Attention New York state and New York City employers: Changes to employment laws in 2025

Paid leave: Prenatal leave, paid family leave, and COVID-19

New York has become the first state in the country to offer paid prenatal leave. Effective January 1, 2025, all private employers, regardless of size, must provide 20 hours of paid prenatal leave during a 52-week period. This benefit is only available to pregnant employees and may be used for any health care services during pregnancy, including physical exams, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussions with health care providers. It cannot be used by spouses or partners and cannot be used for postnatal or postpartum appointments. This paid leave is in addition to any other existing sick leave. 

Employees are entitled to take leave immediately as there is no accrual or waiting period. Eligible employees must take prenatal leave in hourly increments and must be paid their regular rate of pay. The law does not require employers to specifically track the use of an employee’s prenatal leave, though the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) recommends employers keep a clear record of all available leave amounts and the types of leave used. Therefore, if employers have a system for denoting accrued and used sick leave on an employee’s pay stub, they should consider adding an additional line item for prenatal leave. The law also does not require employers to pay out unused prenatal leave upon an employee’s termination, resignation, retirement, or separation. 

Two updates regarding New York’s Paid Family Leave Law also became effective on January 1, 2025. First, the maximum weekly benefit for employees taking paid family leave is now $1,177.32. This is a $26.16 increase from 2024 due to the New York State Average Weekly Wage (NYSAWW) increasing to $1,759.19 in 2025. 

The employee contribution rate and annual contribution cap also increased. Eligible employees will contribute 0.388 percent of their gross wages per pay period with a maximum contribution of $354.53 in 2025. Employees making less than the NYSAWW will contribute consistent with their actual wage. 

Lastly, on July 31, 2025, New York’s COVID-19 sick leave law is set to expire. This law requires medium employers, those with between 11 and 99 employees, and small employers, those of 10 or fewer employees with a net annual income greater than $1 million, to provide at least five (5) days of paid COVID-19 sick leave. Large employers, those with 100 or more employees, and all public employers are required to provide at least 14 days of paid COVID-19 sick leave. Employees will still be able to use other paid leave in the event they contract the disease, such as their paid family leave discussed above. 

Wage and hour 

In November, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas overturned the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) rule set to increase the minimum salary threshold for the executive, administrative, and professional exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This decision does not prevent states from enacting their own increase. In fact, New York went ahead with its plans to increase the salary threshold for employees classified as exempt. 

Effective January 1, 2025, the overtime exemption minimum salary thresholds for New York employers increased as follows: 

• New York City, Westchester, and Long Island: $1,237.50/week or $64,350.00/year (increased from $1,200.00/week or $62,400.00/year)
• Remainder of New York state: $1,161.65/week or $60,405.80/year (increased from 1,124.20/week or $58,458.40/year)

Minimum wage 

Minimum wage will also be increasing in 2025 for all employees in New York state, regardless of their employer’s size. These increases are part of a three-year period of annual increases that were agreed to by Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York state Legislature in the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget. 

Effective January 1, 2025, the hourly minimum wage increased to the following: 

• New York City, Westchester, and Long Island: $16.50/hr (increased from $16.00)
• Remainder of New York state: $15.50/hr (increased from $15.00) 

Credits and allowances 

On January 1, 2025, increases for tip credits, meal credits, and uniform allowances took effect in New York. 

Tipped food service workers 

A food service worker is any employee who is primarily engaged in the serving of food or beverages to guests, patrons, or customers in the hospitality industry, including but not limited to wait staff, bartenders, captains, and bussing personnel, and who regularly receives tips from such guests, patrons, or customers. The term food service worker does not include delivery workers. Effective January 1, 2025, the cash wages and tip credits for food service workers increased as follows: 

• New York City, Westchester, and Long Island: $11.00 cash wage and $5.50 tip credit/hr (increased from $10.65 cash wage and $5.35 tip credit/hr)
• Remainder of New York state: $10.35 cash wage and $5.15 tip credit/hr (increased from $10.00 cash wage and $5.00 tip credit/hr) 

Tipped service employees 

A service employee is an employee, other than a food service worker or fast food employee, who customarily receives tips. Effective January 1, 2025, the cash wages and tip credits for service employees increased as follows: 

• New York City, Westchester, and Long Island: $13.75 cash wage and $2.75 tip credit/hr (increased from $13.35 cash wage and $2.65 tip credit/hr)
• Remainder of New York state: $12.90 cash wage and $2.60 tip credit/hr (increased from $12.50 cash wage and $2.50 tip credit/hr) 

Meal credits 

Effective January 1, 2025, meal credits increased as follows in New York: 

