Mamdani announced an expansion of the city’s Protected Time Off Law, which goes into effect on February 22. Under Local Law 145, employers must provide an additional 32 hours of unpaid protected leave immediately upon hire, expanding allowable uses to include child care disruptions, housing appointments, and government emergencies. To ensure compliance, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) is issuing warning letters detailing legal requirements and consequences to more than 56,000 businesses. The city is deploying a new data-driven enforcement strategy that flags unusually low sick leave usage rates against national averages to investigate potential violations. Employers restricting access to this protected time off will face strict civil penalties ranging from $250 to $2,500 per employee, in addition to mandatory back pay.