New Paid Family Leave law. Are your New Yorkers covered?

If you’ve got a handful of staff working out of America’s New York state you need to be aware of an upcoming change in the law will affect your workers.

The New York Paid Family Leave law will take effect on January 1, 2018. The law requires that all qualifying employees are given “proper written guidance” by their employer about the new law.

By January 2018 employers must have updated their employee handbooks to explain the law in greater detail.

What do I need to do with the New Paid Family Leave law?

New York’s Paid Family Leave program provides wage replacement to employees to help them bond with a child, care for a close relative with a serious health condition, or help relieve family pressures when someone is called to active military service.

Employees are also guaranteed to be able to return to their job and continue their health insurance.

In practice employers may collect the cost of Paid Family Leave through payroll deductions. The maximum employee contribution in 2018 shall be 0.126% of an employee’s weekly wage, up to the annualized New York State Average Weekly Wage.

And they will need to ensure that their employees are aware of the Paid Family Leave program and that their organizational policies comply with the law. Specifically, employers should include Paid Family Leave information in their employee handbook, or similar employee materials.