On-and-Off Leave for Working Parents in Limbo as Schools Restart

Working parents face uncertainty about their right to use federally guaranteed paid leave at their discretion, thanks to a recent court ruling that muddled the issue as a new school year begins and Covid-19 infections persist.

A Manhattan federal judge earlier this month struck down a requirement that workers must get their employers’ consent to take intermittent leave under a coronavirus relief law passed in March to care for a child whose school or day care was shuttered. That cleared the way for workers to get time off periodically or in half-day chunks as needed to care for their children, ...