Thanks to Paid Family Leave, nearly 6.4 million employees at private companies in New York State are now eligible for paid time with family and loved ones under certain circumstances: those with a newborn or newly adopted/fostered child, those caring for a relative with serious health issues, or those assisting loved ones when a family member is deployed abroad on active military service.
In 2018, many employees are now able to take up to eight weeks of paid leave with 50 percent of their average weekly wage (up to a weekly cap of $652). This opportunity is open to full-time employees that work more than 20 hours per week and have been with the same company for 26 consecutive weeks. Part-time employees that work less than 20 hours per week and have been working with the same company for 175 days (these don't need to be consecutive) are also eligible.
Here's an example from NY.gov's website:
An employee who makes $1,000 a week would receive a benefit of $500 a week (50% of $1,000). Another employee who makes $2,000 a week would receive a benefit of $652.96, because this employee is capped at one-half of New York State's Average Weekly Wage—currently $1,305.92. Half of that amount is $652.96.
Leave can be taken either all at once or in full-day increments, according to the NY.gov website, but it must be taken within a 52-week period.
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