NY Paid Family Leave is Coming January 1, 2018
Beginning January 1, 2018, New York State will be among a several other States mandating a Paid Family Leave Benefit. The goal of the New York Paid Family Leave Benefit (“NYPFL”) is to provide wage replacement and job protected paid time off to:
Bond with a newly born, adopted or fostered child,
Care for a family member with a serious health condition, or
Assist loved ones when a family member is deployed abroad on active military service.
To help pay for the cost of this benefit, employers may collect the cost of the NYPFL benefit through after-tax payroll deductions. Benefits may be provided by the New York State Insurance Fund, a private insurance carrier or self-funded.
Coordination with Other Benefits:
As an employer when administering this benefit, you will have to be aware of the coordination of benefits between the New York Disability Leave benefit (“NYDBL”), any voluntary short-term disability benefit you may provide as an employer and the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), if applicable. For example, Under NYPFL regulations, intermittent leave must be taken in full day increments, however, FMLA allows smaller increments. Additionally for maternity and bonding claims when requesting time off, an employee, if eligible, may be able to extend their leave beyond the 12 weeks of leave under the FMLA.
What to do next:
Contact your insurance provider to ensure that your benefit is in place
Contact your payroll company to ensure that the proper post-tax deduction is enable and ready for your first payroll in January
Notify your employees of the NYPFL benefit, who is eligible, the benefit and how they can request leave. You may want to revise your Employee Handbook to include this benefit.
How to plan for leave:
Ensure that you have adequate resources for staffing gaps
Ensure that you are accurately tracking your employee’s time and attendance
Ensure that you are receiving the applicable documentation and in compliance for each benefit
But it’s not only New York:
Existing Statutory Disability regulations are effective in:
California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island
States with Existing Paid Family Leave (PFL) regulations are effective in:
California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia
Need some help getting your notices together, ensuring your attendance tracking and payroll deductions are set up?
Email us: info@mirkinsolutions.com
Note: We work very hard to bring you the most up-to-date and accurate information and this article is for informational purposes only and is not for the purpose of providing legal advice, and may not be relied upon as legal advice.