Maximum weekly benefit for NYS paid family leave rises

In addition, the employee contribution rate has decreased to 0.373 percent of an employee’s gross wages each pay period, capped at an annual maximum of $333.25. It’s about $20 more in cash benefits and $66 less in cost, compared to 2023. That’s according to Clarissa Rodriguez, chair of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, in a Jan. 5 news release. 

“New York State continues to enhance our nation-leading Paid Family Leave,” Rodriguez said in the release. “Increasing the maximum benefit combined with lowering the employee contribution rate means more money where it’s needed most — in workers’ pockets.”

Paid family leave is insurance, fully paid for by employees, that provides job-protected, paid time off to bond with a newly born, fostered, or adopted child; care for a family member with a serious health condition; or assist a spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent who is deployed abroad on active military service, as described in the release.

New York’s paid family leave provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of time off, which an employee can take all at once, or in increments of full days, per the web site: PaidFamilyLeave.ny.gov. 

Most employees of private employers in New York state are covered for New York’s paid family leave, while public employers can voluntarily opt in to provide the benefit, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board noted.

Since the state’s paid family leave began in 2018, benefits have been “significantly enhanced to further improve” the lives of working New Yorkers and their families, the state contends. That includes more time off, more uses for paid family leave, and more financial security. In 2023, paid family leave was expanded to include caring for a sibling with a serious health condition, the board said.

Complete details on New York’s paid family leave are available at PaidFamilyLeave.ny.gov. 

There is also a special web page with updates for 2024 that includes benefit and deduction calculators, answers to frequently asked questions, and other resources. Employees and employers can also learn more by attending one of the Workers’ Compensation Board’s paid family leave webinars, which are held regularly throughout the year.

Help is also available via a toll-free paid family leave helpline at (844) 337-6303, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.