Summary: New York Paid Family Leave (NY PFL) launched in 2018 to provide caregiving benefits to New York State workers and their families. NY PFL was implemented in a four-year phase in period and benefits are now fully phased in. In 2026, the NY PFL contribution rate will increase again, according to a recent New York State announcement.
Read on for more information and next steps for employers.
NY PFL Overview
Covered Employers
NY PFL applies to private sector employers with one or more employees working in New York State for at least 30 days in any calendar year. Click here for more information regarding public employers and NY PFL requirements.
Eligible Employees
A full-time employee who works 20 hours or more per week is eligible for NY PFL benefits after the employee works for a covered employer for 26 or more consecutive weeks.
A part-time employee (one who works fewer than 20 hours per week) is eligible for NY PFL benefits after they have worked for a covered employer for 175 days.
Citizenship and/or immigration status is not a factor in determining employee eligibility.
NOTE: Under NY PFL, some categories of workers are excluded from the definition of “employee” and "employment." Examples include licensed ministers, priests, or rabbis; persons engaged in a professional or teaching capacity for a not-for-profit; and those who work in service as a golf caddy.
NY PFL Covered Reasons
NY PFL provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of job-protected, paid time off for:
- Bonding Leave: Bond with a new child
- Eligible employees can take (and must complete) NY PFL for bonding with a new child at any time within the first 12 months of the child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
- Family Care Leave: Care for a family member with a serious health condition
Family member for purposes of NY PFL include the following individuals:
- spouse
- domestic partner (including same and different gender couples; legal registration not required)
- child/stepchild and anyone for whom you have legal custody
- parent/stepparent
- parent-in-law
- grandparent
- grandchild
- sibling
A serious health condition for purposes of NY PFL is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition involving either:
- inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility, or
- continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider.
Click here for examples from the NY PFL webpage with a list of examples of reasons for continuing treatment or supervision.
- Military Family Support Leave: Assist with family situations when your spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent is on active duty in a foreign country or has been notified of an impending call or order of active service to a foreign country.
As a reminder, New York’s COVID-19 sick leave requirements expired on July 31, 2025, which means that NY PFL is no longer available when an employee’s minor dependent child is under an order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19.
Eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of NY PFL in every 52-week period based on a rolling calendar basis. This means that if an eligible employee used the full 12 weeks of leave, the next time they would be eligible to take NY PFL again is one year from their first day of leave.
Employee Notice Requirements
When the need for NY PFL is foreseeable (e.g., for the birth or placement of a child or for planned medical treatment), employees are generally required to provide their employer with 30 days’ advance notice. If the need for leave is not foreseeable, employees must provide notice as soon as practicable.
Click here for more information on required certification forms when taking NY PFL.
Intermittent Leave
NY PFL time can be taken all at once, or in increments of full days.
Employees who take NY PFL family leave on an intermittent basis must provide their employer with notice as soon as practicable before each day of intermittent leave.
Employee Protections
When employees take NY PFL, they are guaranteed:
- Job protection that ensures they return to the same job (or a comparable one) when returning to work,
- Health insurance coverage on the same terms they had while working, and
- Protections against employer discrimination or retaliation when requesting or taking NY PFL.
NY PFL Funding
NY PFL is funded through employee payroll after-tax[1] deductions that are set each year to match the cost of coverage. Employers should report NY PFL employee contributions on Form W-2 using Box 14.[2]
Employers may choose to pay for the NY PFL employee contribution rate on behalf of their employees, but are not required to do so.
Employer Posting & Notice Requirements
Employers are required to conspicuously post a notice at their worksite (and electronically) to indicate their compliance with NY PFL requirements.
Employers that maintain an employee handbook must include a NY PFL policy that outlines employees’ rights and obligations, including how to file a claim for NY PFL. Employers that do not maintain a handbook must provide each employee a written notice regarding all of the employee's rights and obligations under NY PFL, including information on how to file a claim.
Click here for model NY PFL language that can be used to satisfy NY PFL notice requirements.
Interaction with Other Laws & Benefits
Note that NY PFL cannot be taken for an employee’s own serious health condition. As such, NY PFL does not replace disability benefits coverage. If an employee is eligible for both NY PFL and disability benefits, they may be able to receive benefits under each program during consecutive periods of time (not at the same time). Employees cannot take more than 26 weeks of combined disability and NY PFL benefits during a 52-consecutive calendar week period.
Click here for more information detailing how NY PFL interacts with other laws and benefits, including federal Family Medical Leave Act, Worker’s Compensation, and company-provided paid time off policies.
NY PFL Rates for 2026
The New York State Department of Financial Services evaluates the financial health of the NY PFL program every year and recently determined that the contribution rate for 2026 will be 0.432% of an employee’s gross wages – an 11.31% increase from the 2025 contribution rate of 0.388% in 2025.
The contribution rate will be capped at an annual maximum employee contribution of $411.91 — up from $354.53 in 2025, and an increase of $57.38. If an employee’s contributions reach the annual maximum employee contribution of $411.91 before the end of the 2026 calendar year, the employee is not liable for any additional contributions for that year.
The NY PFL benefit remains at 67% of the employee’s average weekly wage (AWW)[3], subject to a maximum weekly benefit amount of $1,228.53 for 2026, an increase of $51.21 from the 2025 maximum weekly benefit.
See below for a NY PFL reference chart with recent historical information:
|
Year
|
Maximum number of Weeks
|
Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount
|
Premium Contribution Rate
|
Maximum Employee Contribution
|
% of AWW
|
Statewide AWW
|
|
2023
|
12
|
$1,131.08
|
0.455%
|
$399.43
|
67%
|
$1,688.19
|
|
2024
|
12
|
$1,151.16
|
0.373%
|
$333.25
|
67%
|
$1,718.15
|
|
2025
|
12
|
$1,177.32
|
0.388%
|
$354.53
|
67%
|
$1,757.19
|
|
2026
|
12
|
$1,228.53
|
0.432%
|
$411.91
|
67%
|
$1,833.63
|
Employer Next Steps
Employers with at least one employee working in New York State are subject to NY PFL. As such, these employers should confirm with their payroll providers that the NY PFL contribution rates and maximum amounts are updated in their payroll systems for January 1, 2026.
Click here for additional NY PFL employer resources published by New York State.
On a final note, if you have recently become a covered employer under NY PFL due to hiring an employee working in New York State, you will need to obtain NY PFL insurance, which is generally added as a rider to an existing New York State disability insurance policy. Contact the Risk Strategies Absence Management team here for further assistance or with any questions.
Reminder — Other New York State Paid Leave Updates
For employers with employees working in New York State, click here for a previous article detailing other fairly recent New York State paid leave updates outlined below:
- New York became the first state in the nation to mandate paid prenatal leave starting in 2025.
- New York State employers are required to provide paid lactation break time for nursing employees.
Risk Strategies is here to help. Contact us directly here.
[1] Pursuant to the New York State Department of Tax Notice No. N-17-12.
[2] Form W-2 instructions confirm that employers may use Box 14 to report state disability insurance taxes withheld.
[3] See https://dol.ny.gov/new-york-state-average-weekly-wage-nysaww-0.
