BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — For many New York businesses, January 1, 2021 won't just signify New Year's Day.
"All employers up to 99 employees must offer 40 hours of paid sick leave," Lisa Coppola, managing partner at the Coppola Firm, said.
This new state law will help every full and part-time employee of businesses larger than four people get paid time off, businesses with less than four employees still need to offer 40 hours of sick leave, it's just unpaid.
Coppola says this is something that many businesses should have prepared for since September. They will realize that the law can be quite vague in parts. Some of those gray areas include enforcement of the law and what the paid-time off can be used for.
"It's not clear yet what the consequences are, for instance there is not a set fine anywhere," Coppola continued, "it counts on employees being honest so it is open for abuse."
For those businesses without a policy, giving someone like Coppola a call needs to be done as soon as possible.
"You need to contact an employment attorney to see what you cannot limit and where you can set limits related to this."
