(New!) FAQ Regarding Paid Leave for New York Employees to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine
Earlier this month, the State of New York began requiring employers to provide paid leave for employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. (See a prior blog post, linked here, regarding the leave law itself.) On March 21, 2021, the New York State Department of Labor issued legal guidance, in the form of a brief FAQ, regarding the new COVID-19 vaccine leave law.
The FAQ
The FAQ guidance provides answers to frequently asked questions about the new law, including the following four (4) clarifications:
All New York employers are covered by the new law, which was effective March 12, 2021.
While employers are not required to provide retroactive credit for COVID-19 vaccine-related leave taken before March 12, 2021, they may choose to do so.
Employees are limited to using COVID-19 vaccine-related leave for themselves and cannot, for example, use the leave to assist another, such as a family member, in receiving the vaccine.
The law does not prevent employers from requiring employees to provide advance notice before taking COVID-19 vaccine-related leave.
Basic Takeaways for Employees and Employers
The FAQ helps New York employers and employees better understand their respective rights and obligations under the new leave law. At the same time, unanswered questions remain. For example, how much advance notice do employees need to provide before taking COVID-19 vaccine-related leave? As another example, does the leave law cover travel time to and from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine?
Next Steps for Employers: Stay Informed and Issue Written Policies Covering COVID-19 Vaccine-Related Leave
In light of the new law and the FAQ, there are two (2) basic next steps that New York employers should take.
First, employers need to stay informed. The March 21st FAQ may not be the last piece of legal guidance that the State of New York issues about the new law. Better informed employers are better positioned for legal compliance.
Second, employers need to issue written policies regarding COVID-19 vaccine-related leave. Beyond it being a best practice to use written policies (as discussed in a prior blog post, linked here), using them here can answer some of the questions left unanswered by the new law and the FAQ. For example, employers can use written policies to define how much advance notice employees need to provide before taking COVID-19 vaccine-related leave. As another example, employers can use written policies to clarify whether they will, or will not, provide retroactive credit for leave taken before March 12, 2021, to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Questions
Shehan Legal closely monitors legal developments affecting employees and employers, in New York and Virginia, and federal government employees worldwide. For more information visit www.shehanlegal.com. Or, to speak with attorney Kevin Shehan, please call 917-740-7805, email kevin@shehanlegal.com, or send a message using Shehan Legal’s Contact page (linked here).
EXTERNAL RESOURCES:
| EMPLOYERS & EMPLOYEES | The full text of the FAQ is available at the New York State Department of Labor website (linked here).
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