Retaliation for Taking Sick Leave, Family Leave or Filing a Workers' Compensation Claim in New York

In New York, an employer generally may not punish a worker for taking legally protected leave or for filing a workers' compensation claim, but there is no single "leave retaliation" law. Each statute carries its own rule, its own forum and its own time limit: a lawsuit under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has to be brought within 2 years, or 3 years for a willful violation; a State workers' compensation or Paid Family Leave retaliation complaint goes to the Workers' Compensation Board within two years; and the State sick leave statute bars retaliation "consistent with" Labor Law § 215.⁠^[2][3][4][5] This page sets the rules side by side. What each leave law provides in the first place (how much time, who qualifies, how it is paid) is covered in FMLA, Paid Family Leave and sick leave in New York.

The rules at a glance

Leave or benefit	Layer	Anti-retaliation rule	Where and when to act
FMLA leave	Federal	29 U.S.C. § 2615: interference with FMLA rights, and discharge or discrimination for opposing unlawful practices or taking part in proceedings.⁠[1][8]	Court action within 2 years of the last event constituting the violation, or 3 years if willful; the Secretary of Labor also receives and investigates complaints.⁠[2][9]
Workers' compensation claim	New York State	Workers' Compensation Law § 120.⁠[3]	Complaint to the Workers' Compensation Board within two years.⁠[3]
Paid Family Leave	New York State	Workers' Compensation Law § 120, made applicable to family leave by § 203-a.⁠[4]	The § 120 procedure: a complaint within two years.⁠[4][3]
Statutory disability benefits (off-the-job illness or injury)	New York State	Workers' Compensation Law § 120 covers claiming "any benefits provided under this chapter," and § 241 makes § 120 applicable to the article that sets those benefits.⁠[3][10][11]	The § 120 procedure: a complaint within two years.⁠[3]
State sick leave and paid prenatal leave	New York State	Labor Law § 196-b(7), "consistent with" Labor Law § 215.⁠[5]	Under § 215: civil action within two years, or a Labor Commissioner investigation.⁠[12][13]
NYC protected time off (formerly Earned Safe and Sick Time)	New York City	Admin. Code § 20-918, titled "Retaliation and interference prohibited."⁠[14]	As amended in 2024: department complaint or civil action within 2 years of when the person knew or should have known.⁠[15][16]
Any legally protected absence	New York State	Labor Law § 215(1)(a)(viii) and its attendance-point clause.⁠[7]	Under § 215: civil action within two years.⁠[12]

FMLA: the federal rule

Under federal law the FMLA covers employers with 50 or more employees, and an employee is eligible after at least 12 months with the employer and at least 1,250 hours of service in the previous 12 months; an employee is excluded if the employer has fewer than 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite.⁠^[17]

Where it applies, the FMLA makes it unlawful for an employer to interfere with, restrain or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any FMLA right.⁠^[1] It is also unlawful to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against an individual for opposing a practice the FMLA makes unlawful, or because the individual filed a charge, started a proceeding, gave information, or testified in an FMLA inquiry or proceeding.⁠^[1][8] On return from leave, the employee is entitled to be restored to the same position or an equivalent one with equivalent benefits, pay and other terms.⁠^[18]

Three further points under federal law:

• Causation. In the Second Circuit, which covers New York, a claim that an employee was punished for exercising FMLA rights is decided under a "motivating factor" standard.⁠^[19] That differs from Title VII retaliation, where the Supreme Court requires but-for causation.⁠^[20]
• Attendance policies. A federal Department of Labor regulation says FMLA leave cannot be counted under no-fault attendance policies.⁠^[18]
• What a court can award. An employer that violates the FMLA's prohibitions is liable for lost wages, salary, benefits or other compensation, interest, and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, which a court may decline to award if the employer proves good faith and reasonable grounds; plus equitable relief such as reinstatement, and a reasonable attorney's fee and costs.⁠^[21]

The statute provides a direct action in any federal or State court of competent jurisdiction.⁠^[21] It has to be brought within 2 years after the last event constituting the violation, or within 3 years for a willful violation.⁠^[2] Separately, the statute directs the U.S. Secretary of Labor to receive, investigate and attempt to resolve complaints of violations of § 2615.⁠^[9]

Workers' compensation claims: Workers' Compensation Law § 120

Under New York State law it is unlawful for an employer to discharge, fail to reinstate, or in any other manner discriminate against an employee because the employee claimed or attempted to claim compensation, requested a claim form for injuries received in the course of employment, claimed or attempted to claim any benefits under the Workers' Compensation Law, or testified or is about to testify in a proceeding under it.⁠^[3]

The section has features that set it apart from the other laws on this page:

• The forum is the Board, not a court. A complaint under § 120 is filed with the Workers' Compensation Board.⁠^[3]
• Two years. The complaint "must be filed within two years of the commission of such practice."⁠^[3]
• A built-in qualifier. The prohibition applies where the employer acted because of the claim "and no other valid reason is shown to exist for such action by the employer."⁠^[3]
• Remedies. On finding a violation the Board orders the employee restored to employment and compensated for lost compensation, with attorney fees as fixed by the Board.⁠^[3]
• Penalty. The employer is liable to a penalty of not less than $100 or more than $500, and the employer alone, not its insurance carrier, pays the penalties and payments.⁠^[3]

How a compensation claim interacts with a separate discrimination or retaliation case is discussed in workers' compensation and a pending claim.

