June 8, 2018
Online Sessions Highlight the Key Role Health Care Providers Play in Certifying Leave and Raising Awareness of the Nation’s Strongest and Most Comprehensive Paid Family Leave
New York announced today a new series of Paid Family Leave webinars for health care providers, detailing what they need to know - and do - to help employees use the state’s landmark Paid Family Leave benefit, which Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law in April, 2016. The new webinars provide an overview of the benefit, review the health care provider’s role in medical certification (including who can certify leave and which conditions qualify), and address top questions from providers.
“It’s vital that health care providers fully understand our strongest-in-the-nation Paid Family Leave policy so they can support patients and their families,” Workers’ Compensation Board Chair Clarissa Rodriguez said. “These sessions will equip providers with the information and tools they need to certify conditions under Paid Family Leave, making the benefit accessible to working families in New York.”
The sessions are free and open to health care providers. Early registration is encouraged as space is limited. To register:
- Tuesday, June 12, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Register here
- Wednesday, June 13, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Register here
- Tuesday, July 31, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Register here
- Tuesday, August 7, 4:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Register here
Additional sessions will be scheduled as needed.
Additional Paid Family Leave resources are available
In addition to the webinars, New York State offers complete details and resources on Paid Family Leave at ny.gov/PaidFamilyLeave, including downloadable guides and frequently asked questions specifically for health care providers. Help is also available via a toll-free Paid Family Leave Helpline at (844) 337-6303.
The new health care provider webinars are part of New York’s ongoing campaign to educate health care professionals, employers and workers about New York Paid Family Leave, which went into effect on Jan. 1. To date, the state has directly reached tens of thousands of New Yorkers through webinars and other outreach. More than 3 million people have accessed the Paid Family Leave website and more than 81,000 people have received information and assistance through the Paid Family Leave Helpline.
Paid Family Leave is employee-paid insurance that provides job-protected, paid time off from work to employees to bond with a new child; care for a seriously ill family member; and assist when a military family member is deployed abroad. In 2018, it provides up to eight weeks off at half-pay, up to a maximum of $652.93 per week. Benefits rise to 12 weeks at 67 percent of pay, again to a maximum, by 2021. Retaliation and discrimination are prohibited, and neither citizenship nor immigration status is a factor.
CONTACT: publicinfo@wcb.ny.gov