Paying it Forward — Restaurants Get a Leg Up from Grateful Businesses | COVID-19 Cluster Action Initiative | Mandatory Sick Time & FAQ’s

Jennifer Maher

Chairwoman Putnam County Business Council

As part of the NYS budget, Governor Cuomo signed into law section 196-b of the NYS Labor Law. The new section requires all employers to provide sick time to all of their employees including those working part time. Independent contractors are not considered to be an employee. The amount of sick time and whether such sick time is paid or unpaid depends on the number of employees and the net income of the employer. The new law requires employers to provide sick time to an employee beginning January 1, 2021 but employees may begin accumulating the sick time as of September 30, 2020 or the date of hire, whichever is later. Employers must provide employees one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked up to the maximum number of hours required under the law.

The law requires differing amounts of sick time and whether such sick time is paid/unpaid based upon two factors, the number of employees and the net income of the employer in the prior calendar year. Employers should review their current sick time policy and make any necessary amendments to comply with the new sick time law. Brokers, licensees and teams with personal assistants (or any other title given to an individual working in a non-licensed capacity) should be aware that a personal assistant is an employee and not an independent contractor. As such, personal assistants are entitled to sick time under this law. Brokers should make sure that all licensees and teams with personal assistants are complying with the law. Below, please find a table that outlines the requirements based on the two factors.

As can be seen by the table, employers with 4 or fewer employees and a net income of less than $1 million dollars only have to provide up to 40 hours of unpaid sick time. All other employers must provide paid sick time.

Employees must be permitted to carry over sick time provided under the law if they do not use the amount they accumulated the previous calendar year. If an employee were to carry over the sick time, they are still only entitled to take the maximum amount under the law per year.

Scenario 1: If an employee is entitled to 40 hours of paid sick time and only takes 30 hours, they may carry over 10 hours to the following year. The employee is not entitled to take paid sick time in excess of the 40 hours the following year because of the carry over (unless the employer permits it). The carry over provision would most likely apply to part-time employees who would not earn the full 40 hours.

Employers have the option to provide the full amount of sick leave in a lump sum at the beginning of the calendar year (for the purposes of the law, a calendar year is 1/1-12/31 regardless if that is the calendar year of the business). If an employer already has a policy where an equal or greater amount of time off is provided to an employee, the employer is not required to provide additional hours as a result of the law. The employer should make sure that the employee is permitted to take up to the maximum of sick time without advanced notice to the employer. Employer provided time off needs to comply with that requirement for the number of hours required under the law. Once provided, employers can’t reduce or revoke sick leave based on the number of hours the employee actually works during the calendar year.

Scenario 2: ABC Realty has ten employees and must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick time to its employees at a rate of 1 hour paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. ABC already offers its employees a time off package of 15 days per year. ABC Realty does not have to provide additional time off to its employees as the current policy is the same or more than that required under the law. However, ABC Realty must permit the employee to take up to 40 hours of such time without advanced notice in order to comply.

Employers must permit employees to use sick time with a minimum increment no greater than 4 hours. In other words, an employer is prohibited from requiring an employee to take sick time in full day or increments greater than 4 hours.

The employee is permitted to take the sick time for a number of purposes that impact themselves or a family member. Some purposes set forth in the law are physical/mental illness (including diagnosis, care or treatment), being a victim of certain crimes (including services from providers, meetings with legal representation, law enforcement etc.).

Employers may not require an employee to disclose confidential information relating to the reason for the use of sick leave. The only inquiry an employer should make is whether the employee is using the time as part of the sick time provided under the law. The law also protects employees from retaliation for using sick leave and requires employers to restore an employee returning from sick leave to the same position, with the same pay and other terms and conditions of employment. Paid sick leave shall be at the regular rate of pay or the applicable minimum wage, whichever is greater.

Employers are required to track sick leave for a period of six years. Employees have the right to request a summary of their current sick time accrued/used and the employer must provide the summary within three business days.

