Yes. Part-time employees in New York are entitled to paid sick leave under the state’s Paid Sick Leave Law, which took effect in 2020 and covers every private-sector worker regardless of hours, title, or industry.1The State of New York. New York Paid Sick Leave You start accruing one hour of leave for every 30 hours worked on your first day, and whether that leave is paid or unpaid depends on the size of your employer, not on your schedule.
How Accrual Works When You Work Part-Time
The one-hour-per-30-hours formula applies to everyone.2New York State Senate. New York Labor Law 196-B – Sick Leave Requirements There is no minimum weekly hours requirement and no waiting period before you begin earning leave. A seasonal retail worker hired for the holidays, a student picking up a few shifts a week, and an on-call employee all accrue on the same terms as full-time staff.3New York State. New York State Paid Sick Leave FAQ
All time that counts as “hours worked” feeds the calculation, including on-call time and training time. In practical terms: at 15 hours a week, you earn about an hour of leave every two weeks. At 20 hours a week, you cross the one-hour mark roughly every week and a half. Even very light schedules build a balance over time because accrual is strictly proportional to the hours you put in.
Front-Loading as an Alternative
Your employer can skip hour-by-hour tracking and front-load your annual allotment at the start of the calendar year. For part-time employees, that front-loaded amount can be prorated based on the hours you are expected to work. If the employer front-loads less than the full 40 or 56 hours a full-time worker could earn, they still have to track your actual hours in case you end up working more than expected.4NYC.gov. Protected Time Off: Frequently Asked Questions The end result is the same: a bank of usable hours that grows with your work.
Whether Your Leave Is Paid or Unpaid
Employer size determines the answer, along with net income for the smallest businesses. The four tiers are:5The State of New York. New York Paid Sick Leave
- 4 or fewer employees with net income of $1 million or less: up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave per calendar year.
- 4 or fewer employees with net income above $1 million: up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per calendar year.
- 5 to 99 employees: up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per calendar year.
- 100 or more employees: up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per calendar year.6New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Sick Leave Requirements
Employee count is based on the highest total the company employs at any single point during the calendar year, across all locations. A business with 50 employees at one site and 55 at another has 105 total and owes the 56-hour benefit.5The State of New York. New York Paid Sick Leave Being part-time does not change which tier applies to you; your employer’s size does.
If You Earn Tips or Multiple Pay Rates
Employers cannot apply a tip credit to your sick leave. Every hour of leave must be paid at least the full applicable minimum wage rather than a reduced tipped rate.7NY.Gov. New York State Paid Sick Leave – Restaurant and Hospitality Workers The employer is not required to compensate you for tips you would have earned during the absence.
If you work at different pay rates for the same employer, sick leave is paid at the weighted average of those rates, calculated as total regular pay divided by total hours worked in the relevant week. Commission-based workers accrue based on time actually spent working, not the dollar value of sales.
What You Can Use the Leave For
The statute covers two categories: health needs and safety needs. On the health side, you can use accrued time for your own illness, injury, or health condition, whether or not it has been formally diagnosed. Preventive care, such as routine checkups and dental cleanings, also qualifies.5The State of New York. New York Paid Sick Leave You can also use leave to care for a family member with any of those same needs.
“Family member” is defined broadly. It includes children, spouses, domestic partners, parents, siblings, grandchildren, and grandparents, along with any person whose close association with you is the equivalent of a family relationship.
The second category is what the law calls “safe leave.” If you or a family member is a victim of domestic violence, a sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking, accrued hours can be used for related needs including meeting with an attorney, filing a police report, relocating, enrolling children in a new school, or visiting a shelter or crisis center.2New York State Senate. New York Labor Law 196-B – Sick Leave Requirements
Requesting Time Off and Documentation Limits
You can request leave verbally or in writing. A text to your manager works as well as a formal email to HR. You do not have to share a diagnosis or explain the private details of a safe leave situation.5The State of New York. New York Paid Sick Leave
For absences of three consecutive workdays or fewer, your employer cannot require a doctor’s note or any medical documentation. Beyond three workdays, documentation can be requested, but the employer still cannot demand specifics about the nature of the illness or the circumstances of a safe leave event. If they do request documentation, they have to pay any cost of obtaining it, such as a fee for a doctor’s note.5The State of New York. New York Paid Sick Leave Any medical information you do provide must be kept confidential and stored separately from your regular personnel file.
Carryover, Annual Caps, and Leaving the Job
Unused hours carry over to the next calendar year automatically. Your balance does not reset on January 1. Carrying hours forward, however, does not raise how much you can actually use in a year. The usage cap stays at 40 hours if your employer has fewer than 100 employees, and 56 hours if it has 100 or more.2New York State Senate. New York Labor Law 196-B – Sick Leave Requirements
Employers are not required to pay out unused sick leave when you quit, get laid off, or otherwise leave the job. The statute explicitly says so. This is different from many vacation policies, and it means there is no financial reason to hoard hours. Use what you need when you need it.
Protection From Retaliation
Using sick leave is a protected activity. Your employer cannot fire you, cut your hours, dock your pay, or otherwise punish you for taking leave you are entitled to. They also cannot require you to find a replacement to cover your shift as a condition of using the time.3New York State. New York State Paid Sick Leave FAQ That last point matters because requiring a shift swap is a common workplace practice the law specifically prohibits.
If you believe you have been retaliated against for using or requesting sick leave, you can file a complaint with the New York State Department of Labor. Retaliation includes termination but also subtler actions like a sudden schedule cut or a run of undesirable shifts after you call in sick.
Extra Protections if You Work in New York City
If your work is inside the five boroughs, a separate city law layers on top of the state entitlement. As of early 2026, the city ordinance requires employers to make 32 hours of unpaid protected time off available when you are hired and again at the start of each calendar year, on top of the 40 or 56 paid hours from the state law.4NYC.gov. Protected Time Off: Frequently Asked Questions The city law also includes paid prenatal leave as a separate entitlement, and NYC workers can seek enforcement through the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Outside the city, only the state law applies unless a local jurisdiction has its own rules. Where a local law is more generous, the more generous provision controls.
One boundary worth naming: this law covers private-sector employment. Federal, state, and local government employees are generally governed by separate leave policies rather than this statute.5The State of New York. New York Paid Sick Leave