Paid Family Leave

No one should have to choose between the health of their family and their ability to make ends meet.

 

 

On April 4, 2016, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law the nation's most robust paid family leave policy.  Here's what you need to know about how the new law works. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As CSS's Unheard Third survey data reveals, far too many New York working women and men face financial crisis for taking time off to care for a newborn or a seriously ill family member like an aging parent.  CSS helped to lead a coalition of organizations to win the fight for a new Paid Family Leave law in New York state.  




 

Click below to watch CSS's Vice President for Policy, Reseach and Advocacy, Nancy Rankin, dicuss this new law and how it will work in New York State (paid famly leave section starts at 9:20).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


It was a long road to paid family leave in NY.  Below are advocacy materials and information on events produced for the campaign. 


 

          

Learn why NY needs 12 weeks of leave   |   Watch small business owners on why they want paid family leave

 


 

Paid Family Leave Policy Brief

Watch a short video of one working mom in NYC who didn't have leave   |    Download our policy brief

 


 

Read our latest report on paid family leave   |    Medical professionals from across NY support paid family leave

 


 

Governor Cuomo signed into law a bill establishing paid family leave on April 4, 2016.

After an initial ramp-up period, the law will guarantee workers up to 12 weeks of leave with job security when they need time to care for a new child or seriously ill family member, or to meet certain needs related to a family member’s military deployment. Once fully phased in, employees taking leave will receive benefits equal to 67 percent of their wages up to a maximum of 67 percent of the statewide average weekly wage. The insurance will be paid for by employees through small payroll deductions estimated to be 70 cents a week starting in 2018 and rising to $1.47 in 2021.

When fully phased in by 2021, workers employed in New York will have up to 12 weeks of leave, twice the six weeks available in California and New Jersey and three times the four weeks in Rhode Island, the three other states that now provide paid family leave. And unlike California and New Jersey, workers in New York will be assured a job to return to. That critically important protection will enable tens of thousands of workers to actually take advantage of family leave without fear of losing their jobs.

The law covers employees in businesses of every size. Nearly seven million private sector workers who previously did not have paid family leave will now be able to care for newborns and loved ones without putting their financial stability and jobs at risk.

Here are more details:

Who is covered by the paid family leave law?

  • Almost all private sector workers employed in New York State (with the exception of certain categories excluded under NYS Temporary Disability Insurance law). 
  • The law allows the self-employed and public sector unions to opt in to coverage.
  • Full-time workers have to have worked for their current employer for at least 26 consecutive weeks to be eligible for paid family leave. Part-time employees will be eligible after 175 days of covered employment.

When does paid family leave start?

  • January 1, 2018

What can it be used for?

  • Bonding with a new child (including adopted and foster children)
  • Care of a seriously ill child, parent, parent-in-law, spouse, domestic partner, grandchild, or grandparent
  • Addressing certain needs when a family member is called to active military duty

How many weeks of leave are available?

  • Up to 8 weeks starting in 2018
  • Up to 10 weeks in 2019 and 2020
  • Up to 12 weeks starting in 2021 and thereafter

Leave runs concurrently with federal FMLA leave. The law allows for leave to be taken on an intermittent basis.

How much will a worker receive when out on paid family leave?

  • 2018:  50% of your wages, up to a maximum of 50% of the statewide average weekly wage
  • 2019:  55% of your wages, up to a maximum of 55% of the statewide average weekly wage
  • 2020:  60% of your wages, up to a maximum of 60% of the statewide average weekly wage
  • 2021:  67% of your wages, up to a maximum of 67% of the statewide average weekly wage

Each March the NY Department of Labor reports the statewide average weekly wage for the previous year.  For 2015 it was $1,296.48.

Will workers be entitled to return to their jobs after taking the leave? 

Yes. The law provides job protection, as well as the continuation of healthcare benefits. 
 

 

Selected press from the paid family leave campaign. 

Press

 

New York Magazine
April 1, 2016
New York Just Created a Revolutionary New Family-Leave Policy
By Rebecca Traister

City Health Beat/NY1
April 9, 2016
Paid Family Leave
By Erin Billups

WBAI Radio/Health Action
April 11, 2016
Paid Family Leave

Newsday
March 2, 2016
A chance for smart family leave in New York
By Andrew M. Cuomo

Newsday
January 13, 2016
Andrew Cuomo lays out a broad agenda for New York
By The Editorial Board

The New York Times
January 13, 2016
Gov. Cuomo on the State of New York
By The Editorial Board

El Diario
January 13, 2016
Los latinos viven con lo justo y privaciones
By GERARDO ROMO and ANA B. NIETO

Crain's New York Business
January 12, 2016
Despite hot economy, city's poor feel they're out in the cold, survey says
By Rosa Goldensohn

The New York Times
January 1, 2016
Mr. Cuomo’s Challenges: The Short List
By The Editorial Board

