Changes to New York’s Paid Family Leave Makes Caring for Loved Ones So Much Easier
A change has slowly started to creep into the workforce - people have stopped being martyrs to their job and have begun shifting their focus on how to do their job well without sacrificing time with their family.
This idea of finding a better balance began before the pandemic but the pandemic certainly pushed the issue to the forefront.
Many have realized or are in the process of realizing that loyalty is often a one-way street with employers and that they've needlessly sacrificed family for an employer who will be quick to fill their chair just as soon as it's been vacated.
Until about ten years ago, many women in New York state faced having to rush back to work after having a baby because the allotted time off allowed by their employer was minimal. What's more is that also, until just a few years ago, new fathers often weren't granted time off following the birth of their child or if they were, it was maybe a week.
New parents were ecstatic when the law shifted to give them more time to care for their new child but many took a massive cut in pay when they did, leaving the family scrambling to cover living expenses.
Effective immediately, New Yorkers who have met the time-worked requirements for the state's Paid Family Leave leave can take up to twelve weeks off, paid and with a promise that their job is safe. Employees will also be allowed to keep their health insurance while using Paid Family Leave to care for a new child, a family member who is sick, or to help "loved ones when a family member is deployed abroad on active military service."
Also, those who use New York's Paid Family Leave will now receive 67 percent of their average weekly wage or up to $1,068. For instance, someone who earns $600 in a week would be paid $402. A person making $1,000 a week would be paid $670, and any person making $2,000 a week would receive $1,068 in compensation.
Before signing the updates to the Paid Family Leave Act, Governor Kathy Hochul said, "taking care of your family is a human right." New York's Paid Family Leave will expand yet again in 2023 to cover time off to care for siblings, whether they are biological, adopted, half-siblings, or step-siblings.