New York Enacts Paid Prenatal Leave Law, Requires Paid Lactation Breaks

Author: Emily Scace, Brightmine Senior Legal Editor

April 30, 2024

Pregnant employees in New York will soon be entitled to paid leave for prenatal care and paid lactation breaks, as a result of two new laws signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Under the prenatal leave law, employers will be required to provide up to 20 hours of paid prenatal leave in a 52-week period. Employees will be able to use the leave for pregnancy-related health care such as physical exams, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussions with health care providers related to a pregnancy. The prenatal care leave is in addition to other leave available to New York employees, such as paid sick and safe leave and paid family leave.

Employers will be required to compensate employees using prenatal leave at their regular rate of pay or the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher. Unused leave does not need to be paid out upon an employee’s departure from an organization.

The law also contains antiretaliation protections and requires covered employers to restore an employee returning from paid prenatal leave to their job with the same pay and other terms and conditions of employment.

The prenatal leave law takes effect January 1, 2025.

The paid lactation break law, which takes effect June 19, 2024, requires employers to provide paid break time of up to 30 minutes each time an employee needs to express breast milk for their nursing child for up to three years following the child’s birth. Employees must also be permitted to use existing paid break or meal time for time beyond 30 minutes. Current law requires only that an employer provide “reasonable unpaid break time” and allow the use of existing paid break or meal time to express breast milk.