recent York employers must now propose paid medical leave during pregnancy

ALBANY, N.Y. — Pregnant recent Yorkers will be entitled to at least 20 hours of paid leave to attend prenatal medical appointments under a law that took result Wednesday.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said the policy makes recent York the first state in the country to propose paid leave for prenatal worry.

All pregnant workers in the private sector are eligible for the paid period off. Workers can schedule the paid leave for pregnancy-related medical appointments such as physical examinations, complete of pregnancy worry and fertility treatments, among other things.

Hochul pushed for the assess in the state’s last legislative session as a way to assist reduce maternal and infant deaths in recent York.

“No pregnant woman in recent York should be forced to choose between a paycheck and a check-up — and that’s why I pushed to make the country’s first paid prenatal leave policy,” Hochul said in a statement last month.

Employers are forbidden from requesting medical information when a worker requests the prenatal paid leave. The policy is divide from any other paid ill leave offered by an employer. Spouses of pregnant women are not eligible for the prenatal leave.