November 13, 2019
Online Informational Session Helps Workers Use the Nation’s Strongest Family Leave Law to Care For an Eligible Family Member With a Serious Health Condition
To honor National Family Caregivers Month, New York State today announced a new resource to help employees understand their rights and use New York’s landmark Paid Family Leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition. A detailed webinar will explain how eligible, working New Yorkers can take job-protected, paid time off to be there for a loved one who has a qualifying condition that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment.
“I was fortunate enough to be there for my father during the last year of his terminal illness before he passed in December of last year, and firmly believe that no one should have to choose between collecting a paycheck and caring for someone they love, especially in their final days,” Workers’ Compensation Board Chair Clarissa Rodriguez said. “Paid Family Leave means hardworking New Yorkers don’t have to make that impossible decision. It provides financial security and job protection, which are so crucial when it comes to allowing workers to focus on their family.”
The session on family care also touches on the other qualifying events that Paid Family Leave can be used for, which include bonding with a child within 12 months of the child being born, adopted or fostered, as well as assisting when a spouse, domestic partner, child or parent is deployed abroad on active military service.
The webinar will be presented on November 19, from noon - 1 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Early registration is encouraged as space is limited. Register here.
Additional Paid Family Leave Resources
The family care webinar is part of New York’s ongoing campaign to educate workers and employers about New York Paid Family Leave, which went into effect on January 1, 2018. In addition to webinars, New York State offers complete details on Paid Family Leave at PaidFamilyLeave.ny.gov. Help is also available via a toll-free Paid Family Leave Helpline at (844) 337-6303. Both provide resources in languages other than English.
Paid Family Leave is employee-funded insurance that provides job-protected, paid time off from work to employees to care for family. In 2019, it provides up to 10 weeks off at 55% of an employee’s pay, up to a maximum of $746.41 per week. In 2020, eligible employees can take up to 10 weeks off at 60% of their pay, up to a maximum of $840.70. Benefits will continue to rise until 2021, when Paid Family Leave is fully phased in, at which time eligible employees will be able to take up to 12 weeks at 67% of pay, up to a cap. Retaliation and discrimination are prohibited, and neither citizenship nor immigration status is a factor in employee eligibility.
CONTACT: publicinfo@wcb.ny.gov