AbsentEase
New York sick leave law & call-off rules
New York mandates paid sick leave for every private employer — tiered at 40 or 56 hours by company size — plus, since 2025, a separate 20-hour paid prenatal leave bank for every employee. New York City layers its Earned Safe and Sick Time Act on top — and since February 22, 2026, every NYC employer owes an additional 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick leave beyond the state tiers. Labor Law § 215(1)(a), as amended effective February 19, 2023, makes assessing points or occurrences for protected sick leave unlawful retaliation by statute, so the attendance program and the sick-leave ledger have to talk to each other. Here is what applies in 2026.
New York at a glance
| Paid sick leave mandate | Yes — 40 or 56 hours by employer size (Labor Law § 196-b); 0–4 employees & ≤$1M income get 40h unpaid |
|---|---|
| Paid prenatal leave | 20 hours per 52 weeks, all employers, separate bank (since 2025) |
| Attendance points on sick time | Prohibited — points or occurrences for protected sick leave are retaliation under Labor Law § 215(1)(a), as amended effective Feb 19, 2023 |
| Local ordinances | NYC ESSTA — since Feb 22, 2026, an extra 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick leave at every NYC employer (front-loaded, no carryover), broader reasons, notes only after 4+ consecutive workdays; Westchester safe-time law for DV victims |
| Employment relationship | At-will, but § 215 retaliation exposure for sick-leave-linked discipline |
| PTO payout at termination | Vacation payout required unless a written forfeiture policy says otherwise; sick leave never requires payout |
| Final paycheck deadline | Later of the next regular payday or 3 business days after the last day worked, fired or quit |
Is paid sick leave required in New York?
Yes. Labor Law § 196-b requires every private employer in New York to provide sick leave, accrued at 1 hour per 30 hours worked from day one: 40 hours unpaid for employers with 0–4 employees and net income of $1M or less; 40 hours paid for 0–4 employees with net income over $1M and for all employers with 5–99 employees; and 56 hours paid at 100+. On top of that, all private employers owe 20 hours of paid prenatal leave per 52 weeks — a separate bank that cannot be drawn from sick leave. NYC's ESSTA goes further. Since February 22, 2026, every NYC employer must also provide an additional 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick leave per year — front-loaded, no carryover, shown on pay statements — on top of the state tiers; covered reasons are broader (caregiving, subsistence-benefit and housing proceedings, public-disaster closures); the 20-hour paid prenatal leave is codified in the city law; and documentation may be required only after four or more consecutive workdays. ESSTA also adds written-policy distribution, pay-statement balance disclosures, and per-violation penalties.
How New York's sick leave law works
| Accrual rate | 1 hour per 30 hours worked, from hire, usable as accrued — no new-hire waiting period |
|---|---|
| Size tiers | 0–4 employees & ≤$1M net income: 40h unpaid · 0–4 & >$1M: 40h paid · 5–99: 40h paid · 100+: 56h paid |
| Carryover | Required even if you front-load the annual amount (unlike most states) — though annual use can still be capped at your tier's 40/56 hours |
| Prenatal leave | Since 1/1/2025: 20 hours paid per 52 weeks, all employers, separate from the sick bank |
| Covered uses | Illness, injury, or health condition of the employee or family member (no advance diagnosis needed), preventive care, and safe leave for victims of violence or trafficking |
| Doctor's notes | Prohibited for absences under 3 consecutive scheduled workdays; even at 3+, limited to an attestation of need and duration — never the nature of the illness, and never at the employee's expense. NYC: documentation only after four or more consecutive workdays (since Feb 22, 2026) |
The anti-retaliation rule: Labor Law § 215(1)(a), as amended effective February 19, 2023, defines retaliation to include assessing demerits, occurrences, or points for legally protected absences — so charging protected sick leave as an occurrence under a no-fault attendance-points policy is unlawful retaliation by statute (§§ 196-b and 215), not merely agency guidance, and employees must be restored to their position when they return. In NYC, ESSTA adds per-employee civil penalties for the same conduct.
The federal floor that still applies
FMLA
Employers with 50+ employees within 75 miles must give eligible employees (12+ months tenure, 1,250+ hours in the past year) up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition — their own or a close family member's. FMLA-protected absences can't accrue attendance points, and a call-off that mentions an ongoing condition can be notice enough to trigger your FMLA obligations, even if the employee never says "FMLA."
ADA
For employers with 15+ employees, the ADA can require modified attendance expectations or unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. An attendance policy applied "no exceptions" is exactly the kind that loses ADA cases — build an accommodation carve-out into the policy itself.
FLSA overtime and attendance bonuses
A cash bonus promised in advance for good attendance counts as wages under federal overtime law. It has to be added into the regular rate for the weeks it covers, so any of those weeks over 40 hours owes extra overtime on the bonus, usually recalculated after the bonus is paid. State overtime law can add to this, but can't go below it. See how attendance bonuses change overtime pay.
