Time off - New York

Off-site donation

Employers must grant employees up to three hours of leave from the regular work schedule in any 12-month period. The employee may be allowed to take more than three hours, but that is up to the employer.

Leave granted to employees for off-premises blood donation is not required to be paid.

Off-premises leave is not required to accrue from year to year. If an employee does not use his or her donation leave within the 12-month period, the allotment does not roll over or accrue into the next 12-month period.

Employers may require employees to show proof of their blood donation in the form of a notice or a good-faith effort from the blood bank or other sufficient proof.

Donation leave alternatives

Alternatives for blood donation leave must be provided twice per calendar year.

Leave taken under donation leave alternatives are to be paid without requiring the employee to use vacation, personal, sick, or other time off accruals.

Time spent to donate under leave alternatives must be scheduled during normal work hours. Employees cannot be required to travel an unreasonable distance to donate.

If you are going to provide a donation leave alternative, you must post a notice of the related event at least two weeks in advance.

Notice

Employers must notify employees in writing of their rights to take blood donation leave, and this can be done by such means as posting a notice, including the notice in paycheck stuffers, including notices in employee handbooks, or another comparable method.

Employers can require employees to provide advance notice of their plan to take donation leave. For off-premises leave, the employee is to provide at least three working days' notice. For alternative leave, the employee is to provide at least two days' notice.

There are situations, such as when an employee is in an position essential to the operation of the company, in which the employer can extend the notice time frame to up to 10 working days. If so, this information must be in the general written notice.

In addition, there may be emergency situations involving an employee or an employee's family member which requires an employee to donate. In this case, employers must allow for a shorter notice period.

Employee eligibility

All employees in New York are eligible for leave of absence benefits. Unlike the FMLA, an employee does not need to work a specified number of months or hours to be eligible for leave under the state's provisions.

Leave entitlement

New York does not specify the amount of leave that is permitted under state law. However, any leave that is made available to biological parents must also be made available to adoptive parents.

Reasons for leave

If an employer or governmental agency permits an employee to take a leave of absence for the birth of their child, an adoptive parent is entitled to the same leave for preschool-age children and disabled children.

Maintenance of health benefits

There is no state provision which requires an employer to maintain coverage under any group health plan while the employee is on leave. However, the FMLA requires that covered employers continue to provide group health insurance.

Job restoration

Unlike the FMLA, New York does not provide job restoration rights to employees.

Notice

Unlike the FMLA, New York does not mandate any notice requirements.

Employee eligibility

The sick leave provision does not include any employee eligibility criteria. Therefore, all employees ae eligible to take the leave.

Leave entitlement

Employers with four or fewer employees in any calendar year (January 1 – December 31) that have a net income of $1 million or less in the previous tax year must provide up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave per year.

Employers with four or fewer employees that have a net income of more than $1 million in the previous tax year, and employers with 5-99 employees must provide 40 hours of paid sick leave each year.

Employers with 100 or more employees must provide 56 hours of paid sick leave each year.

Employees accrue one hour of leave for every 30 hours worked beginning upon hire or when September 30, 2020, whichever is later. Employees may take the leave during a 12-month period as determined by the employer.

Employers may choose to front-load the leave at the beginning of the year. An employee’s unused sick leave carries over to the following calendar year, but employers may limit the use of sick leave to the limit required (40 hours or 56 hours).

Employers may set a reasonable minimum increment for the use of sick leave which does not exceed four hours.

Employers need not pay out any unused sick leave upon termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment.

Reasons for leave

Employees may take the sick leave for the following reasons:

• For a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition of such employee or such employee's family member, regardless of whether such illness, injury, or health condition has been diagnosed or requires medical care at the time that such employee requests such leave;
• For the diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition of, or need for medical diagnosis of, or preventive care for, such employee or such employee's family member; or
• For an absence due to any of the following reasons when the employee or employee's family member has been the victim of domestic violence, a family offense, sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking to:
• Obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, rape crisis center, or other services program;
• Participate in safety planning, temporarily or permanently relocate, or take other actions to increase the safety of the employee or employee's family members;
• Meet with an attorney or other social services provider to obtain information and advice on, and prepare for or participate in any criminal or civil proceeding;
• File a complaint or domestic incident report with law enforcement;
• Meet with a district attorney's office;
• Enroll children in a new school; or
• Take any other actions necessary to ensure the health or safety of the employee or the employee's family member or to protect those who associate or work with the employee.

Family members include children, spouses, domestic partners, parents, siblings, grandchildren or grandparents; and children or parents of an employee's spouse or domestic partner.

A parent includes a biological, foster, step- or adoptive parent, or legal guardian of an employee, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child.

A child includes a biological, adopted or foster child, a legal ward, or a child of an employee standing in loco parentis.

Maintenance of health benefits

The law does not specifically address the maintenance of group health care coverage.

Job restoration

Upon return to work, the employee must be restored to the position held before sick leave was taken with the same pay and other terms and conditions of employment.

Notice

Employees may request leave verbally or in writing. Upon such request, employers must, within three business days, provide a summary of the amount of sick leave accrued and used in the current calendar year and/or any previous calendar year.

Employee eligibility

Full-time employees: Employees who work a regular schedule of 20 or more hours per week are eligible after 26 consecutive weeks of employment.

Part-time employees: Employees who work a regular schedule of less than 20 hours per week are eligible after working 175 days, which do not need to be consecutive. Employees with irregular schedules should look at their average schedule to determine if they work, on average, fewer than 20 hours per week.

