In early April, New York passed the country’s most comprehensive paid family leave policy. Employers in the state of New York will be required to offer up to 12 weeks of paid time off for the birth of a child, the adoption of a child, the fostering of a child, or the care of a gravely ill family member.
The policy kicks off January 1, 2018, and both women and men are eligible. However, the benefits are staggered. When the program begins, employees with more than six months tenure can collect up to 50% of their pay (up to $1,266.44 per week, which represents half of the weekly statewide average) for eight weeks.
In 2019 and 2020, employees can receive compensation for up to 10 weeks. In 2021, when New York has completed program implementation, workers are eligible for 67% of their weekly salaries (up to 67% of the statewide weekly average) for 12 weeks.
Who’s funding the program?
Employers won’t pay one cent out of pocket for this new policy. New York State is funding it through weekly paycheck deductions, which will cost employees about a dollar per week. The pay-in is nominal, and while high-salary employees won’t be compensated more than the statewide weekly average, employees living below the poverty line will likely benefit tremendously from it.
How is it different than other federal paid family leave policies?
There actually aren’t any other federal paid family leave policies. The best the country offers is the Family and Medical Leave Act, which requires employers to offer some sort of time off for major family events, but it doesn’t mandate that an employee gets compensated for that time off.
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It also hinges on company size, hours clocked during the previous year, and more. In fact, according to a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor in 2012, more than 40% of employees were not eligible to take time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Of those who were eligible, only 16% took advantage of the program.
How does America’s current policy compare to other countries?
Among the 34 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States is the only one that doesn’t mandate paid maternity leave for new mothers.
Zero weeks off, with no compensation.
Compare to Belgium, who offers 15 weeks off and nearly 12 weeks of full compensation. Or Mexico – 12 weeks off, with full pay. Estonia – 20 weeks off, full pay. Croatia – 30 weeks off, full pay.
That doesn’t speak to paternity leave. More than 74% of the countries in the OECD offer time off and compensation to new fathers. The U.S. isn’t one of them.
New York could be the catalyst to change these numbers. They could be the first of many states to recognize the importance of home and family, and the presence of a parent in a new child’s life.
“With a statewide $15 minimum wage and the nation’s only 12-week paid family leave program, we are going to prove that the economy can and should work for all,” Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement.
After the policy was finalized, Cuomo added, “New York State has once again come together to get things done.”
