Overview
Starting January 1, 2025, all employees working in the private sector are covered by the New York State Paid Prenatal Leave Law (NYS Labor Law Section 196-b). All full time and part time private sector employees, including employees who are overtime exempt, are entitled to 20 hours of Paid Prenatal Leave per year. Federal, state, or local government employees are not covered by New York State’s Paid Prenatal Leave Law. However, employees of non-profit organizations are covered by this law.
Private sector employers include people or businesses, outside of government, that employ others. These employers include persons, corporations, limited liability companies, or associations in any occupation, industry, trade, business, or service.
Covered Prenatal Health Care Services
Your 20 hours of Paid Prenatal Leave are available for you to take paid time off work for pregnancy-related health care appointments, such as:
- physical examinations
- medical procedures
- monitoring
- testing
- discussions with a health care provider needed to ensure a healthy pregnancy
- end of pregnancy care
- fertility treatment
Paid Prenatal Leave is only available to the pregnant person receiving health services. A spouse, partner, or other support person attending prenatal appointments with a pregnant person is not able to use Paid Prenatal Leave for these appointments.
Paid Prenatal Leave may not be used for health care services after pregnancy.
Pay for Paid Prenatal Leave
You are entitled to 20 hours of Paid Prenatal Leave per year. You must be paid at your regular rate of pay while you take this leave, or at the appropriate minimum wage for your occupation, whichever is greater. If you earn the tipped minimum wage, you must be paid the full minimum wage for your region for any Paid Prenatal Leave you take.
If you stop working for your employer without using all of your Paid Prenatal Leave, your employer is not required to pay you for any unused Paid Prenatal Leave hours.
Requests for Personal Health Details Prohibited
You do not need to give your employer any personal or confidential information about your health or the nature of your prenatal appointment to use Paid Prenatal Leave, and your employer cannot ask you for it. You also do not have to submit medical records to use this benefit.
Taking Paid Prenatal Leave on an Hourly Basis
You may take Paid Prenatal Leave on an hourly basis. For example, if you only need one hour to attend a prenatal health care appointment but are available to work the remaining hours in the workday, you can use one hour of leave and return to work for the rest of the day.
No Minimum Work Requirement
You do not need to work a minimum number of hours to earn access to Paid Prenatal Leave. You are entitled to 20 hours of Paid Prenatal Leave per 52-week period. Newly hired employees are entitled to 20 hours of paid prenatal leave as soon as they are hired.
The 52-week period for your 20 hours of prenatal leave is based on when you first use it. It is not tied to the calendar year. For instance, if you use your first hour of Paid Prenatal Leave on June 1st, 2025, you have 20 hours available through May 31st, 2026. If after May 31st, you next need to use Paid Prenatal Leave on August 2nd, 2026, that date would trigger the start of another 52-week period for which you are entitled 20 hours of leave. Unused leave hours do not carry over to the following time period.
Requesting Paid Prenatal Leave
You should let your employer know that you plan to take Paid Prenatal Leave in the same way you would let your employer know you plan to take other types of paid time off at your job. It is encouraged to let your employer know in advance when you plan to take time off with Paid Prenatal Leave. You must be allowed to use Paid Prenatal Leave when you request it, until all 20 hours of leave you are entitled to have been used.
Other Leave Policies
You have a right to 20 hours of Paid Prenatal Leave per year in addition to any other leave options available to you, including New York State Sick Leave. If you request to use Paid Prenatal Leave, your employer cannot require you to use a certain leave type instead if more than one option is available.
Retaliation and Discrimination Prohibited
It is illegal for your employer to retaliate or discriminate against you for requesting and using Paid Prenatal Leave. Examples of employer retaliation may include:
- Reducing the number of hours of sick leave, vacation leave, or other leave available to you because you used Paid Prenatal Leave.
- Changing your work location or hours after you request to use Paid Prenatal Leave.
- Firing or demoting you after you request to use Paid Prenatal Leave.
Learn more about employer retaliation
If you have been the victim of employer retaliation, you can file a complaint with the New York State Department of Labor by calling 1-888-52-LABOR, emailing [email protected], or visiting a Labor Standards Division office.
Find Labor Standards Division offices near you
If you have been the victim of discrimination because of your pregnancy, you may file a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights by calling 1-888-392-3644 or file a complaint online.