The New York City Council just passed a new COVID vaccination bill requiring paid leave for parents per child per injection. Additionally, businesses and employees in New York City are subject to new vaccine mandates effective December 27, 2021, based on a recent announcement by outgoing Mayor de Blasio.

The new bill requires New York City employers to provide 4 hours of paid leave per child per injection for parents or guardians of children. This bill is likely to be signed into law by Mayor de Blasio shortly and has a retroactive effective date of November 2, 2021.

Additionally, all employees who work in the workplace will be required to receive at least one vaccine dosage by December 27, 2021. Most New York City mandates to date have been upheld by most courts while recent federal vaccine mandates for certain private employers have been temporarily stayed by some federal courts. New York City will publish additional information on December 15.

Moreover, existing New York City vaccine mandates for indoor dining, fitness and entertainment venues will be expanded to children from ages 5 to 11. Effective December 14, these venues will require proof of at least one vaccination dose for children ages 5 to 11. A new mandate effective December 27 requires children 12 and older to have two vaccine doses.

Mayor de Blasio also announced new vaccine requirements for children who participate in high-risk extracurricular activities commencing December 14 and new vaccine mandates for childcare workers and private education employees.

New York employees and employers need to immediately plan for the new mandates and other potential COVID developments, especially due to the new variants, upticks in infections and increases in hospitalization rates.