STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 50 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. COMRIE, HARCKHAM, JACKSON, RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to extending paid family leave benefits The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 203 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by 2 section 3 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 § 203. Employees eligible for benefits under section two hundred four 5 of this article. Employees in employment of a covered employer for four 6 or more consecutive weeks and employees in employment during the work 7 period usual to and available during such four or more consecutive weeks 8 in any trade or business in which they are regularly employed and in 9 which hiring from day to day of such employees is the usual employment 10 practice shall be eligible for disability benefits as provided in 11 section two hundred four of this article. Employees in employment of a 12 covered employer for twenty-six or more consecutive weeks and employees 13 in employment during the work period usual to and available during such 14 twenty-six or more consecutive weeks in any trade or business in which 15 they are regularly employed and in which hiring from day to day of such 16 employees is the usual employment practice shall be eligible for family 17 leave benefits as provided in section two hundred four of this article. 18 For purposes of this article, employees who perform construction, demo- 19 lition, reconstruction, excavation, rehabilitation, repairs, reno- 20 vations, alterations, or improvements for multiple employers pursuant to 21 a collective bargaining agreement shall be eligible for family leave 22 benefits if they were employed for at least twenty-six of the last thir- 23 ty-nine weeks by any covered employer which is signatory to a collective EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00216-01-5

S. 50 2 1 bargaining agreement. Every such employee shall continue to be eligible 2 for family leave benefits only during employment with a covered employ- 3 er. Every such employee shall continue to be eligible for disability 4 benefits during such employment and for a period of four weeks after 5 such employment terminates regardless of whether the employee performs 6 any work for remuneration or profit in non-covered employment. If during 7 such four week period the employee performs any work for remuneration or 8 profit for another covered employer the employee shall become eligible 9 for disability benefits immediately with respect to that employment. In 10 addition every such employee who has previously completed four or more 11 consecutive weeks in employment with the covered employer for purposes 12 of disability benefits, or twenty-six or more consecutive weeks in 13 employment with the covered employer for purposes of paid family leave, 14 and returns to work with the same employer after an agreed and specified 15 unpaid leave of absence or vacation without pay shall become eligible 16 for benefits immediately with respect to such employment. For purposes 17 of this article, employees who perform construction, demolition, recon- 18 struction, excavation, rehabilitation, repairs, renovations, alter- 19 ations, or improvements for multiple employers pursuant to a collective 20 bargaining agreement and who became eligible for paid family leave bene- 21 fits by working at least twenty-six of the last thirty-nine weeks, and 22 who return to work after an agreed and specified unpaid leave of absence 23 or vacation without pay with the same or different employer shall become 24 eligible for family leave benefits immediately with respect to such 25 employment. In the case of employees who perform construction, demoli- 26 tion, reconstruction, excavation, rehabilitation, repairs, renovations, 27 alterations, or improvements for multiple employers pursuant to a 28 collective bargaining agreement who are laid-off and receive unemploy- 29 ment benefits, such employees shall be eligible for family leave bene- 30 fits upon returning to work if they are otherwise qualified by having 31 worked at least twenty-six of the last thirty-nine weeks. An employee 32 who during a period in which [~~he or she~~] such employee is eligible to 33 receive benefits under subdivision two of section two hundred seven of 34 this article returns to employment with a covered employer and an 35 employee who is currently receiving unemployment insurance benefits or 36 benefits under section two hundred seven of this article and who returns 37 to employment with a covered employer shall become eligible for disabil- 38 ity benefits immediately with respect to such employment. An employee 39 regularly in the employment of a single employer on a work schedule less 40 than the employer's normal work week shall become eligible for disabili- 41 ty leave benefits on the twenty-fifth day of such regular employment and 42 for purposes of paid family leave an employer shall become eligible for 43 benefits on the one hundred seventy-fifth day of such regular employ- 44 ment. An employee who is eligible for disability and family leave bene- 45 fits in the employment of a covered employer shall not be deemed, for 46 the purposes of this article, to have such employment terminated during 47 any period [~~he or she~~] such employee is eligible to receive benefits 48 under section two hundred four of this article with respect to such 49 employment. 50 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Relates to paid family leave benefits

What's Happening

Why It Matters