The Westchester County Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”) has announced that the county’s Earned Sick Leave Law, which went into effect on April 10, 2019, has been preempted by New York’s Paid Sick Leave Law (“Law” or “PSLL”), which took effect on September 30, 2020. Westchester County’s law had required that eligible employees accrue one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours per year.

As we previously covered, the PSLL applies to all private employers and employees in New York State, and requires employers to provide up to 40 or 56 hours of paid or unpaid sick and safe time leave, depending on size and income:

• Employers with four or fewer employees and a net income of $1 million or less in the previous tax year: Employees may accrue up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave each calendar year.
• Employers with four or fewer employees and a net income greater than $1 million in the previous tax year: Employees may accrue up to 40 hours of paid sick leave each calendar year.
• Employers with between five and 99 employees: Employees may accrue up to 40 hours of paid sick leave each calendar year.
• Employers with 100 or more employees: Employees may accrue up to 56 hours of paid sick leave each calendar year.

The Commission noted in its announcement that the Westchester County’s Safe Time Leave law, the County’s Safe Time Leave Law has not been preempted by the PSLL, and that employers must continue to comply with the Safe Time Leave Law and provide eligible employees with 40 hours of paid safe leave per year.

New York employers in Westchester County should review their time off policies to ensure compliance with the State’s PSLL and the County’s Safe Time Leave law.