New York state passed and the Governor signed a law on March 12, 2021 requiring up to four hours of paid leave for employees to get vaccinations for COVID-19. Employees can use this leave up to two times (corresponding to 2 injections required by some versions of the vaccine) for up to 4 hours during each period, total of 8 hours, but the leave cannot be used for any other reason. The leave is not retroactive, so it can’t be applied to time taken before March 12. Required vaccination leave cannot be charged against
any other paid leave accumulated such as required sick leave. Employers must pay employees at their regular rate of pay for this leave and all costs are borne by the employer.
FisherPhilips law firm published a very helpful and detailed post on this topic today.
NYS Department of Labor issued a list of frequently asked questions as well.
Vaccine Eligibility Expanded
As of March 30, New York expands vaccine eligibility to all adults 30 years of age and older, according to the governor’s office.
Farm Employee Compensation Benchmark
Are you paying employees competitively compared to your competitors? Participate in the 2020 benchmark to find out. Confidentially and easily share information here about one or more of your employee’s compensation packages to qualify for the program.
By Richard Stup, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution. The post Paid Leave Required for COVID Vaccinations appeared first in The Ag Workforce Journal
