Mark Goldstein contributed to the content of this post.

Day 2: New Pregnancy & Sick Leave Guidelines For City Employers

Each day this week, we will “unwrap” one of five pressing employment law issues on the 2014 horizon for New York state and city employers. Yesterday, we covered the minimum wage hike. Today will cover two new laws impacting NYC employers.

First, on January 30, 2014, the most recent amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law takes effect, obligating city employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s “pregnancy,” as well as her “childbirth” and “related medical condition[s],” as long as the accommodation enables her to perform her position’s essential functions.

 And a bit more than two months later, on April 1, 2014, the New York City Earned Sick Time Act will require NYC businesses that employ 20 or more workers to provide employees with up to 40 hours of paid sick leave every year. Implementation for NYC companies that employ between 15 and 20 workers is delayed until October 2015.

City employers should therefore review and update, as appropriate, existing policies to ensure that they comply with the forthcoming regulations.