New York Paid Family Leave Law: 5 Proposed Regulations

• By: Matthew Burr
• Date: September 07, 2017

New York Paid Family Leave Law: 5 Proposed Regulations

On May 24, 2017, the New York State Worker’s Compensation Board issued five proposed regulations for organizations to incorporate, when implementing the New York Paid Family Leave requirements beginning January 1, 2018.

Below are 5 proposed regulation changes:

1. A separate notice of each day of use of the paid family leave must be given by an employee using intermittent leave to an employer. As stated in the former regulations, employees were only required to provide notice once to employers when using intermittent leave, which was inconsistent with the FMLA rules.
2. Collective bargaining language must provide benefits as favorable as the Paid Family Leave law, including the length of leave and amount of pay. This section is still evolving and negotiated language can include the union responsibility for time records and pay deductions. This has not been finalized and more changes will come to this section.
3. Paid Family Leave language has been clarified that the eligibility of employees working 20-hours or more per week is measured based on the number of weeks in employment, which must be at least 26-weeks. Employees who work less than 20-hours per week is measured in days, which must be at least 175 working days.
4. The July 1, 2017 deductions language was clarified by the Worker’s Compensation Board. The employer can start taking payroll deductions on July 1, 2017, but cannot take deductions more than the maximum weekly contribution to retroactively cover the cost of providing Paid Family Leave. The reason for early deductions is to offset the cost of acquiring the mandated insurance policy.
5. An additional guidance on accrued leave running concurrently with Paid Family Leave was issued by the Worker’s Compensation Board. The complexity of this language and requirements related to accrued leave is still being drafted. Further clarification is needed from the Board on the concurrent and accrued requirements, which include; FMLA, worker’s comp, and disability. More updates to come on this proposed language.

Now is the time to begin reviewing, drafting, and updating policies and procedures related to FMLA and paid family leave. January 1, 2018 is just 3 short months away. Continue to monitor for updates and changes to the proposed language. If you are confused, ask questions and do not make assumptions. This law is very complex, it continues to change as concerns arise and the implementation will impact most organizations throughout New York State.

About the Author:

Matthew Burr has over nine years of experience working in the human resources field, starting his career as an industrial relations intern at Kennedy Valve Manufacturing to most recently founding and managing a human resource consulting company: Burr Consulting, LLC. Mr. Burr is an adjunct professor at Elmira College, teaching organizational behavior and human resources management. He is also a SHRM Certification Exam Instructor and co-teaches the SHRM Exam Prep Course at Elmira College. He works as a trainer at both Tompkins Cortland Community College and Corning Community College. He is also an on-call mediator and fact-finder through the Public Employment Relations Board in New York State.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect ComplianceOnline's editorial policy.