212.627.8100Workers in New York State can receive paid leave if they are under an order of quarantine or isolation from the state or a local health department and cannot work remotely. New York State law allows workers to combine different types of paid time off to be used while under quarantine/isolation. There is no waiting period before any paid time off starts and workers have job protection if they need to take leave for isolation/quarantine. The paid time off available during a period of quarantine/isolation depends on employer size and location.
| Employer Size as of 1/1/2020 | New York Paid Leave Benefits |
| In NYC: 5 or more employees | Up to 40 hours of accrued paid sick leave under NYC Safe and Sick Leave Law |
| 10 or fewer employees and less than $1 million in net business income | 60% of weekly pay up to $840.70 through PFL Can be combined with disability benefits matching weekly pay up to $2,043.92, to a maximum of $2,884.62 per week. |
| 11 to 99 employees and smaller employers with more than $1 million in net business income | 5 days of employer-paid COVID-19 sick leave, then NYS Paid Family Leave and/or disability |
| 100 or more employees and public employers | 14 days of employer-paid COVID-19 sick leave |
In New York City, the employer-paid COVID-19 sick leave is in addition to up to 40 hours of accrued paid sick leave under the NYC Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law. After COVID-19 employer-paid sick leave (and NYC Safe and Sick leave, if applicable) is exhausted, workers can take a combination of NYS Paid Family Leave and disability benefits.
How to obtain an order of isolation or quarantine
In order to receive COVID-19 paid sick leave, you need obtain a COVID-19 quarantine/isolation order from your local health department. You must then give that order to your employer or their insurance carrier.
The state is urging local health departments to “promptly provide such order[s].” Local health departments should issue mandatory isolation orders to individuals who test positive for COVID-19 or have COVID-19 symptoms and have had contact with a someone who is COVID-19 positive but cannot access testing. Departments must also issue a mandatory quarantine order if a worker has had close contact with someone who tested positive or is in mandatory isolation. An order is required for anyone who has symptoms and has returned, in the last 14 days, from a country with a level 2, 3, or 4 CDC Advisory for COVID-19. Finally, health departments must issue a precautionary quarantine order if an individual has no symptoms but has returned, in the last 14 days, from a country with a level 2, 3, or 4 Advisory for COVID-19. The Advisories can be found on the CDC website. If your local health department cannot immediately give you an order, you will need to get an attestation from a licensed medical provider stating that you meet the criteria for mandatory or precautionary quarantine or isolation and specifying the reason you do. The local health department must keep a record of your request and issue you their order within the next 30 days. However, healthcare workers should be aware that updated NYS Department of Health protocols permit healthcare personnel to return to work after exposure to a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 or after the healthcare worker has had a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19, provided certain Department of Health criteria are met.