Employment Law Changes for 2026

With the New Year comes new laws. Here are some changes that may impact your business:

All Employers Required to Provide at least 32 Hours Unpaid Safe/Sick Time and Paid Prenatal Leave

Effective February 22, 2026, nearly all NYC employers must provide employees in New York City with a minimum of 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick time for use immediately upon hire. This is in addition to existing paid, accrued leave, and these 32 hours must be front loaded upon hire/start of the year.

Employees must exhaust their existing paid safe/sick leave before they can use the new 32 hours of unpaid leave, and any unused unpaid leave does not carry over to the next calendar year.

Employers must also provide eligible employees with 20 hours of paid prenatal leave in any 52-week period in addition to the safe/sick time.

There are also record-keeping requirements in this law requiring employers to separately track on pay stubs and report paid, unpaid, and (new) paid prenatal leave .

New Minimums for Wages and Overtime Exemptions

Effective on January 1, 2026, the following minimums were adjusted upward:

• Minimum wage: $17.00 per hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County, and to $16.00 per hour elsewhere in New York State.
• Overtime Exemption Threshold: For the administrative and executive exemption, minimum wages for exemption increased to: $1,275.00 per week ($66,300.00 per year) in New York City, and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester; and $1,199.10 per week ($62,353.20 per year) elsewhere in New York State.

Employer Ban on Using a Consumer Credit History for Hiring Decisions

Effective April 18, 2026, employers may not use an applicant’s consumer credit history to make an employment decision, subject to several narrow exceptions.

New York’s Trapped at Work Act

This new law prohibits "stay-or-pay" agreements that require employees to repay training or other costs if they leave a job before a specified period. There are exceptions and the law is expected to be modified in early 2026, which also might delay applicability of the law.

Retail Worker Safety Act – Applicable in 2027

Effective January 1, 2027, employers with 500 or more retail employees in New York State must provide employees with a silent response button that may be used to request immediate assistance from a security officer, manager, or supervisor in case of emergency and must train employees on the use of the silent response buttons.

Contacting Bartko Pavia LLP

Questions regarding matters discussed in this publication may be directed to Adam D. Mitzner at amitzner@bartkopavia.com or Joseph M. Chioffi at jchioffi@bartkopavia.com.

About Bartko Pavia LLP

Bartko LLP and Pavia & Harcourt LLP combined in March 2025 to form Bartko Pavia LLP. We offer comprehensive services across litigation, corporate and commercial transactions, labor and employment, real estate, intellectual property, estate planning, media and entertainment, and more. We have offices in San Francisco, New York City and Los Angeles.

This publication by Bartko Pavia LLP is for information purposes only. It does not constitute legal or other professional advice or opinions on specific facts or matters, nor does its distribution establish an attorney-client relationship. This material was prepared by attorneys licensed to practice law in New York, including Adam D. Mitzner, Esq., Bartko Pavia LLP, 555 Madison Avenue – 11th Floor, New York, NY 10022, and may constitute Attorney Advertising. As required by applicable law, we hereby advise you that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.