The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) has adopted final rules implementing the City’s February 2026 amendments to the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, now referred to in the rules as the Protected Time Off Law (PTOL). The rules went into effect July 23, 2026.

The final rules mostly keep the proposed framework intact, but clarify several practical issues employers raised during rulemaking, most importantly, how employers may administer the new 32-hour bank of immediately available protected time off.

The final rules also confirm that “protected time off” replaces “safe/sick time” terminology and includes both paid and unpaid protected time off.

Key Takeaways

• Employers may satisfy some or all of the new 32-hour immediately available protected time off requirement with paid leave.
• Employers should pay for that time when needed to satisfy other legal obligations or preserve exempt status.
• Paid protected time off generally must be used before unpaid protected time off, unless the employee requests otherwise.
• If an employee is rehired in the same calendar year, the unused portion of the 32-hour bank must be reinstated.
• Employers using electronic systems must address post-employment access to leave-balance information.
• Policies should be updated to reflect the expanded covered reasons, the 32-hour immediately available bank, paid prenatal leave, documentation limits, rehire obligations, and post-employment leave-balance access.

Protected Time Off Law Recap

In February 2026, the City amended its protected time off law, formerly known as the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, and made related changes to the Temporary Schedule Changes Law.

The amendments added a new 32-hour bank of unpaid protected time off that must be immediately available upon hire and on the first day of each calendar year. They also expanded covered reasons to include public disasters, workplace violence, caregiving for a minor child or care recipient, and legal proceedings or related actions involving subsistence benefits or housing.

The amendments also codified paid prenatal leave obligations and modified certain collective bargaining provisions. The final rules now provide the implementation details employers need.

The Final Rule

The 32-Hour “Immediately Available” Bank

Employers must provide 32 hours of protected time off immediately upon hire and at the start of each calendar year. The final rules confirm that the bank may be unpaid protected time off, paid protected time off, or a combination of both.

That means existing PTO, sick leave, vacation, personal days, or similar paid leave may satisfy the requirement if the time is immediately available and usable for all protected reasons.

For example, an employer that provides employees with two paid personal days immediately upon hire and at the start of each calendar year may count those 16 hours toward the 32-hour immediately available bank, provided the personal days may be used for all protected reasons and otherwise comply with the PTOL. The employer would still need to make the remaining 16 hours immediately available, whether paid, unpaid, or through another qualifying leave bank.

Paid Leave Should Be Applied First

When both paid and unpaid protected time off are available, paid time generally must be used first unless the employee requests unpaid time.

Wage-and-Hour Considerations for Exempt Employees

Employers should pay for immediately available protected time off when needed to comply with other laws or preserve exempt status, including under federal, state, or local law, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Written Policy Requirements

Employers must maintain and distribute a single written policy covering protected time off and paid prenatal leave.

Employers should review and update their written protected-time-off and paid-prenatal-leave policies, and ensure the required policy materials are distributed to employees. Policies must address the 32-hour bank, expanded covered reasons, paid prenatal leave, notice and documentation rules, confidentiality, carryover, rehire obligations, and misuse standards.

The final rules also clarify that an employer may request reasonable documentation when an employee seeks to use protected time off or paid prenatal leave that results in an absence of three or more consecutive days. Where documentation may be required, documentation showing the reason for the amount of protected time off or paid prenatal leave taken should generally be treated as reasonable.

Pay Statement and Recordkeeping Updates

Employers must separately track paid and unpaid protected time off and also separately track paid prenatal leave.

As clarified in the final rules, when an employee’s employment ends, employers must either continue providing the former employee access to the employer’s electronic system for six months or provide a written leave-balance statement no later than one week after the employee’s last payday.

The written statement must cover the employee’s last pay period and include: the amount of paid protected time off accrued during the pay period; the amount of protected time off used during the pay period, distinguishing between paid and unpaid protected time off; the employee’s total balance of paid protected time off; the amount of protected time off available for use, distinguishing between paid and unpaid protected time off; the amount of paid prenatal leave used during the pay period; and the employee’s total balance of paid prenatal leave.

Carryover and Rehire Obligations

Unused immediately available protected time off does not carry over year to year. If an employee is rehired in the same calendar year, however, the unused portion of the 32-hour bank must be reinstated.

Paid Prenatal Leave

The final rules incorporate paid prenatal leave into the City framework. Covered employers must provide up to 20 hours of paid prenatal leave in any 52-week period, separate from protected time off.

Employers may not require employees to use or exhaust other leave before using paid prenatal leave, or require disclosure of medical details as a condition of use.

Enforcement and Penalties

An unlawful policy or practice of denying protected time off or paid prenatal leave may require restoration of leave balances and monetary relief of $500 per employee for each year the policy or practice was in effect.

Employer Action Items

Employers should prioritize the following:

1. Update policies to address the 32-hour bank, expanded covered reasons, paid prenatal leave, rehire rules, and documentation limits.
2. Map existing leave to determine whether PTO, sick leave, vacation, or personal days can satisfy the new 32-hour requirement.
3. Audit payroll and HRIS systems to track paid and unpaid protected time off, paid prenatal leave, and required balance information.
4. Update offboarding procedures for electronic access or written leave-balance statements after separation.
5. Train HR, payroll, and managers on expanded uses, paid-versus-unpaid sequencing, confidentiality, and anti-retaliation rules.