Paid Family Leave and disability benefits

New York Paid Family Leave is part of the State Workers' Compensation Law. It covers leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition, to bond with a child in the first twelve months after birth or placement, and certain military-related needs; the worker's own off-the-job illness or injury falls under statutory disability benefits instead.⁠^[22]

An eligible employee who takes Paid Family Leave is entitled on return to be restored to the position held when the leave began, or to a comparable position with comparable employment benefits, pay and other terms and conditions.⁠^[4] Section 203-a of the Workers' Compensation Law makes the anti-discrimination rule of § 120 applicable to family leave, and § 120 itself lists failing to reinstate under the family leave provision as prohibited conduct.⁠^[4][3] The result is that a Paid Family Leave retaliation complaint follows the § 120 procedure described above: the Board, within two years.⁠^[4][3]

For statutory disability benefits, § 120 covers an employee who claimed or attempted to claim "any benefits provided under this chapter," and § 241 says § 120 "shall be applicable as fully as if set forth in this article," the article that holds the disability and family leave benefit sections.⁠^[3][10][11] The reinstatement section of that article, § 203-b, is the one § 203-a pairs with family leave, and § 120 refers to failing to reinstate "pursuant to section two hundred three-b."⁠^[4][3] For a worker's own medical absence, federal law gives the FMLA restoration right, and a federal regulation says the FMLA does not modify federal or State disability discrimination law.⁠^[18][23] See medical leave as a reasonable accommodation.

New York State sick leave and paid prenatal leave

Labor Law § 196-b is the State sick leave statute. Depending on employer size it provides up to 40 or 56 hours of sick leave a year, and since January 1, 2025, it also provides 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave in any 52-week period.⁠^[24][25]

Subdivision 7 says no employer, agent, officer or any other person shall discharge, threaten, penalize, or in any other manner discriminate or retaliate against an employee because the employee exercised rights under the section, including requesting or using sick leave or paid prenatal leave, "consistent with the provisions of section two hundred fifteen."⁠^[5] Subdivision 10 adds that, on return to work after either kind of leave, the employee "shall be restored" to the position held before the leave, with the same pay and other terms and conditions of employment.⁠^[6]

The reference to § 215 matters because that section supplies the enforcement tools: a civil action within two years, liquidated damages of not more than $20,000, reinstatement or front pay, and a separate Labor Commissioner route.⁠^[12][13] Those are set out in Labor Law § 215. Note that § 215 does not apply to employees of the State or its municipal subdivisions.⁠^[26]

New York City protected time off

New York City has its own sick and safe time law in the Administrative Code. The City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection now calls it the Protected Time Off Law; older materials call it the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act.⁠^[27] The department's current notice of employee rights says: "It is illegal to punish or fire employees for requesting or using leave or for reporting violations. You have the right to leave regardless of your immigration status."⁠^[14] The Code section on the subject, § 20-918, is titled "Retaliation and interference prohibited."⁠^[14]

As amended by Local Law 22 of 2024, the City code gives two routes, each with a 2-year period measured from when the person knew or should have known of the violation: a complaint to the department, or a civil action in court.⁠^[15][16] Filing with the department is neither a prerequisite nor a bar to suing.⁠^[15] Under that local law, the relief the department may grant for a retaliation violation short of discharge includes full compensation for lost wages and benefits plus $500, and for an unlawful discharge full compensation plus $2,500 and equitable relief including reinstatement.⁠^[15]

A caution on the City rules: the time limits and dollar figures above are those of Local Law 22 of 2024 as enacted, and the department's notice of employee rights was revised on February 22, 2026. Check the department's current materials before relying on a number.⁠^[27][15]

Attendance points and "no-fault" policies

Many employers track absences with points or "occurrences." New York State law now limits that. Labor Law § 215 protects an employee who "has used any legally protected absence pursuant to federal, local, or state law," and defines retaliation to include "assessing any demerit, occurrence, any other point, or deductions from an allotted bank of time, which subjects or could subject an employee to disciplinary action."⁠^[7] The amendment was enacted as chapter 604 of the Laws of 2022, signed November 21, 2022, and took effect on the ninetieth day after it became law.⁠^[7]

Because the clause refers to absences protected by federal, local or state law, it reaches absences protected by the other statutes on this page.⁠^[7] Like the rest of § 215, it does not apply to employees of the State or its municipal subdivisions.⁠^[26]

Other protected absences

• Jury duty. Under New York State Judiciary Law § 519, an employee summoned as a juror who notifies the employer before the term of service begins may not be discharged or penalized for the absence.⁠^[28]
• Crime victims and subpoenaed witnesses. Under New York State Penal Law § 215.14, an employee who is a crime victim or is subpoenaed as a witness in a criminal proceeding, and who notifies the employer before the day of attendance, may not be discharged or penalized for the absence; doing so is a class B misdemeanor.⁠^[29]
• Voting. New York State Election Law § 3-110 allows a registered voter without sufficient time outside working hours to take off working time to vote, up to two hours without loss of pay; the section itself contains no anti-retaliation clause.⁠^[30]
• Leave as a disability accommodation. Requesting a reasonable accommodation is protected activity under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL).⁠^[31][32] See protected activity: what counts and pregnancy accommodation.

Keeping track

Under New York State law a workers' compensation retaliation complaint goes to the Workers' Compensation Board, while the federal FMLA provides a direct court action.⁠^[3][21] Because the forum changes with the kind of leave, the first practical step is to identify which leave you actually used or asked for, and under which program it was approved or denied. Keep the request, any approval or denial, and the dates of the absence together with the date of whatever happened afterward. If attendance points were assessed, note the dates and the absences they were assessed for. What happens when a job ends during leave is covered in fired while on medical leave. A list of every time limit is in retaliation deadlines compared, and how timing is weighed as evidence is in proving retaliation: timing and causation.