If you work in New York City, you can earn up to 40 hours of sick leave each year to take care for yourself, your child, and other family members. You can also use this time to if you or a family member may be the victim of any act or threat of domestic violence or unwanted sexual physical contact, stalking, or human trafficking and you need to take actions necessary to restore the physical, psychological, or economic health or safety of you or your family members or to protect those who associate or work with you.

• If your employer has 5 or more employees, you have a right to paid leave.
• If your employer had fewer than 5 employees, you have a right to unpaid leave.
• It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for requesting or using this leave.

Under federal law, if your employer has 50 or more employees within a 75 mile radius, you may also have the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year to care for your own serious medical condition, your spouse’s, child’s or parent’s serious medical condition, or to bond with a new child.

Under New York State law, most workers are eligible to take paid family leave to bond with a new child, care for a close relative with a serious health condition, or to address certain military family needs.

Call our Access to Benefits helpline at 888-663-6880 Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for help with:

• Unemployment insurance benefits
• Minimum wage
• Overtime and other wage & hour issues
• Employment law issues stemming from past criminal issues
• Immigrant workers
• Workplace discrimination
• Family and Medical leave
• Labor trafficking

The information in this document has been prepared by The Legal Aid Society for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. You should not act upon any information without retaining professional legal counsel.