N.Y. Pub. Off. Law § 63

§ 63. Leave of absence for veterans on Memorial day and Veterans' day.\nIt shall be the duty of the head of every public department and of every\ncourt of the state of New York, of every superintendent or foreperson on\nthe public works of said state, of the county officers of the several\ncounties of said state, of the town officers of the various towns in\nthis state, of the fire district officers of the various fire districts\nin this state, and of the head of every department, bureau and office in\nthe government of the various cities and villages in this state, and the\nofficers of any public benefit corporation or any public authority of\nthis state, or of any public benefit corporation or public authority of\nany county or subdivision of this state, to give leave of absence with\npay for twenty-four hours on the day prescribed by law as a public\nholiday for the observance of Memorial day and on the eleventh day of\nNovember, known as Veterans' day, to every person in the service of the\nstate, the county, the town, the fire district, the city or village, the\npublic benefit corporation or public authority of this state, or any\npublic benefit corporation or public authority of any county or\nsubdivision of this state, as the case may be, (i) who served on active\nduty in the armed forces of the United States during world war I or\nworld war II, or who was employed by the War Shipping Administration or\nOffice of Defense Transportation or their agents as a merchant seaman\ndocumented by the United States Coast Guard or Department of Commerce,\nor as a civil servant employed by the United States Army Transport\nService (later redesignated as the United States Army Transportation\nCorps, Water Division) or the Naval Transportation Service; and who\nserved satisfactorily as a crew member during the period of armed\nconflict, December seventh, nineteen hundred forty-one, to August\nfifteenth, nineteen hundred forty-five, aboard merchant vessels in\noceangoing, i.e., foreign, intercoastal, or coastwise service as such\nterms are defined under federal law (46 USCA 10301 & 10501) and further\nto include "near foreign" voyages between the United States and Canada,\nMexico, or the West Indies via ocean routes, or public vessels in\noceangoing service or foreign waters and who has received a Certificate\nof Release or Discharge from Active Duty and a discharge certificate, or\nan Honorable Service Certificate/Report of Casualty, from the Department\nof Defense, or who served as a United States civilian employed by the\nAmerican Field Service and served overseas under United States Armies\nand United States Army Groups in world war II during the period of armed\nconflict, December seventh, nineteen hundred forty-one through May\neighth, nineteen hundred forty-five, and who (a) was discharged or\nreleased therefrom under honorable conditions, or (b) has a qualifying\ncondition, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and\nhas received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from\nsuch service, or (c) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section\none of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other\nthan bad conduct or dishonorable from such service or who served as a\nUnited States civilian Flight Crew and Aviation Ground Support Employee\nof Pan American World Airways or one of its subsidiaries or its\naffiliates and served overseas as a result of Pan American's contract\nwith Air Transport Command or Naval Air Transport Service during the\nperiod of armed conflict, December fourteenth, nineteen hundred\nforty-one through August fourteenth, nineteen hundred forty-five, and\nwho (d) was discharged or released therefrom under honorable conditions,\nor (e) has a qualifying condition, as defined in section one of the\nveterans' services law, and has received a discharge other than bad\nconduct or dishonorable from such service, or (f) is a discharged LGBT\nveteran, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and\nhas received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from\nsuch service or during the period of the Korean conflict at any time\nbetween the dates of June twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred fifty and\nJanuary thirty-first, nineteen hundred fifty-five, or during the period\nof the Vietnam conflict from the first day of November, nineteen hundred\nfifty-five to the seventh day of May, nineteen hundred seventy-five, or\n(ii) who served on active duty in the armed forces of the United States\nand who was a recipient of the armed forces expeditionary medal, navy\nexpeditionary medal or marine corps expeditionary medal for\nparticipation in operations in Lebanon from June first, nineteen hundred\neighty-three to December first, nineteen hundred eighty-seven, in\nGrenada from October twenty-third, nineteen hundred eighty-three to\nNovember twenty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-three, or in Panama from\nDecember twentieth, nineteen hundred eighty-nine to January\nthirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety, or (iii) who served in the armed\nforces of a foreign country allied with the United States during world\nwar I or world war II, or during the period of the Korean conflict at\nany time between June twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred fifty and January\nthirty-first, nineteen hundred fifty-five, or during the period of the\nVietnam conflict from the first day of November, nineteen hundred\nfifty-five to the seventh day of May, nineteen hundred seventy-five, or\nduring the period of the Persian Gulf conflict from the second day of\nAugust, nineteen hundred ninety to the end of such conflict, or (iv) who\nserved on active duty in the army or navy or marine corps or air force\nor space force or coast guard or the commissioned corps of the national\noceanic and atmospheric administration or the commissioned corps of the\npublic health service of the United States, and who (a) was honorably\ndischarged or separated from such service under honorable conditions, or\n(b) has a qualifying condition, as defined in section one of the\nveterans' services law, and has received a discharge other than bad\nconduct or dishonorable from such service, or (c) is a discharged LGBT\nveteran, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and\nhas received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from\nsuch service except where such action would endanger the public safety\nor the safety or health of persons cared for by the state, in which\nevent such persons shall be entitled to leave of absence with pay on\nanother day in lieu thereof. All such persons who are compensated on a\nper diem, hourly, semi-monthly or monthly basis, with or without\nmaintenance, shall also be entitled to leave of absence with pay under\nthe provisions of this section and no deduction in vacation allowance or\nbudgetary allowable number of working days shall be made in lieu\nthereof. A refusal to give such leave of absence to one entitled thereto\nshall be neglect of duty.\n