COVID-19, Sick Leave, and More

Effective March 18, 2020, employees are entitled to the following sick leave benefits, paid family leave, and disability benefits if they are subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19:

• Employees working for large employers (100 or more employees): Receive paid sick days for the entirety of the quarantine (up to 14 days), plus full job protection.
• Employees working for medium sized employers (11-99 employees) and small employers (1-10 employees) with a net income of $1 million a year: Receive five paid sick days and the ability immediately thereafter to qualify for paid family leave and temporary disability benefits, plus full job protection.
• Employees working for small employers (1-10 employees) with a net income of less than $1 million a year: Receive unpaid sick days and the ability immediately to qualify for paid family leave and temporary disability benefits, plus full job protection.

Importantly, all employees subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19 are given full job protection during time of absence. Additionally, employees will qualify for paid family leave to care for a minor dependent child who is subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19.

Covered Employers
Small employers are eligible for the following:

• For employers with 10 or fewer employees as of January 1, 2020, each employee who is subject to a COVID-19-related mandatory or precautionary quarantine or isolation order (quarantine order) must be provided with unpaid sick leave, and any other legal benefit, until the quarantine order ends. During quarantine, an employee is also eligible for paid family leave benefits and disability benefits.
• For employers with 10 or fewer employees as of January 1, 2020, and a net income greater than $1 million in the previous tax year, each employee who is subject to a COVID-19-related quarantine order is entitled to at least five days of paid sick leave and unpaid leave until the quarantine order ends. After these five days of paid sick leave, an employee is eligible for paid family leave benefits and disability benefits.

For medium-sized employers with 11 – 99 employees as of January 1, 2020, each employee who is subject to a COVID-19-related quarantine order must be provided at least five days of paid sick leave and unpaid leave until the quarantine order ends. After these five days of paid sick leave, an employee is eligible for paid family leave benefits and disability benefits.

For large employers with 100 or more employees as of January 1, 2020, each employee who is subject to a COVID-19-related quarantine order must be provided with at least 14 days of paid sick leave (comprising the entirety of quarantine).

Employee Protections
Family leave may be taken for the employee’s own, or their minor dependent child’s, COVID-related quarantine order. Of note, the quarantine order must be issued by the state of New York, the department of health, local board of health, or any governmental entity duly authorized. A COVID-related quarantine order is sufficient proof of disability or proof of the need for family leave.

All leave is provided without loss of an employee’s accrued sick leave. Employees are entitled to job restoration when they return from quarantine with the same pay, terms, and conditions of employment as before quarantine. Employers may not retaliate or discrimination against any employee for taking leave.

The law does not impede or impair collective bargaining rights. If federal law exceeds the protections of state law, then federal law prevails.

Workers’ Compensation and Disability
Disability, as related to workers’ compensation, is any inability of an employee to perform their regular employment duties or other employment an employer may offer as a result of a COVID-19-related quarantine order when the employee has exhausted all employer-provided paid sick leave.

Note: Workers’ compensation disability-related benefits are payable on the first day of disability.

Payments
Disability and family leave benefits may be payable concurrently to an eligible employee on the first full day of an unpaid period of quarantine; however, employees may not collect benefits over $840.70 in paid family leave and $2,043.92 in disability benefits per week.

The maximum weekly disability benefit employees are entitled to is:

• Their maximum weekly family leave benefit and their total average weekly wage from each covered employer;
• Up to a maximum disability benefit of $2,043.92 per week.

Unemployment benefit claims are not subject to a waiting period if they are because an individual’s workplace was closed due to COVID-19-related reasons.

Exceptions
Employees are not entitled to paid sick leave or any other paid benefits if they are subject to a COVID-19-related quarantine order because they traveled to a country where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a level two or three travel health notice, the travel was not work-related, and the employee knew of the CDC notice prior to travel. However, the employee may use employer-provided accrued leave, or if they do not have this leave available, unpaid sick leave will be provided for the duration quarantine.

Employees who are deemed asymptomatic or undiagnosed with any medical condition and are physically able to work, whether through remote access or other similar means, while under a COVID-19-related quarantine order area mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation are not entitled to leave.