NEW YORK, ALBANY—(Aiexpress) A law that went into effect Wednesday says that pregnant people in New York will be able to take at least 20 hours of paid leave to go to prenatal medical appointments.
With this law, Gov. Kathy Hochul says New York is the first state in the country to offer paid leave for prenatal care.
Everyone who works in the private sector and is pregnant can get the paid time off. Workers can use the paid time off for a variety of medical appointments related to pregnancy, such as physical exams, care at the end of the pregnancy, and fertility treatments.
Hochul pushed for the bill during the last season of the state’s legislature as a way to help lower the number of deaths of mothers and babies in New York.
Hochul said in a statement last month, “No pregnant woman in New York should have to choose between a paycheck and a check-up. That’s why I pushed to make New York the first state in the country to have paid prenatal leave.”
When a worker asks for prenatal paid leave, their bosses can’t ask for medical information. This policy is different from any other paid sick leave an employer may give. People who are married to pregnant women can’t take the prenatal break.