Paid Prenatal Leave Law going into effect January 1, 2025

Beginning January 1, 2025, New York’s Paid Prenatal Leave law will go into effect. This first-in-the-nation law will require private employers to provide pregnant employees with 20 hours of paid prenatal leave, ensuring that pregnant employees can take time off for medical appointments related to pregnancy without the fear of losing income.

Paid Prenatal Leave applies to all private employers in New York state, with no minimum employee threshold, and is applicable to both full-time and part-time employees. Pregnancy-related health care includes physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring, testing, and discussions with a health care provider related to the pregnancy.

This personal leave time may be taken in hourly increments, and compensation provided must be at the employee’s regular rate of pay or the applicable minimum wage, whichever is greater. Employers are not required to pay an employee for unused prenatal personal leave at the time of separation from employment.

Everyone should be able to access the care they need, especially when they are expecting. Paid Prenatal Leave is another shining example of how New York state and New York state businesses are committed to supporting the health and safety of all workers.

For more information about Paid Prenatal Personal Leave and how it affects your business’s paid leave policies, please visit ny.gov/prenatal.

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