies to every business operating in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, regardless of size, and creates immediate compliance obligations for employers with any NYC-based workforce.

What's New: Unpaid Leave Requirement and Expanded Uses

The expanded ESSTA requirement mandates 32 hours of unpaid leave that employers must make available immediately to new hires and to all existing employees starting February 22. This is separate from and in addition to existing paid sick leave requirements, which range from 40 to 56 hours depending on employer size. According to New York City's official announcement of new laws and rules, the unpaid leave must cover traditional sick leave uses plus expanded purposes including care for children or care recipients, attending legal proceedings for subsistence benefits or housing, responding to public disasters, responding to workplace violence, and prenatal care (up to 20 hours per 52-week period).

The frontloading requirement means you cannot require employees to accrue this leave gradually throughout the year. The 32 hours must be available on day one of employment and again on January 1 each year. This creates a fundamentally different administrative requirement than accrual-based systems, forcing immediate changes to how you track and allocate leave.

Employer Size Matters: Your Total Leave Obligation

NYC employers fall into three categories based on workforce size, each with different total leave requirements. Employers with 100 or more employees must provide 56 hours of paid leave plus the new 32 hours of unpaid leave—88 hours total. Employers with 5-99 employees must provide 40 hours of paid leave plus 32 hours of unpaid leave—72 hours total. Employers with fewer than 5 employees must provide 40 hours of unpaid leave plus the additional 32 hours of unpaid leave—72 hours that are entirely unpaid.

The practical impact varies significantly by employer size. A small NYC law firm with three employees must now frontload 72 hours of unpaid leave to each employee on February 22. A mid-sized consulting firm with 50 employees must frontload 72 hours total per employee. A larger healthcare organization with 150 employees must frontload 88 hours total per employee. These are substantial administrative obligations that require immediate system updates.

Employers with additional paid PTO beyond their statutory requirement can use that excess paid time to satisfy the 32-hour unpaid obligation, according to recently issued proposed rules. However, this option requires careful calculation to ensure compliance while maintaining your broader PTO strategy.

Critical Compliance Timeline: 16 Days to Implementation

The February 22 effective date creates urgent compliance deadlines. You must update your written sick leave policies immediately to reflect the new requirements. Your employee handbook must be revised and distributed to all staff before February 22. Your tracking systems—whether spreadsheets, payroll software, or HR platforms—must be reconfigured to account for the 32-hour frontloaded unpaid leave.

Employers with multiple NYC locations face additional complexity. If you operate in both New York City and Nassau or Suffolk Counties, you must track leave separately by location because the unpaid requirement applies only to NYC-based employees. Employees working in the same company but different locations have different leave entitlements, requiring careful administrative segregation.

Employee communications are equally critical. Staff members need clear written notice explaining the new leave entitlement, how to request it, what it can be used for, and how it integrates with existing paid leave. The legal analysis of the ESSTA amendment emphasizes that employers must provide notice in a form and language the employee understands, creating additional obligations for multilingual workforces.

Compliance Actions Required Before February 22

First, audit your current sick leave policies and tracking systems. Document exactly how you currently allocate, track, and manage paid sick leave by employee size category. This baseline helps you understand what changes are required.

Second, update your written policies to incorporate the 32-hour unpaid leave requirement, frontloading mechanism, and expanded covered uses. Consider whether you'll use excess paid PTO to satisfy the unpaid requirement or maintain separate tracking for paid and unpaid leave.

Third, reconfigure your tracking system—whether payroll software, spreadsheets, or HR platform—to frontload 32 hours of unpaid leave to all employees on February 22 and establish annual frontloading on January 1. Train your HR and payroll staff on the new procedures before implementation.

Fourth, prepare employee notices explaining the new leave entitlement. The notice must be provided in writing and in a language employees understand. Distribute these notices to all current employees before February 22 and to all new hires going forward.

Fifth, train your management team on the expanded covered uses. Managers need to understand that the unpaid leave now covers workplace violence response and public disaster response—situations they may not have previously considered as qualifying events.

For NYC employers navigating HR policy updates and sick leave tracking system implementation, addressing the ESSTA expansion as part of broader Q1 compliance planning helps ensure nothing falls through the cracks during this compressed timeline.

Enforcement and Non-Compliance Exposure

The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection enforces ESSTA compliance through workplace investigations and employee complaints. Non-compliance penalties include back pay, liquidated damages, and civil fines. More significantly, employees have the right to file complaints, and the city takes wage and leave violations seriously.

Employers who fail to frontload the required leave by February 22 face immediate exposure. Employees who request unpaid leave and are denied or delayed because systems aren't updated can file complaints with the DCWP, triggering investigations and potential liability for the employer.

Action Steps for NYC Employers

Review your current leave policies today and identify specific changes needed. Update your written policies and employee handbook immediately. Reconfigure your tracking system and conduct staff training. Prepare and distribute employee notices in appropriate languages. Ensure your management team understands the expanded covered uses. Verify that all systems are operational before February 22.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or benefits advice. Requirements vary based on employer size, location, and plan structure. Information is current as of 2026-02-06. Employers should consult qualified advisors for guidance on their specific circumstances.