Zohran Mamdani Is Putting Corporate Sick-Leave Cheats on Notice
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Politics
/ February 24, 2026
Zohran Mamdani Is Putting Corporate Sick-Leave Cheats on Notice
Zohran Mamdani announced that the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection will investigate employers where more than half their workers take no paid time off in a given year.
Prajwal Bhat
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference at Deno’s Wonder Wheel on Coney Island in New York City on February 15, 2026.
(Kyle Mazza / Anadolu via Getty Images)
In the industrial neighborhood of Maspeth, Queens, Amazon drivers from the nearby DBK4 delivery station often stop at Angelo’s Deli. It’s where drivers gathered in December 2024 before marching to the facility for the first time as union organizers. On Friday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani chose the deli to sit with a dozen drivers who have unionized with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and announce that New York City will expand protected time off and crack down on employers where workers rarely use sick leave.
“We are going to be looking at every way that an employer is looking to evade accountability,” Mamdani told me. “It’s time to have a rule of law that applies to everyone, and that includes these kinds of corporations that seem to think of themselves as above it.”
Mamdani announced that the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) will monitor how often workers at each company use their paid leave. If fewer than half of a company’s employees take any time off in a year, the agency will investigate the employer for potential violations.
Jerome Sloss, 32, a driver with an Amazon subcontractor, said Mamdani is following through on his campaign promises. He told me, “His entire campaign has been about taxing the rich and helping working class people, and he’s doing what he said he was going to do.”
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
The DCWP based the threshold on its analysis of national data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that half of private-sector workers with paid sick leave take at least one day off annually for health reasons. The agency said it will also investigate violations based on complaints from workers.
Since 2014, employees in New York City have been entitled to time off for illness, injury, or other urgent personal business.
The newly expanded Protected Time Off Law, which will come into effect on Sunday, grants private-sector workers a minimum of 32 hours of unpaid time off per year—available immediately upon hire and at the start of each calendar year. This is in addition to 40 to 56 hours of paid time off annually depending on company …
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Zohran Mamdani Is Putting Corporate Sick-Leave Cheats on Notice
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Current Issue
Politics
/ February 24, 2026
Zohran Mamdani Is Putting Corporate Sick-Leave Cheats on Notice
Zohran Mamdani announced that the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection will investigate employers where more than half their workers take no paid time off in a given year.
Prajwal Bhat
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference at Deno’s Wonder Wheel on Coney Island in New York City on February 15, 2026.
(Kyle Mazza / Anadolu via Getty Images)
In the industrial neighborhood of Maspeth, Queens, Amazon drivers from the nearby DBK4 delivery station often stop at Angelo’s Deli. It’s where drivers gathered in December 2024 before marching to the facility for the first time as union organizers. On Friday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani chose the deli to sit with a dozen drivers who have unionized with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and announce that New York City will expand protected time off and crack down on employers where workers rarely use sick leave.
“We are going to be looking at every way that an employer is looking to evade accountability,” Mamdani told me. “It’s time to have a rule of law that applies to everyone, and that includes these kinds of corporations that seem to think of themselves as above it.”
Mamdani announced that the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) will monitor how often workers at each company use their paid leave. If fewer than half of a company’s employees take any time off in a year, the agency will investigate the employer for potential violations.
Jerome Sloss, 32, a driver with an Amazon subcontractor, said Mamdani is following through on his campaign promises. He told me, “His entire campaign has been about taxing the rich and helping working class people, and he’s doing what he said he was going to do.”
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
The DCWP based the threshold on its analysis of national data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that half of private-sector workers with paid sick leave take at least one day off annually for health reasons. The agency said it will also investigate violations based on complaints from workers.
Since 2014, employees in New York City have been entitled to time off for illness, injury, or other urgent personal business.
The newly expanded Protected Time Off Law, which will come into effect on Sunday, grants private-sector workers a minimum of 32 hours of unpaid time off per year—available immediately upon hire and at the start of each calendar year. This is in addition to 40 to 56 hours of paid time off annually depending on company …
Zohran Mamdani Is Putting Corporate Sick-Leave Cheats on Notice
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Current Issue
Politics
/ February 24, 2026
Zohran Mamdani Is Putting Corporate Sick-Leave Cheats on Notice
Zohran Mamdani announced that the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection will investigate employers where more than half their workers take no paid time off in a given year.
Prajwal Bhat
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference at Deno’s Wonder Wheel on Coney Island in New York City on February 15, 2026.
(Kyle Mazza / Anadolu via Getty Images)
In the industrial neighborhood of Maspeth, Queens, Amazon drivers from the nearby DBK4 delivery station often stop at Angelo’s Deli. It’s where drivers gathered in December 2024 before marching to the facility for the first time as union organizers. On Friday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani chose the deli to sit with a dozen drivers who have unionized with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and announce that New York City will expand protected time off and crack down on employers where workers rarely use sick leave.
“We are going to be looking at every way that an employer is looking to evade accountability,” Mamdani told me. “It’s time to have a rule of law that applies to everyone, and that includes these kinds of corporations that seem to think of themselves as above it.”
Mamdani announced that the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) will monitor how often workers at each company use their paid leave. If fewer than half of a company’s employees take any time off in a year, the agency will investigate the employer for potential violations.
Jerome Sloss, 32, a driver with an Amazon subcontractor, said Mamdani is following through on his campaign promises. He told me, “His entire campaign has been about taxing the rich and helping working class people, and he’s doing what he said he was going to do.”
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
The DCWP based the threshold on its analysis of national data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that half of private-sector workers with paid sick leave take at least one day off annually for health reasons. The agency said it will also investigate violations based on complaints from workers.
Since 2014, employees in New York City have been entitled to time off for illness, injury, or other urgent personal business.
The newly expanded Protected Time Off Law, which will come into effect on Sunday, grants private-sector workers a minimum of 32 hours of unpaid time off per year—available immediately upon hire and at the start of each calendar year. This is in addition to 40 to 56 hours of paid time off annually depending on company …
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