Below is a list of laws that will take effect in 2025 for employers in New York and New York City. Employers should review and revise their current policies and practices and update accordingly.
January 1, 2025: Paid Prenatal Leave Law
- Pregnant employees in New York who work for private employers are eligible for 20 hours of paid leave for prenatal care.
- Effective January 1, 2025, New York employers will be required to provide up to 20 hours of paid prenatal leave to pregnant employees during any 52-week period for a long list of pregnancy-related doctor visits.
- Paid prenatal leave is a separate benefit from NYS sick leave or any other leave policies and laws. Accordingly, employees are entitled to 20 hours of paid prenatal leave in addition to any other available leave options. Employers cannot require an employee to choose one leave type over another or exhaust one type of leave before using paid prenatal leave.
- These benefits are available immediately upon hire, and the leave can be taken in hourly increments and is paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay. Employers are not required to pay out unused prenatal care leave at termination.
- The employee contribution rate and benefit amounts under New York Paid Family Leave will increase:
- the employee contribution rate will increase from .373 percent to .388 percent
- the maximum weekly benefit amount will increase from $1,151.16 per week to $1,177.32 per week.
January 1, 2025: Coverage for Mental Health Injuries
- Effective January 1, 2025, New York’s Workers’ Compensation Law will permit all workers to file claims for mental injury based on extraordinary work-related stress.
- This amendment to the Workers’ Compensation Law under A5745 (the “Amendment”) expands coverage to all workers in the State of New York whereas previously, only certain first responders were eligible for such benefits.
- The Amendment eliminates the requirement for stress to be a result of a work-related emergency.
March 1, 2025: Retail Worker Health and Safety Act
- Retail employers with 10 or more employees must adopt the Department of Labor’s forthcoming model retail workplace violence prevention policy and training and provide notice to all employees of same.
- The comprehensive policy includes identification of workplace violence risks (such as working alone, late at night, or handling large amounts of money); methods to mitigate these risks; and employee protection from retaliation when reporting safety concerns.
- Employers must provide interactive training for all employees upon hire and annually thereafter, covering de-escalation strategies, active shooter response drills, use of panic buttons and other safety devise, and emergency response protocols specific to each worksite.
- The effective date could potentially be pushed to June 2, 2025.
May 8, 2025: Amendments to 2018 Lactation Accommodation Law (NYC EMPLOYERS ONLY)
- Effective May 8, 2025, employers in New York City will be required to physically and electronically post a copy of their written lactation accommodation policy. Employers will be required to post the policy in an area accessible to employees and electronically on the employer’s intranet (if it exists). This NYC law applies only to employers with four or more employees.
- Employers should keep in mind that this posting obligation is in addition to employers’ obligation to distribute a written lactation policy to employees upon hire. State law requires all New York employers, regardless of size, to make reasonable efforts to provide a room (other than a restroom) or other location where an employee may express milk in privacy.
June 1, 2025: Fashion Workers Act
- Effective June 1, 2025, the Fashion Workers Act will require model management companies to register their business within one year of the effective date, i.e., June 1, 2026.
- The Fashion Workers Act will impose several duties and responsibilities on both model management companies and clients related to working with models in New York and is aimed at providing greater protections for fashion workers and introduces regulations aimed at implementing labor protections for models and creatives.
June 1, 2025: Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Program
- Effective June 1, 2025, to comply with the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Program, certain New York warehouse employers will need to prepare and implement a program identifying and minimizing the risks of musculoskeletal injuries to their employees, which are the leading cause of injury that results in workers missing work.
- To comply with the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Program, employers that employ more than 100 employees at a single warehouse distribution center, or more than 1,000 employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers within New York, must establish an injury reduction program and work with employees to continuously evaluate and reduce or eliminate musculoskeletal risks and injuries in the workplace.
July 31, 2025: COVID-19 Leave
- New York’s COVID-19 paid quarantine leave expires.
- Currently, New York law requires employers to provide paid sick leave in the event of an order of quarantine or isolation related to COVID-19, in addition to other leave entitlements. Effective July 31, 2025, employers will no longer be required to provide employees with separate Paid Emergency Leave for COVID-19-related quarantines and isolations.
- After July 31, 2025, employees who need time off to manage care or isolate for COVID-19 will need to use existing paid leave laws including New York State’s Paid Sick Leave and New York City’s Earned Sick and Safe Time.
If you have any questions about the subject of this article and its implications for your business, please contact Forework.