Call-offs, no-call no-shows, and firing in New York
New York is at-will, and attendance discipline — including for a true no-call no-show — remains lawful. What the state polices is the intersection with § 196-b: under Labor Law § 215(1)(a), as amended effective February 19, 2023, occurrences, points, or write-ups for absences that were protected sick leave are retaliation by statute, and in NYC each instance can carry its own penalty under ESSTA. Two facts make the call-off record decisive here. First, documentation demands are flatly illegal for absences under 3 consecutive scheduled days (under 4 in NYC since February 22, 2026), so for the typical one-day call-off the employee's own report is all the evidence that will ever exist. Second, the prenatal-leave bank is separate — a prenatal appointment charged to sick leave (or pointed) is its own violation. A call-off hotline or text-based call-off system that captures each absence reason verbatim, with a timestamp, is what lets you classify correctly and prove it later to the NYS Department of Labor.
After a no call, no show termination in New York
| Does New York law define job abandonment? | No statute or regulation applying to private employers defines job abandonment or sets a consecutive-days threshold; it is set by employer policy. The only deemed-resignation regulation found, 22 NYCRR 25.28(e) (absence without notice for 15 consecutive workdays), applies to employees of the state Unified Court System. (N.Y. Labor Law § 593(1)(a), § 593(3); 22 NYCRR 25.28(e) (court system employees only)) |
|---|---|
| Final paycheck if you treat it as a discharge | If employment is terminated, the employer must pay the wages not later than the regular payday for the pay period during which the termination occurred, and must mail them if the employee requests. (N.Y. Labor Law § 191(3)) |
| Final paycheck if you treat it as a resignation | The same rule applies when the employee resigns, with or without notice: wages are due by the regular payday for the pay period in which the termination occurred. New York does not distinguish discharge from quit, or quit with notice from quit without notice. (N.Y. Labor Law § 191(3)) |
| Accrued PTO at separation | Owed unless a written policy clearly provides for forfeiture. Vacation pay is a 'benefit or wage supplement' an employer must provide according to its agreement or policy; the Department of Labor states that earned vacation must be paid at separation unless the employer told employees in writing of the conditions that nullify the benefit, relying on Glenville Gage (forfeiture policies upheld when communicated); § 195(5) requires employers to notify employees in writing or by public posting of the vacation policy; § 198-c(3) excludes bona fide executive, administrative or professional employees earning more than $1,300 a week. (N.Y. Labor Law § 198-c(1)-(3); § 195(5); Glenville Gage Co. v. Industrial Bd. of Appeals, 70 A.D.2d 283 (3d Dep't 1979), aff'd 52 N.Y.2d 777 (1980)) |
| Unemployment claims | A claimant who voluntarily separates without good cause (§ 593(1)(a)) or who lost employment through misconduct in connection with the employment (§ 593(3)) receives no benefits until subsequently working and earning at least ten times the weekly benefit rate; whether a no-call, no-show is a voluntary separation or misconduct is decided case by case, since the statute does not address absences. |
If a state agency later treats a "resignation" as a discharge, the discharge deadline governs, so pay by the earlier of the two when in doubt. Document each step with the no call, no show write-up and termination letter templates, which fill in New York's final-pay rule.
Write a no call, no show policy that fits New York
Start from our no call, no show policy guide and free template, or let the generator turn nine quick questions into a signature-ready policy with New York already selected so the protected-leave section names the state law described above.
PTO payout and final paychecks
| Scenario | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employee is fired or laid off | Wages due by the regular payday for the final pay period; by mail on request | NY Labor Law § 191 |
| Employee quits | Same — next regular payday for the final pay period | NY Labor Law § 191 |
| Unused vacation / PTO | Payout required unless a written policy, communicated in advance, expressly provides for forfeiture — the written policy controls | NY Labor Law § 198-c |
| Unused sick leave | No payout required at year end or separation | Labor Law § 196-b |
New York honors written forfeiture policies for vacation — but only written, only if communicated before the fact. An unwritten "we don't pay out" practice loses. See how PTO accrual works.
Leave New York employers must (and must not) provide
| Leave type | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paid sick leave | Yes | Per the tiers above; NYC ESSTA adds 32 unpaid hours per year (since Feb 22, 2026) and stricter enforcement |
| Prenatal leave | Yes — paid | 20 hours per 52 weeks, separate from sick leave |
| Meal periods | Yes | 30-minute noonday meal for most workers; 60 for factory workers; extra 20 minutes for long shifts into the evening |
| Voting | Yes — paid | Up to 2 hours if the employee lacks 4 consecutive off-duty hours while polls are open; 2–10 working days' notice |
| Jury duty | Yes — partly paid | Employers with more than 10 employees pay the first $72/day for the first 3 days (rate current as of mid-2026) |
The New York employer's attendance playbook
- Put it in writing. A written policy — call-off deadline and channel, points or steps, the no-call no-show rule, and carve-outs for legally protected absences — is what makes discipline defensible. Our attendance policy guide walks through it.
- Give call-offs one channel. "Tell whoever answers" is how records get lost. One number every employee texts or calls makes the record automatic.
- Log everything with timestamps. Unemployment hearings and discrimination charges are won on contemporaneous records, not recollections.
- Enforce consistently. Uneven enforcement converts a lawful termination into a discrimination claim.
- Screen call-offs for protected reasons before applying points — sickness that could be state-protected sick time or FMLA/ADA territory gets a different track than an overslept alarm.
Comparing states? See all published guides on the state sick leave laws hub.