NEW YORK (WBEN) — New Yorkers will soon be able to use paid family leave time to take time off from their jobs in order to care for an ailing sibling.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday signed legislation allowing the state to recognize sibling relationships as a valid reason to use paid family leave.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, New Yorkers can apply for paid family leave if they are caring for a spouse, domestic partner, child – or anyone for whom you have legal custody, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling (including biological siblings, adopted siblings, step-siblings and half-siblings).
“Taking care of your family is a basic human right, no one should have to choose between caring for a loved one and a paycheck,” Hochul said. “Fighting to expand paid family leave is personal to me and so many others, and I am proud to work with advocates and legislators to make sure that New Yorkers can now take care of their siblings without fear of losing their jobs or income.”
The governor, with five brothers and sisters of her own, said the legislation is personal.
“It’s going to give an opportunity for people to get that extra help they need, that support they need, when their families can be there to step in and not lose their own income,” she said.
The legislation builds upon a law signed in 2016, which created one of the “most comprehensive paid family leave programs in the nation,” according to the governor’s office.
“In effect since 2018, New York's Paid Family Leave program is employee-paid insurance that provides workers with job-protected, paid time off to bond with a newly born, adopted or fostered child; care for a family member with a serious health condition (which may include severe cases of COVID-19), or assist loved ones when a member of the family is deployed abroad on active military service,” the governor’s office said in a press release.
Paid family leave can also be used when an employee, or a dependent under their care, needs to quarantine or isolate due to COVID-19.
The program allows workers to take up to 12 weeks per calendar year with 67% of their pay. During that time, employees must hold the employees’ position and, upon return, reinstate them to their position at the same pay rate.
Related
