![NYC Workers Can Sue for Safe and Sick Leave Violations](/images/articles/s/Labor-Law-2-16.jpg)
According to JDSupra, employees who prove a violation of ESSTA may recover:
- Three times the wages that should have been paid pursuant to ESSTA or $250.00, whichever is greater, for each instance of safe and sick leave taken by an employee but unlawfully not compensated by an employer;
- $500.00 for each instance of safe and sick leave requested by an employee that was: (i) unlawfully denied by the employer and not taken by the employee; (ii) unlawfully conditioned upon searching for or finding a replacement worker; or (iii) unlawfully subjected to a mandate by an employer to work additional hours to make up for the original hours during which the employee was absent, without the mutual consent of the employer and employee;
- Full compensation, including wages and benefits lost, $500.00 and equitable relief as appropriate for each violation of retaliation and interference pursuant to Section 20-918 (excluding discharge from employment);
- Full compensation, including wages and benefits lost, $2,500.00 and equitable relief, including reinstatement, as appropriate for each instance of unlawful discharge from employment; and
- $500.00 for each employee covered by an employer’s official or unofficial policy or practice of not providing or refusing to allow the use of accrued safe and sick time in violation of ESSTA.
ESSTA Background
The Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, which came about in 2014, allows workers to take leave for several reasons, including their own care and treatment or that of a family member, or to seek services or take safety measures related to domestic violence or unwanted sexual contact, stalking, or human trafficking or to help a family member do so. It requires employers with five or more employees to provide paid sick leave to Manhattan-based workers.
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Attorneys advise employers in New York City to revisit their safe and sick leave policies to ensure compliance. As well, supervisors, human resources personnel and leave administrators should also be aware of the ESSTA’s expanded scope.