Courtesy of Tully Rickney
By Allen Shoikhetbrod, Esq.
On April 20, the 2024-2025 New York state budget was approved, ushering in many significant changes employers should take note of. While some of the initial proposals did not make the final draft, there are three significant changes coming to New York that employers need to review.
Paid Prenatal Leave:
Taking effect on January 1, 2025, New York state private sector employers will be required to provide employees with 20 hours of paid prenatal leave each year, amending New York Labor Law § 196-b. Cut in half from the originally proposed 40 hours, this leave can be taken for health care services received by an employee during their pregnancy or related to such pregnancy, including physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussions with a health care provided related to the pregnancy.
One aspect to note is that this leave is separate from the existing hours of paid sick leave mandated by state law and can be used in hourly increments. Additionally, employees must be paid their regular rates of pay when using this leave.
Paid Breaks for Breast Milk Expression:
In a similar vein to prenatal leave, Governor Hochul also proposed adding paid break time to express breast milk throughout the day. Currently, New York laws allow employees to take reasonable unpaid breaks for this purpose at least once every three hours, or as the employee may reasonably desire. But as of June 19, 2024, employers are required to provide paid 30-minute breaks for this reason, amending New York Labor Law § 206-c.
Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company is pleased to announce the promotion of Arleen Girard, Candice Healy and David Riihimaki to Senior Vice President.
for developing and managing opportunities for revenue growth including deposits, merchant and payroll services and credit cards. Girard earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Le Moyne College.