Keith Markel, Jeffrey Englander and Cassandra Branch Discuss NYC’s Pet Leave Bill in Law360

Labor & Employment Partners & Co-Chairs Keith Markel and Jeffrey Englander and Associate Cassandra Branch co-authored an article in Law360 entitled “Every Dog Has Its Sick Day: Inside NYC's Pet Leave Bill.” Partner John Fulfree and Associates Alana Mildner Smolow and Kayla West also contributed to the article. They discussed a bill, Int. 1089, introduced by New York City councilmembers that would amend the city's Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) to let employees use accrued sick time to care for animals.

The proposed amendment, the first of its kind for a major metropolitan area, would expand the list of reasons why an employee could use ESSTA leave to include those associated with the care of a “covered animal,” i.e., “an employee’s animal that is a service animal or is an animal kept primarily for companionship in compliance with all applicable laws.”

Although ESSTA broadly defines “family” for the purposes of taking protected safe and sick time leave, the current definition does not apply to non-human companions. Int. 1089, however, seeks to permit employees to use ESSTA leave for the “care of a covered animal that needs medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a physical illness, injury or health condition that needs preventative medical care.”

Opponents of the bill argue that some employees may apply the broader scope of sanctioned ESSTA use to concoct scenarios that constitute pet care; or that employees using paid sick leave for pet care may cause resentment among those without pets who can only use sick leave for traditional reasons.

Int. 1089 has been referred to the New York City Council's Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection and currently has six additional sponsors in the council. If passed, the amendment would go into effect 120 days later.

The authors note that for now, employers are not required to grant employees’ requests to use ESSTA leave for pet care. Even if passed, the bill would not increase the amount of ESSTA leave that each employee can use each year; it would simply expand the basis on which leave must be granted. 

Law360 subscribers may read the article here.