Last spring we notified you of legislation enacting a 12-week paid family leave policy in New York. With amendments set to take effect at the start of 2018, employers should examine the latest proposed regulations and plan ahead for implementation.

The New York Paid Family Leave Act (PFL) is a series of amendments to the state Workers’ Compensation Law set to take effect on January 1, 2018. PFL allows eligible employees to take paid leave time to care for a newborn, a covered service member, or a family member who has a serious health condition.

In February 2017 the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board released proposed regulations that were subject to a 45-day public comment period ending on April 8. In late May, the Board released an updated version of the proposed regulations and a 30-day public comment period commenced.

As we march closer to January 1, 2018, employers must start carefully thinking about how they will integrate this new law into their workplaces. Employee payroll contributions to PFL may be withdrawn from employee paychecks as soon as July 1, 2017. In addition, under the proposed regulations, a covered employer must provide written guidance to each of his or her employees concerning all of the employee’s rights and obligations under PFL, including information on how to file a claim for paid family leave.

Given that employee medical situations in the workplace will trigger PFL — among many other laws, like the Family and Medical Leave Act or Americans with Disabilities Act — employers should seek advice on how these laws will interact with each other and how to craft informative policies explaining the same.

For more information on the impact of this new law, please contact:

• Caroline J. Berdzik (609.986.1314; cberdzik@goldbergsegalla.com)
• Christopher P. Maugans (716.710.5825; cmaugans@goldbergsegalla.com)
• Or another member of Goldberg Segalla’s Employment and Labor Practice Group.