Employer Responsibilities and Resources (2024)

New York State designed Paid Family Leave to be easy for employers to implement. Below is a list of ongoing responsibilities for employers in New York who are required to provide Paid Family Leave; new employers can use it as a checklist to prepare for offering the benefit.

Who Are Private Employers Required to Cover?

• Most private employers with one or more employees are required to obtain Paid Family Leave insurance. Contact your broker or insurer for information about available policies as well as options for paying your premium (e.g., whether it can be paid semi-annually, annually, or annually on a retrospective basis).
• This insurance is generally added as a rider on an existing disability insurance policy; it does not replace it.
• If you are self-insured for disability, you may purchase a separate Paid Family Leave policy or apply to the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board to self-insure. You would still need coverage while you’re applying. For more information, contact the Workers' Compensation Board Office of Self-Insurance at [emailprotected].
• For a list of insurers offering Paid Family Leave policies, visit thePFL section of the Department of Financial Services website.

Obtaining and Funding a Policy

Your insurance carrier will provide you with a notice to employees (Notice of Compliance) stating that you have Paid Family Leave insurance. The Notice will include information about your carrier.

• If you are self-insured, you can get this notice by contacting the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board at[emailprotected].
• Post and maintain this notice in plain view.

• Include Paid Family Leave information in your written materials distributed to your employees, such as employee handbooks.
• If you do not have a handbook, provide written guidance to employees concerning their Paid Family Leave benefits, including how to file a request for Paid Family Leave.
• Model language [PDF]for employee handbooks and other written materials is available.

• It is your responsibility to identify employees who will not meet the minimum eligibility requirements for Paid Family Leave and offer these employees a waiver.
• Coverage can only be waived if the employee will not meet the minimum time worked requirements, in other words:
  • if they regularly work less than 20 hours per week and will not work 175 days in a year, or
  • if they regularly work 20 or more hours per week, but won’t be in employment for 26 consecutive weeks.
• Provide these employees with form:Employee Opt-Out of Paid Family Leave Benefits (PFL-Waiver).
• If an employee waives coverage, they will not make contributions and will not be eligible for Paid Family Leave benefits.
• Keep a copy of all completed waivers on file.
• If an employee’s schedule changes such that they will meet the minimum eligibility requirements for eligibility, the waiver will be automatically be revoked. Employees can voluntarily revoke a waiver at any time.
• If a waiver is revoked (either automatically or by the employee) youmay begin taking payroll deductions and may retroactively collect deductions from the date the waiver was signed.

• Ensure that you are collecting the employee contributions that pay for this insurance.
• It is strongly recommended you notify employees before withholding any contributions. A template is available:Notice of Employee Payroll Deduction [PDF].
• The employee contribution rate is set every year by the Department of Financial Servicesto match the cost of insurance coverage.
• For information on the current payroll contribution rate visit:

Cost and Deductions

Familiarize yourself with what you need to do when an employee requests Paid Family Leave, including your responsibility to complete Part B - Employer Information of the PFL-1 Request for Paid Family Leave.

Handling Requests

An employer cannot discriminate or retaliate against an employee for requesting or taking Paid Family Leave.An employer must reinstate the employee to the same or a comparable position when the employee returns from Paid Family Leave.

Examples of discrimination or retaliation may include an employer:

• Not returning an employee to their same or a comparable job,
• terminating the employee,
• reducing an employee’s pay or benefits, or
• disciplining an employee in any waybecause the employeerequested or took Paid Family Leave.

The Workers’ Compensation Board administers a formal process for employees who believe they may have been discriminated against for taking or requesting Paid Family Leave.

Step 1:

1. Complete the FormalRequest for Reinstatement Regarding Paid Family Leave (Form PFL-DC-119).
2. File the completed form with your employer.
3. Send a copy to Paid Family Leave, PO Box 9030, Endicott, NY 13761-9030.

   An employer has

   30 calendar days to respond to the request.
   

Step 2:

Discrimination/Retaliation Complaint:
Ifthe employer does not comply with a FormalRequest For Reinstatement within 30 calendar days, an employee hasthe right to a hearing with the Workers’ Compensation Board for a formal hearing.

The Board will assemble the case and notify the employer of thescheduledhearing.

NOTE: To file a discrimination complaint, an employee must have first requested reinstatement as described in the first step above. A request for a hearing will not be processed unless a FormalRequest for Reinstatement Regarding Paid Family Leave (Form PFL-DC-119)is received.

An administrative law judge may order an employer to reinstate the employee, pay any lost wages, pay attorney’s fees, and pay up to $500 in penalties.

To help you fulfill your responsibilities and successfully implement Paid Family Leave, there are resources to assist you.

2024 PFL Payroll Deduction Notice [PDF]

Model Language for Employee Materials – Updated for 2024 (template) [PDF]