With infection rates varying from neighborhood to neighborhood, we encourage you to keep checking nyc.gov/covidzone to get updated guidance on any rules or regulations that may be in effect in your area.

Per the Governor’s announcement, modifications have been made to zones in Queens and Brooklyn. The updated map reflects these changes. See if you are in a red, orange, or yellow zone by visiting nyc.gov/covidzone.

Read More on the NY Forward site

FAQs: What You Need to Know About NYC’s Localized Restriction

Have questions about the cluster action initiative or anything else related to reopening? Visit nyc.gov/business or call our hotline at (888) SBS-4NYC.

You can also visit nycsmallbizcourses.eventbrite.com to see a full list of upcoming webinars designed to help you better understand the guidance, and adapt your business to reach more customers and increase your business.

The federal Small Business Administration released new guidance regarding forgiveness for the Paycheck Protection Program.

The new guidance includes a simplified process for loans under $50,000 and clarifies lender responsibilities around borrower calculations and documentation.

Read more in the FAQs (updated on October 13th) HERE

Read more details HERE

The Department of Buildings (DOB) is providing the following guidance to describe how restaurant owners and operators can 1) independently determine the number of diners allowed for the safe reopening of indoor dining, and 2) make minor changes to your indoor dining space without having to obtain a construction permit from the DOB.

Also, where outdoor dining is provided through the Open Restaurants Program, tents or other shelters that are enclosed by more than 50% on the side wall surfaces must be limited to 25% seating capacity and the space must follow all other indoor dining guidelines in accordance New York State Department of Health guidelines for indoor dining.

Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell announced that local movie theaters will be among those allowed to reopen on Friday, after Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s lifted restrictions in most of the state.

“Restaurants, gyms and other businesses that cater to the public are open, so it didn’t make sense to keep movie theaters closed,” County Executive Odell said. “We need to help businesses come back, not stand in their way. Plus, people are feeling Covid fatigue. We have to give them options and trust they will make the right decisions to stay safe.”

Over the weekend, Gov. Cuomo lifted the lockdown order on movie theaters in counties outside of New York City with no cluster zones and where the 14-day average infection rate is lower than 2%, which leaves out Rockland and Orange counties.

Putnam County Legislature Chairwoman Toni Addonizio, whose district includes the Carmel Cinema 8 on Route 52, said she was relieved that the governor had finally allowed movie theaters to reopen.

“This is good news for the theater owners and their employees, who have had to wait too long for their jobs to return,” Chairwoman Addonizio said. “It’s also good for our community. People have adjusted to wearing masks and washing their hands often to protect themselves from Covid-19, but they haven’t adjusted to the isolation and disruption of normal life. This is another step on the road back to normal.”

To reopen, movie theaters must follow certain restrictions: the theaters must limit capacity to 25 percent with no more than 50 people per screen; patrons must wear masks except when seated and eating or drinking; theaters must assign seating and even groups of friends will have to socially distance; air filtration systems and ventilation will have to meet state standards; and additional staff will be required to ensure rules are followed.

Putnam County is continuing to support its entire business community throughout the reopening process, Deputy County Executive Thomas Feighery said.  “Since the beginning of the pandemic we have utilized all the resources of Putnam County to partner with all businesses to navigate through each of the state’s phases for reopening,” Feighery said. “Some industries, like movie theaters, seem to have been unfairly left behind, and we have been advocating for their chance to safely reopen. We continue to partner with county businesses to ensure they have every tool they need to survive in this uncharted year.”

Kathleen Abels, president of the Putnam County Economic Development Corporation called the cinema’s reopening an important step forward.  “I am hopeful that with movie theaters reopening outside of red zones, live theater performances will soon be allowed,” Abels said. “Limited capacity, assigned seating and additional cleaning are really just common-sense approaches that mimic the guidelines for other sectors.”

“Also promising is Gov. Cuomo’s Cluster Action Initiative, which divides clusters and the areas surrounding them into categories with successively greater restrictions. This initiative protects regions and counties where COVID-19 has been well-managed from being punished for the bad actions of a few.”