In April 2016, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York signed legislation creating a paid family leave program in the state.
This program commenced on January 1, 2018 and provides 12 weeks of paid family leave to eligible New York employees who desire time to bond with a newly born, adopted or fostered child, care for a family member with a serious health condition or assist loved ones while a family member is deployed abroad or on active military duty without losing their jobs and income.
Not all employees are eligible for paid family leave. To be eligible, employees must have a regular work schedule of 20 or more hours per week for at least 26 weeks. Employees with a regular work schedule including less than 20 hours per week are eligible for the paid family leave program after 175 days worked.
While on paid family leave, employees receive 67% of their regular salary up to a maximum benefit of $1,068.36 (the Statewide Average Weekly Wage). The maximum benefit amount changes each year. The employee’s job is protected, their health insurance coverage remains and employers are prohibited from discriminating or retaliating against the employee due to the employee’s decision to take paid family leave.
The benefits phase in over four years, gradually increasing both the percentage of wages paid and the number of weeks available over that four year period.
Since its inception, the paid family leave legislation defined a “family member” as a spouse, domestic partner, child or stepchild, parent or stepparent, parent-in-law, grandparent and grandchild. Effective January 2023, the state’s expanded this definition to also include siblings.
How is this program paid for and administered? New York State does not have a state-administered fund for Paid Family Leave. Instead, the State partnered with a vendor carrier, the New York State Insurance Company, to administer paid family leave benefits. The legislation also provided that the program is funded through employee payroll contributions. On an annual basis, the State sets the contribution amount.
In 2022, the employee contribution was 0.511% of an employee’s gross wages each pay period capped at an annual contribution maximum of $423.71. In 2023, the percentage contribution amount will decrease to 0.455% and the maximum contribution cap will also decrease of $399.43.
For more information about paid family leave in New York, and in particular the changes for 2023, you may want to visit https://paidfamilyleave.ny.gov.
