What's happening
This bill requires certain New York employers to allow employees unpaid leave to attend their child's school conferences or activities.
Why it matters
Supports Parental Involvement in Education. By ensuring eligible employees can take unpaid leave to attend school events, the bill aims to foster stronger parent-school relationships and improve student outcomes, especially for working parents who might otherwise be unable to participate.
Balances Work and Family Obligations. The law only applies after all other forms of paid leave (except sick or disability leave) are used, and requires advance notice to employers, creating a framework that tries to accommodate both employee family needs and employer operational continuity.
Limits and Safeguards for Employers. The bill restricts leave to a maximum of four hours per day and prevents more than 5% of a workforce from being absent for this purpose at any one time, helping employers manage staffing while still complying with the law.
Enforcement and Employee Protection. Employers who violate the provisions may face up to a $1,000 fine per incident, and any negative actions taken against employees (like firing or demotion) must be reversed, providing real protections for workers who exercise their rights under this law.
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Who cares
Working parents and guardians
Eligible employees would gain protection from adverse employment actions for qualifying school visits, limited to four hours per day and available only after exhausting accrued leave other than sick and disability leave, with no pay required.
Employers with 50 or more employees in New York
Covered employers would face fines of up to $1,000 per violation and reversal of adverse employment actions, but could deny leave if more than five percent of their workforce would take it simultaneously.
Public and private primary and secondary schools
Schools would have to offer regularly scheduled, nonemergency conferences or activities during both school and evening hours, notify families of visitation policies and provide visit verification when requested.
State labor and education officials
The labor department would notify employers and enforce the requirements through rules and regulations, while the education commissioner would notify schools.
Headline styles
Protect Parents' School Leave
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 7
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Protect Parents' School Visit Rights
In Assembly Committee · Labor · Sponsor Michaelle C. Solages
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2418
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 24, 2019
Introduced by Sen. KAPLAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to the make time for parenting act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new article 21 to read as follows:
ARTICLE 21
MAKE TIME FOR PARENTING ACT Section 750. Short title.
751. Definitions.
752. School conference and activity leave.
753. Notification.
754. Verification.
755. Employee rights.
756. Limits on leave.
757. Enforcement.
§ 750. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the "make time for parenting act".
§ 751. Definitions. As used in this article:
1. The term "employee" means a person who performs services for hire for an employer for:
a. at least six consecutive months immediately preceding a request for leave under this article; and
b. an average number of hours per week equal to at least one-half the full-time equivalent positions in the employers' job classification, as defined by the employers' personnel policies or practices or in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement, during those six months.
2. The term "employee" shall not include an independent contractor.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04245-01-9
S. 2418 2
3. The term "employer" means any of the following: a state agency, officer, or department, a unit of local government, a school district, an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an association, or a nonprofit organization which employs fifty or more employees in the state of New York.
4. The term "child" means a biological, adopted or foster child, a stepchild or a legal ward of an employee who is enrolled in a primary or secondary public or private school in this state.
5. The term "school" means any public or private primary or secondary school or educational facility located in this state.
6. The term "school administrator" means a principal or similar administrator who is responsible for the operations of a school.
7. The term "negative action" means the discharge, suspension or demotion of an employee, or other adverse employment action taken against an employee in the terms and conditions of employment.
§ 752. School conference and activity leave. 1. Should an employee leave during any school year, no more than four hours of which may be taken on any given day, to attend school conferences or classroom activities related to the employee's child if the conference or classroom activities cannot be scheduled during non-work hours such an employee shall not be penalized with any negative action, as defined in subdivision seven of section seven hundred fifty-one of this article, for such activity. No leave may be taken by an employee of an employer that is subject to the provisions of this article unless the employee has exhausted all accrued vacation leave, personal leave, compensatory leave and any other leave that may be granted to the employee except sick leave and disability leave. Before arranging attendance at any such conference or activity, the employee shall provide the employer with a written request for leave at least seven days prior to the time the employee is required to utilize such leave. In emergency situations, no more than twenty-four hours notice shall be required. The employee must consult with the employer to schedule the leave so as not to unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.
2. Nothing in this article requires that an employee receive compensation for the duration of such leave.
3. For regularly scheduled, non emergency conferences or activities, schools shall make time available for such conferences or activities during both regular school hours and evening hours.
§ 753. Notification. The commissioner of education shall notify each public and private primary and secondary school regarding the provisions of this article. Each public and private school shall notify parents or guardians of the school's students of its school visitation policy. The department shall notify employers regarding the provisions of this article.
§ 754. Verification. Upon completion of school conference and activity leave by a parent or guardian and if requested, the school administration shall provide the parent or guardian documentation verifying the school visit. Employers may request this verification and employees must submit same.
§ 755. Employee rights. Nothing in this article shall be construed to affect an employer's obligation to comply with any collective bargaining agreement or employee benefit plan. Nothing in this article shall prevent an employer from approving school conference and activity leave in excess of the requirements of this article.
§ 756. Limits on leave. No employer that is subject to the provisions of this article is required to grant school conference and activity
S. 2418 3
leave to an employee if granting the leave would result in more than five percent of the employer's work force taking school conference or activity leave at the same time.
§ 757. Enforcement. The department shall be authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to enforce the provisions of this article. Should an employer be found in violation of this article pursuant to the rules and regulations set forth by the department such employer shall be subject to a fine of no more than one thousand dollars per violation and such negative act shall be reversed.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to the make time for parent- ing act
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this legislation is to enable parents an opportunity to attend their child's school related functions during work hours that cannot be scheduled during non-work hours
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 of this bill amends the labor law by adding a new article to create the make time for parenting act.
This section states that an employer must grant an employee leave of up to a total of sixteen hours during any school year to attend school conferences or classroom activities related to the employee's child that cannot be scheduled during non-work hours.
The section also outlines notification and verification procedures, leave limits and employee rights under this act. The Department of Education shall notify the school of this act and the provisions there- of.
The Department of Labor is authorized to enforce the provisions of this act.
This act makes it unlawful for an employer to take negative action against an employee for exercising the rights enumerated. Punishable by a fine of up to $1000 per violation and reversal of such negative action.
Justification
Studies have shown that children whose parents are actively involved in their education are more likely to succeed academically. The earlier in a child's education process parent involvement begins, the more powerful the effects. Lack of parental involvement is one of the biggest problems facing public schools. Decades of research has shown that when parents are involved students have:
-Higher grades, test scores, and graduation rates -Better school attend- ance
-Increased motivation, better self-esteem -Lower rates of suspension
-Decreased use of drugs and alcohol and -Fewer instances of violent behavior.
It is important to ensure that parents have an opportunity to attend school related functions that occur during regular business hours, including parent-teacher conferences. The smell cost of providing up to 16 hours of work time to allow parents to attend school activities will
be returned to employers 10-fold when the highly prepared young adults enter the workforce.
Prior legislative history
A. 3983 of 2017-2018; Referred to Labor
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.