Important Changes to New York Safe and Sick Time Act

We currently offer all employees 56 hours annually of paid New York Safe and Sick leave (this time is allocated on July 1 of each year). New York City is now requiring that we also provide New York City employees with up to 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick time. 

In compliance with this amendment, all Columbia New York City employees are eligible to use these 32 hours as of February 22, 2026. The 32-hour unpaid allotment will be reallocated to Columbia employees working in New York City each July 1, alongside the annual paid leave allocation. Columbia’s New York Safe and Sick Leave Policy has been updated to include these changes.

Who is Eligible:

• Paid Safe and Sick Leave applies to all Columbia employees, regardless of where they work (including those who work fully remotely outside of New York State.)
• Unpaid Safe and Sick Leave applies to only Columbia employees who work in New York City.

What are the Increment Rules?

• Paid Safe and Sick Time: Taken in 1-hour increments to start. Additional time used within same 24-hour period is taken in 15-minute increments.
• Unpaid Safe and Sick Time: Taken in 4-hour increments to start. Any additional time used within the same 24-hour period is taken in 30-minute increments.
• Employees who are eligible for unpaid safe and sick time do not have to have use all of their paid time before using their unpaid time.

How to Record Time Taken:

We are currently unable to use TLAM to record unpaid safe and sick time. Instead, TLAM users as well as Faculty and Officers of Research who take unpaid safe and sick time will use the paper form found here. The form is cumulative. Each time unpaid leave is taken, the employee should update their form and submit it to their manager/supervisor indicating the amount of time taken. The supervisor signs the form approving the time, and the completed form should then be submitted by the supervisor to their department’s Departmental Time Administrator (DTA) or other person(s) responsible for employee payroll processing. Faculty and Officers of Research should submit their form to their departmental administrator or HR representative. The minimum increment unpaid Earned Safe and Sick Time (ESSTA) time taken is 4 hours. Time taken after that in the same 24-hour period must be taken in 30-minute increments.
 
Faculty and Officers of Research:

• Paid Time: Faculty and Officers of Research should continue to use Time and Labor Absence Management (TLAM)/PAC Sick Time Tracker.
• Unpaid Time: Faculty and Officers of Research should use the Excel Unpaid ESSTA Time Tracker.

Officers of Administration, Union and Non-Union Staff who use TLAM:

• Paid Time: For paid time, TLAM users should use the PAC Sick Time Tracker.
• Unpaid Time: For unpaid time, Officers of Administration and Non-Union Support Staff should use the Excel Unpaid ESSTA Time Tracker.

Union and Non-Union Support Staff who use Kronos:

• Paid and Unpaid Time: Kronos users should continue to use that system for both paid and unpaid time taken as New York Safe and Sick time.