PHOTO: State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. is optimistic that a family leave policy to help New Yorkers more easily take time off from work to bond with a new baby, address difficulties arising from military leave, and care for seriously ill spouses, parents and other loved ones may finally become a reality. File Photo
By Eugénie Bisulco
A policy to help New Yorkers more easily take time off from work to bond with a new baby, address family difficulties arising from military leave, and care for ill spouses and other loved ones is closer to becoming reality in the Empire State, with the passage this week of a paid family leave bill by the Assembly.
“The Assembly’s passage of paid family leave sends a clear message that it’s time for New York – and the United States – to catch up with the rest of the world,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “New York City is proud to lead by example by providing six weeks of paid parental leave at 100 percent pay, or up to 12 weeks when combined with existing leave, so that our employees aren’t forced to choose between their new child and their paycheck.”
State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), who sponsored comprehensive paid family leave legislation along with Assemblymember Cathy Nolan, has long been advocating for such a policy.
““I am very pleased that the State Assembly has once again taken the initiative to approve a paid family leave program that would enable New York’s working men and women to better balance their needs on the home front with their equally pressing responsibilities on the work front,” said Addabbo. “This legislation would provide families with a long-overdue opportunity to take time off from work – without completely sacrificing their paychecks – to care for new babies or sick family members and to address serious issues arising from military service. No one should be forced to go bankrupt, and choose between work and their loved ones, at their times of greatest family need.”
The measure provides 12 weeks of paid family time off to people who need paternity or maternity leave, must care for sick family members, or address issues arising from active military duty. Employees taking the leave benefit could receive two-thirds of their own average weekly wage, not to be paid by their employer, with the maximum benefit capped over four years at 50 percent of New York’s average weekly wage, which was $1,266.44 in 2014. Initially, the benefit would cost workers up to 45 cents a week through employee payroll deductions – rising slightly in future years as the maximum benefit cap rises – and it would also be funded through the state’s existing Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program by small increases in employer premiums. It covers all employers, both public and private, that are subject to general workers’ compensation laws.
In comparison, a bill sponsored by Sen. Jeffrey Klein would have provided only six weeks of paid family leave, applied only to public employers with 25 or more workers, provided lower replacement wage benefits than (only 50 percent of an employee’s average weekly wage, rather than two-thirds) and was ultimately capped at 50 percent of the statewide average weekly wage. A third iteration of the legislative plan would have permitted 12 weeks of paid family leave for all private employers with an opt-in by public employers, and would have begun by providing benefits equal to 35 percent of an employee’s average weekly wage – less than the two-thirds benefit proposed by Addabbo and Nolan.
The proposed legislation will now be up for debate in the Senate, where GOP leaders have already begun to question the potential burden it might place on New York businesses. The Assembly passed a paid family leave bill in 2015, but the measure died on the vine in the Senate.
“I think we all know that it is no longer a question of if New York will enact a paid family leave program. It is simply a question of when. I am optimistic it will be 2016,” said Addabbo.
