New Year. New protections.  

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Paid Prenatal Leave Law into law on April 20, 2024, and it came into effect on January 1, 2025. This new law amends Section 196b of the New York State Leave Law and requires employers to provide employees with at most twenty hours of paid leave per year for prenatal care appointments.  

New York is the first State to provide paid prenatal leave to pregnant women.  

The relevant section of the law reads as follows: 

“...every employer shall be required to provide its employees twenty hours of paid prenatal personal leave during any fifty-two-week calendar period. Paid prenatal personal leave taken for the health care services received by an employee during their pregnancy or related to such pregnancy, including physical examination, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussions with a health care provider related to the pregnancy.”   

This law seeks to decrease the high infant mortality rate. Infant mortality refers to the death of an infant before reaching their first birthday. In 2022, New York had an infant mortality Rate of 4.26. This amounts to 885 lives lost within a single year. In 2022, New York was the fifth highest infant mortality state in the United States. In 2021, New York was the eight highest state, indicating that the root of the issue had not been adequately addressed.  

And what is the root of the issue?  

In its report, the CDC stated that the leading causes of infant deaths are maternal complications and bacterial meningitis. These issues can all be detected, potentially treated, and cured if the mother and child are able to consult their physicians regularly. These check-ins are crucial prior to and after the child's birth. However, many women decide to forego seeking medical treatment because they had to give up pay as provisions were not made for seeking this form of care by their employer or the state.   

According to Governor Hochul it was the struggle that new mothers faced in addition to birthing a child:   

“No pregnant woman in New York should be forced to choose between a paycheck and a check-up... “From raising the minimum wage to investing in affordable child care, we’re making New York the best and most affordable place to raise a family.”  

• Governor Hochul   

There are several notable provisions in this law:   

• Prenatal personal leave may be taken in hourly increments.  

• Benefits for paid prenatal personal leave may be taken in hourly increments.  

• Benefits for paid prenatal personal leave shall be paid in hourly installments.  

• Employees shall receive compensation at the employee's regular rate of pay 

This leave can be made in addition to the paid sick leave already provided by the employer.  

The enactment of this law should lessen the financial load on pregnant women in New York. 

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The National Employment Lawyers Association and the National Institute for Workers’ Rights are deeply troubled by Acting Chair Andrea Lucas’ recent letters to twenty law firms aimed at scrutinizing or undermining their attempts to prevent discrimination and promote opportunity. Acting Chair Lucas has no authority to send these letters and demand this information, as explained in the March 18 letter from former EEOC officials. The letters represent an alarming betrayal of the agency’s fundamental mission of eradicating workplace discrimination and promoting equitable employment practices.

Though NELA members are often on the other side of these law firms in cases, we stand by their side in defending their right—indeed, obligation—to ensure their workplaces are fair and free of bias. The legal profession has traditionally not been hospitable to women, people of color, and others who are underrepresented in occupations like law. Firms that are trying to change that should be lauded, not criticized.

Law firms play a pivotal role in shaping employment policies and guiding corporate America’s understanding and implementation of civil rights law. If the legal profession is dissuaded from trying to make their hiring and promotion practices fair and prevent discrimination, the downstream effect on countless organizations and industries could be profound—stopping progress toward inclusive, equitable workplaces. Rather than undermining these efforts, Acting Chair Lucas should be encouraging law firms to lead by example in creating fair, just, and diverse work environments in compliance with Title VII, consistent with EEOC policy.

These letters, combined with President Trump’s Executive Orders promising to go after “illegal DEI,” unfortunately align with a larger, politically motivated crusade to preserve opportunities across sectors for those who have traditionally held power. Acting Chair Lucas’ letters—with the implication that BigLaw firms dominated by white men commonly discriminate against white men—lays bare this agenda. Meanwhile, NELA members understand the lived experiences of clients who still face bias as they try to break into elite professions like law and experience the consequences of discrimination. We cannot allow this attack to roll back decades of progress that women, people of color, and others have fought so hard to achieve.

NELA remains committed to supporting lawyers who advance workplace equity through lawful, evidence-based approaches to diversity and inclusion. We call on law firms and employers everywhere to stand firm in their commitments to open the doors of opportunity. Now more than ever, we need to elevate the importance of our civil rights laws and highlight the damaging social and economic consequences of undermining them.

The National Employment Lawyers Association empowers workers’ rights attorneys through legal training, promoting a fair judiciary, and advocating for laws and policies that level the playing field for workers.

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