All New York City employers must allow employees to take two temporary schedule changes per calendar year for a personal event. A “personal event” is defined as
- the need for a caregiver to provide care to a minor child or care recipient;
- an employee’s need to attend a legal proceeding or hearing for subsistence benefits to which the employee, a family member or the employee’s care recipient is a party; or
- any circumstance that would constitute a basis for permissible use of safe time or sick time.
All employees who work 80 hours or more per calendar year in the City and who have been employed by their employer for 120 days or more can request a temporary change to their work schedule. Temporary changes to a work schedule include:
- using paid time off;
- working remotely;
- swapping or shifting work hours; or
- using short-term unpaid leave.
Employers can deny a temporary schedule change only if the employee has exhausted the two allotted requests in the calendar year or if the employee is covered by a collective bargaining agreement; has been employed for less than 120 days; works in the theater, film, or TV industry; or works less than 80 hours in a calendar year.
Posting Requirements
All New York City employers are required to display the Temporary Schedule Change poster where employees can easily see it. The poster must be in English and in any language that is the first language of at least 5% of the employer’s workforce (NYC Administrative Code, Sec. 20-1205).