Temporary Schedule Change NYC Employer Law

ATTENTION TO ALL EMPLOYERS IN NEW YORK CITY:

• Effective July 18, 2018, all employers must grant an employee’s request for a temporary change to the employee’s work schedule because of a “personal event.”
• A “temporary change” is defined as:
  • A limited alteration in the hours, times, or location where an employee is expected to work, including, but not limited to, using paid time off, working remotely, swapping or shifting work hours and using short-term unpaid leave.
• A “personal event” is defined as:
  • the need for a caregiver to provide care to a minor child or care recipient;
  • an employee’s need to attend a legal proceeding or hearing for subsistence benefits to which the employee, a family member or the employee’s care recipient is a party; or
  • any circumstance that would constitute a basis for permissible use of safe time or sick time pursuant to New York City’s Earned Sick Time Act (EST).
• Employees must notify their employer or direct supervisor as soon as the employee becomes aware of the need for a temporary work schedule change.
• The employee must inform the employer or direct supervisor that the change is due to a personal event.
• Unless he or she seeks leave without pay, the employee also must make a proposal for the temporary work schedule change.
• The initial request need not be in writing. However, the employee must submit the request in writing as soon as practicable, but no later than the second business day after the employee returns to work after the temporary change to the work schedule.
• If the employee does not submit the request in writing, the employer does not have to respond in writing.
• Employers must respond immediately after receiving an employee’s initial request. However, the employer’s initial response need not be in writing.
• Once the employee has submitted a request in writing, the employer must provide a written response as soon practicable, but no later than 14 days.
• The employer’s written response must include the following:
  • Whether the employer will agree to the temporary change to the work schedule in the manner requested by the employee or will provide the temporary change to the work schedule as leave without pay (which does not constitute a denial);
  • If the employer denies the request for a temporary change to the work schedule, then it must provide an explanation for the denial; and
  • The number of requests and business days the employee has left, pursuant to the bill, in the calendar year based on the employer’s decision in the written response.
• An employer may deny the employee’s request only if 1) the employee has already exhausted his or her two requests in the calendar year, or 2) if an exemption (described below) applies.
• The bill will not apply to any employee who:
  • is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement if such agreement waives the provisions of the bill and addresses temporary changes to work schedules;
  • has been employed by the employer for fewer than 120 days;
  • is employed by any employer whose primary business for which that employee works is the development, creation or distribution of theatrical motion pictures, televised motion pictures, television programs or live entertainment presentations, with certain exceptions.
  • works fewer than 80 hours in the city in a calendar year.
• The law imposes an administrative penalty of $500 for violations not involving termination; $2,500 for violations involving termination.
• Employers must post a notification where employees can easily see it. Please click on the following link to get the notification: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dca/downloads/pdf/workers/TemporaryScheduleChange-Notice-English.pdf
• If you have any questions concerning this or any other labor and employment matter, please contact an attorney from Franklin, Gringer & Cohen, P.C. at 516-228-3131.

“Temporary Schedule Change NYC Employer Law” was written by Franklin, Gringer & Cohen, P.C.