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NYS Department of Labor has updated its guidance on Paid Sick Leave for Covid-19. The amount of paid sick leave an employer is required to provide depends on the number of employees they have and the employer’s net annual income. Click here to read the updated guidance. According to this new guidance: • Recent studies have found that workers were avoiding the COVID-19 vaccine due to a fear of missing a day of work, and thus a day of wages. While the side effects of the vaccine are usually rare, Section 196-b of the Labor Law allows employees to use sick leave “for mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, regardless of whether it has been diagnosed or requires medical care at the time of the request for leave.” Therefore, employers are obligated to honor the employee’s desire to use accrued sick leave for the recovery of any side effects of the COVID-19 vaccination. For the full COVID leave guidance, click here