Amount of leave

The amount of leave to which an employee is entitled as well as the amount of pay received during the leave phased in over time. As of January 1, 2018, employees were entitled to up to 8 weeks of leave in a 52-week period at 50 percent of their pay; in 2019 employees were entitled to up to 10 weeks of leave at 55 percent of their pay; in 2020 employees were entitled to up to 10 weeks of leave at 60 percent of their pay, and in 2021 and beyond employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of leave at 67 percent of their pay.

For part-time employees, the maximum period of PFL may be reduced by the average number of days worked per week as a percentage of the total benefit available for full-time employees. For example, if an employee works three days per week, he will receive the following:

• On January 1, 2018, 60% of the 40-day (eight week) total available to a full-time employee, or up to 24 days.
• On January 1, 2019, 60% of the 50-day (10 week) total available to full-time employees, or up to 30 days.
• On January 1, 2020, 60% of the 50-day (10 week) total available to full-time employees, or up to 30 days.
• On January 1, 2021, 67% of the 60-day (12 week) total available to full-time employees, or up to 36 days.

The pay is funded by employees through payroll deductions.

Leave may be taken on an intermittent basis in increments of one full day or one fifth of the weekly benefit. Leave may also be taken in full weeks.

Reasons for leave

Eligible employees may take paid family leave for the following reasons:

• To participate in providing care, including physical or psychological care, for a family member of the employee made necessary by the family member’s serious health condition;
• To bond with the employee’s child during the first 12 months after the child’s birth or the first 12 months after the placement of a child for adoption or foster care with the employee; or
• Because of any qualifying exigency (defined under the federal FMLA) arising out of the fact that the spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent of the employee is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States.
• Because the employee is subject to mandatory or precautionary COVID-19 quarantine or isolation.
• Because the employee’s child is subject to mandatory or precautionary COVID-19 quarantine or isolation

For purposes of family leave, a “family member” is defined as a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, spouse or domestic partner. As of January 1, 2023, “family member” includes siblings.

FMLA and PFL may run concurrently, assuming the employer is covered by both laws, employees are eligible for both, and the reason for leave qualifies for both.

Employees generally get to choose when to apply for PFL. PFL does not replace disability benefits coverage.

After giving birth, an employee may be eligible for both short-term disability benefits and PFL. While the two benefits cannot be taken at the same time, eligible employees can choose how they use both benefits.

A new parent, for example, who qualifies for short-term disability after giving birth can choose to:

• Immediately take all or any portion of their available short-term disability weeks and then take PFL at any time within the first 12 months of the birth; or
• Take Paid Family Leave immediately, without taking any short-term disability.

Maintenance of health benefits

Employers must maintain group health plan benefits while an employee is on paid family leave in the same manner as before leave began. Any benefits an employee had before leave began would be available to the employee after leave. Employees may choose to use accrued but unused personal time off for part or all of the family leave time, and receive full salary. Employees are not entitled to family leave benefits and full disability benefits at the same time. Employees are entitled to up to 26 weeks of combined disability and family leave benefits during a 52-week period.

Job restoration

Employees are to be reinstated to the position held when leave commenced, or to a comparable position with comparable employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Notice

If the need for family leave is foreseeable the employee must provide at least 30 days’ notice before the leave is to begin. If the need for leave is within less than 30 days, the employee must provide notice as is practicable. Employees may be required to provide a certification supporting the need for paid family leave.

Employee eligibility

No real eligibility criteria, the employee or family member simply needs to be a victim. Effective February 8, 2020, this does not include anyone employed by his or her parents, spouse or child, or in domestic service.

Leave entitlement

The law does not include a set amount of leave, it just must be “reasonable,” and that term is not defined. Generally, unless a period of leave would pose a hardship, it must be provided.

Reasons for leave

• To seek medical attention for injuries caused by domestic violence including for a child who is a victim of domestic violence;
• To obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, program, or rape crisis center as a result of domestic violence;
• To obtain psychological counseling related to an incident or incidents of domestic violence, including for a child who is a victim of domestic violence;
• To participate in safety planning and taking other actions to increase safety from future incidents of domestic violence, including temporary or permanent relocation; or
• To obtain legal services, assisting in the prosecution of the offense, or appearing in court in relation to the incident or incidents of domestic violence.

Maintenance of benefits

Employees who take leave are entitled to the continuation of any health insurance coverage provided by the employer, to which the employee is otherwise entitled during any such absence.

Job restoration

Taking a negative employment action, such as not returning the employee to his or her position, could be seen as discriminating against the employee based on the protected class of being a victim of domestic violence.

Notice

Employees are to give reasonable advance notice of the absence, unless not feasible. Employees who take such leave who cannot feasibly give advance notice must, within a reasonable time after the absence, provide a certification to the you if you requested one.

A certification would be in the form of the following:

• A police report indicating that the employee or his or her child was a victim of domestic violence;
• A court order protecting or separating the employee or his or her child from the perpetrator of an act of domestic violence;
• Other evidence from the court or prosecuting attorney that the employee appeared in court; or
• Documentation from a medical professional, domestic violence advocate, health care provider, or counselor that the employee or his or her child was undergoing counseling or treatment for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting in victimization from an act of domestic violence.

Miscellaneous

You may require an employee to charge any such time off against any leave with pay ordinarily granted, where available, unless otherwise provided for in a collective bargaining agreement or existing employee handbook or policy, and any such absence that cannot be charged may be treated as leave without pay.