The Mandate: Sections 159-b and 159-c of the Civil Service Law provide that any public employee or public officer has a right to take paid leave, of up to four hours per year, for breast cancer screening or for prostate cancer screening. As a result, those covered by these laws have paid leave over and above whatever paid leave may have been granted to them by their employer. The reality is that any employee with accrued sick leave could potentially use such leave to undergo screenings for these types of cancer. Consequently, these laws are unnecessary. Furthermore, this coverage extends to part-time employees. While this class of employees is generally not provided with paid leave, any part-time employee seeking a cancer screening would be able to schedule such outside of normal working hours.