School Employees to Receive Paid Leave for Covid-19 Vaccinations

On March 12, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed into law an act requiring New York employers to provide employees with paid leave to receive a Covid-19 vaccination. The new law went into immediate effect and is currently set to expire on December 31, 2022.

Under this law, school employees are entitled to a paid leave of absence of sufficient time to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, not to exceed four hours per vaccine injection. The language of the statute specifically states, “per vaccine injection”, meaning that employees who receive a course of vaccination requiring two injections are entitled to up to 4 hours of leave per injection, totaling up to 8 hours overall. The statute also specifically states that it does not overrule an employee’s rights provided by a collectively bargained agreement or employer agreement. This means that an employee may be entitled to more than 4 hours of leave for vaccination pursuant to such an agreement.

Leave taken under this statute is deemed to be an excused absence and cannot be charged against any other leave that the vaccine recipient may be entitled to, such as personal leave or sick leave. Travel time to and from the employee’s work for the vaccination counts toward the 4-hour limit, and any time over 4 hours must be charged to leave credits.

According to recent guidance published by the Department of Civil Service regarding this statute, employees are entitled to this paid leave for vaccination only when it occurs during their scheduled working hours, and that employees who are vaccinated outside of regular work schedules are considered to have done so on their own time. Despite this clarification, the statute and accompanying guidance are conspicuously silent on whether an employee is required to give notice to their employer that they will be out of work for a vaccine injection, or whether employers can impose specific periods during which employees may take vaccine leave in order to avoid interruptions in the work or teaching day.

The Civil Service guidance further provides that a school board may require evidence to prove that an employee’s absence was for the purpose of receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.

The new law also provides for protection from retaliation for employees who exercise their right to take paid leave to undergo Covid-19 vaccination. Specifically, no employer is permitted to discriminate or retaliate in any manner against any employee who exercises their rights under this act.

So, what about employees who received a Covid-19 vaccination during work hours prior to the enactment of this statute? Do they get back pay for time spent getting a Covid-19 vaccination? The answer is no. The Department of Civil Services guidance states that employees in such a situation are required to be charged leave accruals or be granted a leave without pay.

If you have any questions about your District’s compliance with this new law or how to determine if a CBA or employer agreement provides for more leave than the statutorily provided amount, please contact us at one of the numbers listed below.