All employers are required to provide employees in New York State with paid time off to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Under the new law, employers must provide a sufficient amount of paid time off which cannot exceed four hours per injection. Employees must be paid at their regular rate of pay and the time off cannot be charged against any other leave, including the state’s new paid sick leave law.
Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), small businesses can claim a refundable tax credit for reimbursement of the cost of providing paid leave for COVID-19 vaccines. The ARP tax credits are available for leave from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021. Eligible employers include any business with fewer than 500 employees and self-employed individuals. The paid leave credit under the ARP is a tax credit against the employer’s share of the Medicare tax. The tax credit is limited to $511 per day at 100 percent of the employee’s regular rate of pay.
For more information on the tax credit and forms for claiming the credit, click here.
