Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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New York program

Use the sick leave you have already earned

New York sick leave can cover time off for your child's illness, including short treatment-related absences.

What it is

New York sick leave can cover time off for your child's illness, including short treatment-related absences.

Sick leave can help with a treatment visit or a day when your child needs care. Your balance depends on hours worked and your employer's size. Paid Family Leave is a separate program for longer absences.

Eligibility rules
  • At least one hour accrues for every 30 hours worked.
  • Your child is a covered family member.
  • The 56-hour entitlement starts at 100 employees. An employer described only as having 50 or more employees may fall in either paid band.
What you get
  • Up to 40 paid hours yearly at employers with 5–99 employees.
  • Up to 56 paid hours yearly at employers with at least 100 employees.
  • Job-protected sick leave usable for a child's illness.
What the help includes
  • Most private-sector New York employees earn at least one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, including part-time workers. Employers with 5–99 employees provide up to 40 paid hours a year; those with 100 or more provide up to 56. For employers with four or fewer employees, the 40 hours are paid if net income exceeds $1 million and otherwise may be unpaid. Public employees need their own employer or contract rules checked.
  • For covered work in New York City, an additional 32 hours of unpaid protected time off became available on February 22, 2026, available upon hire and renewed each January 1. It is separate from the usual 40 or 56 hours of paid or unpaid safe and sick time; state and city sick-leave rules do not automatically double that same paid bank. Local rules can cover additional reasons for absence, so payroll should check the work location as well as state law.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask payroll for your sick-leave balance and the rule that applies to your employer.
  2. If you decide to use it, tell your employer the time is for your child's illness and discuss the dates.

Employer payroll or HR; New York State Department of Labor · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • Payroll can confirm the available balance and record the absence under the applicable sick-leave policy.
Good to know

At employers with four or fewer employees, the 40 hours are unpaid unless last year's net income exceeded $1 million.

Other details
  • A yearly entitlement does not necessarily mean that many hours have already accrued early in a job.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“How much sick time could I use for my child's visits, and would it be paid? Could you help me understand how it fits with longer leave before I request the dates?”

Why I’m asking: I need to understand whether shorter absences can be covered without using all my longer leave.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Ask the tier and your balance, request the hours in writing, keep copies.

Your social worker

The social worker supplies an appointment letter if the employer asks for one.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
Your employer applies the law; the Department of Labor enforces it.
Ask HR
“Which sick-leave tier are we (under 5, 5 to 99, or 100 and over), what is my accrued balance, and can I use it for my child's treatment days?”

How to apply

First step: Ask the employer's benefits office which sick-leave tier applies and your balance, then request the hours in writing for treatment days.

  1. Ask the employer which tier it is (4 or fewer, 5 to 99, 100 or more) and your accrued balance.
  2. Use the hours for clinic days; keep the requests in writing.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Tell the employer you are using sick leave for your child's illness under New York's sick-leave law.

What to gather

  • Your accrued sick-leave balance
  • Treatment dates

How long: Immediate; the employer applies the law.

What a yes looks like

The hours approved for the treatment days, paid where the tier requires it.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask for the reason in writing and the employer's head count. The state Department of Labor takes complaints.

Watch out

  • Hours accrue at one per 30 worked, so early in a job the balance is small. Paid Family Leave is the bigger bank.
  • The 56-hour tier starts at 100 employees. If your employer has 50 or more, ask whether it is over 100.
  • At employers of 4 or fewer the hours are unpaid unless the business netted over $1 million last year.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 9, 2026.

What it is worth

40 sick hours a year at employers of 4 to 99 (paid at 5 to 99; unpaid at 4 or fewer unless net income tops $1 million); 56 paid hours at 100 or more. Usable for a child's illness. New York City: 32 extra unpaid protected hours.

  • $40 — Employers with 4 or fewer employees (net income $1 million or less): unpaid sick hours a year
  • $40 — Employers with 5 to 99 employees: paid sick hours a year
  • $56 — Employers with 100 or more employees: paid sick hours a year
  • $32 — New York City: additional unpaid protected hours (Local Law 145, from February 22, 2026)

Legal protection: Leave usable for a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition of the employee's family member, including a child · Accrual of at least one hour per 30 hours worked from the start of employment

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Employer size tiers
4 or fewer: 40 unpaid hours (40 paid if prior-year net income over $1 million); 5-99: 40 paid hours; 100+: 56 paid hours
Sorter note
the sorter's 50_plus bucket cannot separate 50-99 (40 hours) from 100+ (56 hours); the rule names both
Accrual
at least one hour per 30 hours worked
Family member
includes the employee's child
Nyc
Local Law 145: 32 additional unpaid protected hours available on hire and each calendar year, effective 2026-02-22 (mayoral release)
Other localities
not comprehensively verified

Decisions this site cannot make: Employer applies the statute

Expect friction on: Accrual · Tier depends on head count

The trap: The hours build up as you work (one per 30 hours), so a new hire has few. The 56-hour tier starts at 100 employees, and our question only asks about 50 or more, so ask the employer which tier it is.

Where I read this

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