New York City Considers Paid Time Off for Pet Care

Is your cat feeling less than purrfect? Is Fido sick as a dog? New York City may soon give pet owners paid time off to care for their furry or feathered friends. A bill introduced in October 2024 in the New York City Council would amend the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) to let cooperative and condominium employees use sick time for pet-related leave.

Under the current law, employees can use accrued sick leave days to care for a sick family member, for their own health, in public emergencies, or to seek assistance for victims of domestic violence. The proposed bill, Intro. 1089-2024, would cover animals defined as a “service animal or an animal kept primarily for companionship in compliance with all applicable laws.” Employees can use this leave to care for an animal that needs “medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a physical illness, injury or health condition that needs preventive medical care.”

The bill was introduced by Sean Abreu, a Manhattan Democrat, who tells The New York Times that the bill is intended to help address the city’s mental health crisis. “I think that one of the simplest ways to support mental health is by encouraging pet ownership,” he says. “Keeping our pets healthy keeps us healthy.”

Abreu pointed to research that shows that owning a pet can reduce cortisol, a stress-related hormone. Having a dog, he says, can also force people to engage in physical activity, which can in turn have positive effects on depression and social isolation. His bill has been referred to the council's Committee on Consumer and Worker Protections.

The ESSTA currently mandates that employers with 100 or more employees must provide up to 56 hours of paid leave each calendar year; employers of between 5-99 employees must provide up to 40 paid hours of leave; employees on a workforce of four or fewer can accrue up to 40 hours of leave, but whether it is paid or not will depend on the employer's income. 

Smaller employers must provide up to 40 hours of unpaid safe and sick leave if the employer’s net income is less than $1 million in the previous tax year. If it is $1 million or more, they must provide up to 40 hours of paid safe and sick leave.

Remember, only animals kept in compliance “with all applicable laws” are covered under the proposed bill. Want to stay home to take care of Tom the Tarantula? You're out of luck. Tarantulas — along with ferrets, ducks, iguanas and various other critters — cannot be legally kept as pets in New York City.

But the range of pets that can be kept legally in the city is wide. In addition to domesticated cats and dogs, allowed pets include chinchillas, honeybees, horses, rabbits, parrots, and non-snapping turtles larger than four inches.

If passed, the bill will become effective after 120 days. In the meantime, a co-op or condo board can implement its own policy. It can also remind its employees that they can use existing benefits, such as paid vacation time, for any reason, including time off to take care of a loyal chinchilla. But before implementing such a policy, a co-op or condo board should always consult its counsel to ensure that it complies with the law.

Andrew I. Bart is senior counsel at the law firm Kagan Lubic Lepper Finkelstein & Gold. He specializes in employment law and real estate/commercial litigation on behalf of cooperatives and condominiums.