Sick Time
The University provides employees with paid time off for occasional absences due to illness, injury, medical appointments, or other qualifying reasons under New York Safe and Sick Time laws.
In addition, employees who work in New York City are also eligible to accrue up to 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick time each year for the same qualifying reasons as listed above, including time to care for family members.
Understanding New York Safe and Sick Time
Paid Safe and Sick Leave
Columbia University complies with the New York State Sick Leave Law and the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act by providing eligible employees with up to 56 hours of paid safe and sick leave per fiscal year, and for employees who work in New York City, 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick leave, consistent with the uses outlined in Columbia’s New York Safe and Sick Leave Policy.
For most employees, this time is front-loaded at the beginning of each fiscal year (July 1). Some hourly employees — including Variable Hours Officers and all Casual employees — accrue safe and sick leave at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 56 paid hours and, for employees working in New York City, 32 hours of unpaid hours per fiscal year.
Unpaid Safe and Sick Leave
Effective February 22, 2026, Columbia provides all New York City employees with up to 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick leave annually. Beginning with the 2026 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, this leave will be front-loaded at the start of the fiscal year.
Unpaid leave may be used for the same qualifying reasons as paid safe and sick leave. Employees may choose whether to use paid or unpaid leave, provided they have available balances under the applicable provision.
Variable Hours Officers and all Casual employees who work in New York City accrue unpaid safe and sick leave at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked.
Paid safe/sick leave is initially taken in a one-hour increment. Any additional time taken on the same day may be taken in fifteen-minute increments.
Unlike paid leave, unpaid safe and sick leaveis initially taken in a four-hour increment. Any additional time taken on the same day may be taken in half-hour increments. Unpaid leave is recorded using the designated form.
For additional details regarding paid and unpaid safe and sick leave, please refer to Columbia’s New York Safe and Sick Leave Policy.
How To Record New York Safe and Sick Leave
Paid Safe and Sick Leave
All paid New York Safe and Sick Leave is taken in one-hour increments. For many employees, this time is tracked in Columbia’s Time and Labor Absence Management System (TLAM). Any employees using the paper time-tracker should use that form to indicate paid time taken as New York Safe and Sick Leave. Kronos users should use that system to record paid safe and sick time.
All unpaid New York Safe and Sick Leave is taken in four-hour increments. Unpaid safe/sick leave is only available to employees working in New York City. For most employees, this unpaid time will be tracked using a paper time tracker, found here. This form is cumulative: each time unpaid leave is taken, the employee updates the form with the time taken. The employee submits the form to their manager or supervisor who signs the form approving the time, and then submits the form to their department’s Departmental Time Administrator (DTA) or other person(s) responsible for employee payroll processing.
Kronos users should use that system to record unpaid safe and sick time.
For more details about University Sick Leave, please see Columbia's Sick Leave Policy.
Employees Who Transfer Departments
An employee's attendance records—including unused, accrued sick leave, vacation and personal days—transfers with them when they move from one University department to another without a break in service.
If in transferring, an employee moves from one bargaining unit to another or from Support Staff to an exempt Officer status, the supervisor or Human Resources representative should contact the Department of Employee & Labor Relations to review the calculation of benefits in the year of transfer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below you will find answers to the most commonly asked questions regarding New York City’s unpaid safe and sick leave but we encourage you to read Columbia’s New York Safe and Sick Leave policy in its entirely. Please reach out to your local HR department if you have questions not answered here.
Q: What does the new law allow?
A: New York City’s updated Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA), effective February 22, 2026, requires employers to provide New York City workers with a separate bank of 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick leave each year. This leave is available immediately upon hire and refreshed on July 1 each year, and it is in addition to existing paid sick leave requirements.
Q: Does the new 32-hour unpaid New York safe and sick time apply to all employees?
A: No. The new provision is a New York City law and does not apply to employees who work outside of the city. By contrast, the 56 hours of paid safe and sick time is both a city and state law, and therefore applies to all Columbia employees working in New York State.
Q: Does an employee need to use up all of their paid safe and sick time before starting to use unpaid time?
A: No. The employee is free to use whichever leave is best for them, up to a limit of 56 hours of paid time and 32 hours of unpaid time.
Q: Are the allowable reasons for taking paid safe and sick time the same as those for unpaid time?
A: No. Employees may take unpaid time for all the reasons you may take paid time, but in addition, they may take unpaid time to:
- initiate, attend or prepare for a legal proceeding or hearing related to subsistence benefits or housing to which the employee, their family member, or their care recipient is a party; or
- take actions necessary to apply for, maintain or restore subsistence benefits or shelter for the employee or their family member or care recipient.
To review the allowable reasons for taking paid or unpaid leave, please read the Use of Safe/Sick Time section in the policy text.
Q: Can employees make up work instead of using unpaid safe and sick time?
A: Officers of Instruction, Officers of Research and Officers of Administration may make up time that would normally be taken as unpaid safe and sick leave. This option is available if both the officer and their supervisor/manager/department chair agree.
Q: How do employees track their unpaid ESSTA time?
A: Employees must record every instance of unpaid safe/sick time in the designated Excel tracking log and submit it to their supervisor for approval each time the leave is taken. The log is cumulative, so they must continue adding entries to the same file throughout the fiscal year (ending June 30). Both the employee and the department are responsible for maintaining this log as an ongoing record, updating it promptly whenever unpaid time is used.
Q: What is the submission process for the department administrator or the person in the department who is responsible for time recording?
A: After the supervisor’s approval, the department administrator should:
- Review the Excel tracking log to confirm the approved unpaid time
- Complete a Time Entry Form (TEF) based on the recorded time
- Submit the TEF to HRPC for processing within 30 days after the unpaid time was taken
The Excel tracking log is for departmental tracking purposes only and should not be submitted.
Q: Should employees use the Excel Time Tracker to record paid safe and sick leave?
A: No. In TLAM, continue recording paid time in TLAM. If someone is not using TLAM, enter it in PAC NYSSL (Menu > Self-Service > Time Reporting > Report Time > Request NY Safe & Sick Leave)