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NYC expands its sick leave law
New York City workers just got more protected time off.
The city’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, known as ESSTA, expanded on Feb. 22, 2026, and now requires every employer in the city to provide 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick leave per year.
That’s a separate bank on top of whatever paid leave employers already owe. The unpaid time starts the day someone gets hired and resets every Jan. 1…