Victory for Workers!
The Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) went into effect in New York City on April 1, 2014. A Better Balance and its partners fought hard for this legislation, and you made it happen by supporting our rallies and sharing your stories. Now find out how to enforce your rights under the law.
Background
Before this law, workers in NYC were forced to make an impossible choice all too often: forgo a day’s pay and possibly even risk losing their jobs if they did not go to work because of personal or family illness, injuries, or health needs. A Better Balance believes that getting the flu should not spell financial disaster for your household. Here’s what you can do to enforce your rights, take care of your family, and help others struggling to achieve the same rights.
Understand the Law
- Learn more about your rights under the law on our Know Your Rights: New York City Paid Sick Time
- Visit our Interactive Overview of Paid Sick Time Laws in the United States.
- Check out our blog posts on paid sick time in NYC in our “Paid Sick Time Blog Series.”
- Several sick time bills have been passed into law by the New York City Council, and together they comprise the full Earned Safe and Sick Time Act. To download the law, click here.
Get Help
Do you have questions about the law and whether or not you are covered? Has your employer not let you take sick time? Have you been fired or punished for taking (or trying to take) sick time?
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) enforces the law. A Better Balance can provide you with legal advice if you believe the law has been violated or if you have questions about how to file a complaint with DCWP. You can contact DCWP by emailing PaidSickLeave@dca.nyc.gov or calling 311 and asking for information about the paid sick time law (if you are outside NYC, call 212-NEW-YORK). DCWP can answer inquiries in multiple languages.
ABB’s free legal helpline can help you understand your workplace rights around caring for yourself and your family members.
You can reach us at 1-833-NEED-ABB.
We offer services in Spanish.
