Bill signed into law that stops public employees from being punished for taking sick time in relation to Covid-19

A bill signed into law by Governor Cuomo makes it so public employees in the state of New York can not be penalized if taking sick time for Covid-19.

Public employers are prohibited from penalizing employees who use sick leave or compensatory time that may need to quarantine or get treatment for the virus as well as any other absence related to the virus.

This makes it so anyone working in schools, state prisons, or local government cannot be fired or written up for missing work if it’s in relation to the virus.

The bill was approved in April upon the discovery of over 800 New York City Department of Corrections employees were marked as “chronically absent” on their records.

Sen. Diane Savino, D-Staten Island, a former labor leader, said it was shocking to see employers doing that for following the state’s rules, and that that type of punitive action against employees will not be tolerated.