The New York Times
December 24, 2015
Paid Parental Leave Comes to New York City
By The Editorial Board
 

The New York Times
December 22, 2015
New York to Offer 6 Weeks Paid Parental Leave to Nonunion Workers
By Michaek M. Grynbaum
 

The New York Times
December 4, 2015
Caregivers Sometimes Must Sacrifice Their Careers
By Paula Span
 

Albany Times-Union
November 17, 2015
New York medical coalition wants Cuomo to expand family leave
By Claire Hughes
 

The New York Times
March 16, 2015
Advocates Press Cuomo to Take Action on Paid Family Leave Legislatione
By Rachel Swarns
 

The New York Times
January 30, 2015
The Economic Benefits of Paid Parental Leave
By Claire Cain Miller
 

The New York Times
January 29, 2015
Doctors as Advocates for Family Leave
By Pauline W. Chen, M.D.
 

The Washington Post
January 21, 2015
Voters want paid leave, paid sick days, poll shows. Obama, too. Will Congress oblige?
By Brigid Schulte
 

The New York Times
January 21, 2015
Obama Says Family Leave Is an Economic Necessity, Not Just a Women’s Issue
By Claire Cain Miller


The New York Times
January 14, 2015
Obama Plans to Push Paid Family and Sick Leave for Workers
By Julie Hirschfeld Davis
 

WSJ Letters to the Editor
December 26, 2014
Remember:  The Infants Can’t Take Care of Themselves
Letter from Cynthia Di Barolo, Chair of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce
 
 
The New York Times
 
The Wall Street Journal
December 16, 2014
Paid Maternity Leave Is Good for Business
By Susan Wojcicki

 
The New York Times
December 12, 2014
Why U.S. Women Are Leaving Jobs Behind
By Claire Cain Miller and Liz Alderman


The New York Times
By Claire Cain Miller


NYT Sunday Review
September 20, 2014
Helping the Needy
Letter from Nancy Rankin

 
Albany Times Union
September 2, 2014
Paid family leave should be required
By Edward Ott and Nancy Rankin
 
 
NYT Letter to the editor
August 24, 2014
Paid Family Leave
Letter from Nancy Rankin
 

 

Research

A Necessity, Not a Benefit:  NYC’s Low-Income Moms Discuss Their Struggles Without Paid Family Leave and Job Security

Nancy Rankin and Margaret Mark, Community Service Society, May 2015.

CSS conducted three professionally-moderated focus groups to hear first-hand from NYC mother's the hardships faced after childbirth, and how the proposed paid family leave legislation could have made a difference. This report details these discussions and provides conclusions and recommendations on paid family leave in New York State.

 

Protecting Workers, Nurturing Families: Building an Inclusive Family Leave Insurance Program

Suma Setty, Curtis Skinner, and Renée Wilson-Simmons, National Center for Children in Poverty, March 2016

Findings and Recommendations from the New Jersey Parenting Project

 

The Child Development Case for Paid Family Leave Insurance in New York

Zero the Three, 2015

Now is the time for New York law makers to secure the best beginnings for babies and the best future for the state by supporting paid family leave.
 

New York State Department of Health Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) - Social Determinants of Health Work Group - Final Recommendations

"The work group recommends that New York should modernize its Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program to provide up to 12 weeks a year of insurance benefits to partly replace lost wages for workers who need to care for a newborn, newly adopted child or seriously ill family member."
 

Maternity and Paternity at Work: Law and Practice Across the World
International Labour Organization, 2014

"Out of the 185 countris and territories with information available, all but two provide cash benefits to women during maternity leave.  The two exceptions are Papua New Guinea and the United States."

 

Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk
Policy Statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics
Pediatrics, March 2012

“Given the documented short- and long-term medical and neurodevelopmental advantages of breastfeeding, infant nutrition should be considered a public health issue…”

 

Paid Parental Leave in the United States
What the data tell us about access, usage, and economic and health benefits
Barbara Gault, et. al.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research, March 2014

 

Valuing the Invaluable:  2011 Update, The Growing Contributions and Costs of Family Caregiving by Lynn Feinberg, Susan C. Reinhard, Ari Houser, and Rita Choula, AARP Public Policy Institute.

 

Building a Competitive Future Right from the Start:  How Paid Leave Strengthens 21st Century Families by Susan Ochshorn and Curtis Skinner, National Center for Children in Poverty, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, September 2012.

 

Investing in Our Families:  The Case for Family Leave Insurance in New York and the Nation, A Better Balance, September 2013.

 

Unfinished Business:  Paid Leave in California and the Future of U.S. Work-Family Policy by Ruth Milkman and Eileen Appelbaum, Cornell University Press, 2013.

 

Other Resources

Press Release
New York State Assembly Passes Paid Family Leave Act
NY State Assemby Speaker Carl E. Heastie

Draft Memorandum of Support  - Business

Draft Memorandum of Support  - Organization