NYC ESSTA: Key Changes and Amendments in 2026

The state of New York has several leave of absence laws employers must follow, and if you have employees in New York City, there are even more laws to be aware of. As of 2026, the NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) entitles eligible employees to safe leave, sick leave, and prenatal leave in certain situations.

Recent amendments to NYC ESSTA make compliance even more complex. Here’s what New York City employers need to know about the latest safe and sick leave requirements, and how to ensure compliance using leave of absence software.

What Is NYC ESSTA?

NYC ESSTA refers to the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, also called the Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law.

The NYC ESSTA was passed by the New York City Council and is enforced by the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP). It entitles workers to leave for these covered reasons:

• Sick leave provides time off for certain medical reasons, including caring for themselves or a family member. This law complements, but does not replace, federal and state laws like the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
• Safe leave provides time off to address matters related to “domestic violence, unwanted sexual contact, stalking, or human trafficking.” Employees can also use ESSTA leave if they’re a victim of workplace violence, need to attend legal proceedings for housing or subsistence benefits, or in the case of a “public disaster,” as declared by the Mayor, Governor, or President.
• Paid prenatal leave was added to ESSTA on January 1, 2025, and provides up to 20 hours of paid prenatal leave for the employee’s pregnancy-related healthcare needs, which includes “fertility treatment and end of pregnancy care.”

Employees may accrue up to 40 or 56 hours of paid leave, depending on the size of the employer. Recent changes provide an additional 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick leave that is available as soon as the employee is hired and at the start of each new calendar year. These changes come into effect on February 22, 2026.

Who Is Covered Under ESSTA in 2026?

NYC ESSTA applies to virtually all employers who have employees in New York City. This includes “private, nonprofit, and household employers,” although the amount of paid and unpaid leave entitlement varies depending on the size of the employer.

Employers located outside New York City are still subject to ESSTA compliance if they have employees working in NYC. Only NYC-based employees are covered by ESSTA, but all employees nationwide are counted when determining the employer’s size.

Full-time, part-time, domestic, and seasonal employees are all covered by ESSTA, provided they work at least 80 hours in NYC per calendar year. Noncitizen and undocumented workers are covered by it, too. However, independent contractors, government employees, and some professional or unionized employees are not.

The 2026 NYC ESSTA amendments replace the employee rights under the Temporary Schedule Change law, which required employers to honor an employee’s request to change their work schedule due to certain “personal events.” Those rights now take the form of unpaid leave, but employees still retain the right to request adjustments and are protected from retaliation.

What Changes for Small vs. Large Employers?

Both large and small employers may be affected by recent changes to NYC ESSTA. The main change is that covered employers must provide an additional 32 hours of unpaid leave, which must be front-loaded on their first day of employment.

This is in addition to the following requirements described at NYC.gov:

• Employers with 5-99 employees must offer 40 hours of paid sick time and safe time per year. Employers with 100 or more employees must offer 56 hours.
• Employers with 4 or fewer employees must offer 40 hours of leave. This is unpaid if their net income is under $1 million per year; otherwise it’s paid.
• Domestic workers receive 40 hours of paid sick and safe time.
• All employers must provide 20 hours of paid prenatal leave.

If the employer’s size crosses the threshold in the middle of the year, their obligation to provide leave changes from that date. But if they decrease in size, the amount of leave available doesn’t change until the next calendar year.

Covered employees can carry over unused paid leave, but can only use a maximum of 40 (or 56) hours per year based on the employer’s size.

ESSTA vs. New York State Paid Sick Leave

Although there’s some overlap between the two laws, NYC ESSTA is not to be confused with New York Paid Sick Leave at the state level. As of 2020, covered employers in New York State have been required to provide one hour of sick leave per 30 hours of work, up to 40 or 56 hours per year, depending on employer size.

The good news is that employer obligations are very similar to ESSTA, and if you honor one law, you may already be in compliance with the other. Still, it’s always a good idea to review the FAQs and seek legal advice if you have any questions.

Employees may also be eligible for New York Paid Family Leave or the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provide time off to address health care needs or to act as a caregiver for the employee’s family member.

Leave of Absence Management Software

Keeping up with leave laws can be complex, which is why organizations are turning to leave of absence management software like Pulpstream to help out. Here’s how digital leave management software can help you comply with NYC ESSTA.

Multi-State Compliance

Work location plays a big role in the complexity of leave management. According to our 2026 State of Leave Management Report, multi-state leave operations take 42% longer to process compared to single-state operations. Remote work policies can add to the complexity, with each work location adding more interactions to consider.

Whether your company is based in New York City or simply employs workers there, you may be subject to NYC ESSTA, along with other state and local leave laws. But multi-state compliance doesn’t have to overwhelm your human resources team — leave management software can automatically track eligibility across multiple jurisdictions.

Improved Leave Tracking

Tracking leave and attendance is essential for any type of leave, but it’s especially important when tracking accrued leave and carryovers. For NYC ESSTA, employers must include leave information on each paystub, including the amount of leave an employee has used and how much they have remaining.

Employers can use an electronic system instead of pay stubs, as long as it makes “the accrual, use, and balance information for any past pay period easily accessible to the employee outside of the workplace.” Pulpstream’s leave management platform does exactly that, with a self-service portal employees can use to make leave requests, upload supporting documents, check their leave balance, and more.

Better Employee Experience

Providing leave benefits isn’t just a matter of regulatory compliance — it’s also about providing a better employee experience. Our report found that organizations using a digital leave management system had higher satisfaction scores than those that still relied on manual methods. Having clear leave policies and sufficient paid time off supports a positive work environment and increased employee retention.

Streamline NYC ESSTA Compliance With Pulpstream

The Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) provides several kinds of paid and unpaid leave to employees in New York City, whether or not your business is headquartered there. Recent changes to NYC ESSTA make more leave available, and may require you to perform complex calculations to determine eligibility and track leave balances.

Pulpstream simplifies leave management with an employee self-service portal and a multi-state compliance engine. Use it to streamline your workflows and keep up with leave laws — even when your compliance needs change over time.

Request a demo today to see how it can help!