• For food service workers
  • New York City, Westchester, and Long Island: $3.95/meal (increased from $3.85/meal)
  • Remainder of New York state: $3.95/meal (increased from $3.80/meal)
• For service employees
  • New York City, Westchester, and Long Island: $4.60/meal (increased from $4.45/meal)
  • Remainder of New York state: $4.25/meal (increased from $4.10/meal)
• For non-service employees
  • New York City, Westchester, and Long Island: $5.65/meal (increased from $5.50/meal)
  • Remainder of New York state: $5.35/meal (increased from $5.20/meal)

Uniform allowance 

Effective January 1, 2025, the “uniform allowance” for employers who require employees to wear a uniform but do not launder and maintain the uniform itself, increased as follows: 

• Workweek of more than 30 hours
  • New York City, Westchester, and Long Island: $20.50/week (increased from $19.90/week)
  • Remainder of New York state: $19.25/week (increased from $18.65/week)
• Workweek between 20 and 30 hours
  • New York City, Westchester, and Long Island: $16.25/week (increased from $15.75 /week)
  • Remainder of New York state: $15.30/week (increased from $14.80/week)
• Workweek of less than 20 hours
  • New York City, Westchester, and Long Island: $9.80/week (increased from $9.50/week)
  • Remainder of New York state: $9.25/week (increased from $8.95/week)

New York Retail Worker Safety Act 

In September 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the New York Retail Worker Safety Act. The law is loosely based on California’s recent workplace violence prevention requirement with the purpose of addressing the threat of workplace violence. The act applies to retail employers who employ at least ten (10) workers; a retail store, as defined by the act, is a store that sells consumer commodities at retail and which is not primarily engaged in the sale of food for consumption on the premise.

The law takes effect March 5, 2025, and covered employers must be in compliance with the requirements of the law by that date. The act requires employers to maintain a workplace violence prevention policy. The NYDOL will draft a model plan and employers are able to adopt such plan or establish their own. The policy must cover: (1) situations in the workplace that might place a retail employee at risk of workplace violence, (2) methods the employer may use to prevent workplace violence, including but not limited to establishing reporting systems, (3) state and federal provisions regarding workplace violence and remedies for victims, including noting that there may be applicable local laws, and (4) a note indicating that retaliation is unlawful.

Employers are also required to provide information and training on workplace violence. Training must include: (1) information on the requirements of this law, (2) examples of measures employees can use to protect themselves from workplace violence, (3) de-escalation tactics, (4) active shooter drills, (5) emergency procedures, and (6) instructions on the use of security alarms, panic buttons, and other related emergency devices. Employers must provide all employees, in writing, at the time of hiring and annually, information regarding such retail violence prevention policies. 

In 2027, employers of 500 or more retail employees nationwide will be required to provide access to panic buttons in the workplace as an additional requirement of the act. 

New York City Safe Hotels Act 

In November, New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed the Safe Hotels Act, which is set to take effect on May 3, 2025. This law will affect hotels located in New York City. 

First, under the new law, all new and existing hotels in New York City will need to obtain a license from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for a fee of $350. The license application will require the hotel to demonstrate that it has adequate procedures and safeguards to comply with the various staff, safety, and operational standards put forth in the act, which are detailed below. 

Staffing provisions of the act include requiring hotel operators to provide continuous desk coverage. During overnight shifts, a security guard trained in human trafficking recognition can provide such continuous desk coverage. Further, large hotels, those with more than 400 rooms, must maintain continuous security guard coverage at all times guest rooms are occupied.

Under the act, hotels with 100 or more guest rooms must also “directly employ” all “core employees”. This rule limits the use of management companies, contractors, subcontractors, or staffing agencies with respect to “core employees.” “Core employees” are defined as employees whose job classification relates to housekeeping, front desk, or front service of the hotel; “core employees” are not laundry, valet, concierge, reservation agents, telephone operators, maintenance, specialty cleaning, parking, security, lifeguards, spa and health club, minibar employees, audio and visual, and primarily food and beverage employees. An exception also exists to allow a single hotel operator to manage all hotel operations involving “core employees.” 

Safety provisions of the act include requiring hotels to provide panic buttons to “core employees” whose duties involve entering occupied guest rooms. Additionally, hotels will be required to provide human trafficking recognition training to all “core employees” within 60 days of employment. Hotels will also be prohibited from accepting reservations for less than four hours in an effort to combat sex trafficking. 

Finally, the act provides operational standards for hotels. Hotels will be required to maintain the cleanliness of guest rooms, common areas, and other hotel facilities. This includes requiring daily cleaning and trash removal unless explicitly declined by hotel guests. The hotel will not be allowed to charge any fees for cleaning or offer any incentives to guests to forgo cleaning. 

Overview 

New York employers should make sure that their policies and procedures are up to date and in compliance with the new laws that have already gone into effect and those taking effect later in the year. If employers have any questions, please feel free to reach out to a member of the Hogan Lovells Employment team. 

Authored by Michael DeLarco, Kenneth Kirschner, and Olivia McCann.