New York is the first state to require employers to grant an unpaid leave of absence of up to 10 days to an employee whose spouse who is on leave from service with the armed forces in a combat zone.
New York is the first state to require employers to grant an unpaid leave of absence of up to 10 days to an employee whose spouse who is on leave from service with the armed forces in a combat zone.
Application: The law applies to all private and public employers which employ 20 or more employees in at least one location, presumably in New York State. “Employee” means any person working at any location, presumably in New York State, for an average of 20 or more hours weekly. Thus, if an employer has at least one location with 20 employees, the law appears to apply to all other locations of that employer.
No retaliation: Employers may not retaliate against an employee who requests or uses the leave.
Employer’s Bottom Line:
Unlike the Family and Medical Leave Act, this law applies to all employees regardless of length of service and does not require specific notice prior to taking the leave. The law does not purport to affect an employee’s right to any other legally-mandated leave or employee benefit. Note that affected employers should alert local management to the requirements of this law, which became effective on August 16, 2006.
If you have any questions, please contact the Ford & Harrison attorney with whom you usually work, or Judith Moldover, Of Counsel to our New York office, at (212) 453-5923 or jmoldover@fordharrison.com.