New York Paid Family Leave and Disability Benefits Leave

Updated December 23, 2024 20:30

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	NY Disability Benefits Law (NY DBL)	NY Paid Family Leave (NY PFL)
Description	Leave is due to one’s own disability. Examples include: a non-work-related injury or illness, or during pregnancy and/or childbirth for the birthing parent.	Leave is intended to be used to care for others. Examples include: bonding with a new child, caring for an ill family member, or for a qualifying emergency related to a family member’s military duty or call to active duty.
Eligibility	Full-time employees after working 4 consecutive work weeks Part-time employees after working 25 days in a calendar year Owners NYDBL eligibility transfers when entering new employment	Full-time employees after working 26 weeks for same employer Part-time employees after working 175 days for the same employer NYPFL eligibility does *NOT* transfer when entering new employment, it resets.
Premiums	100% employer-paid premium: $3.47 per eligible employee per month	100% employee-paid premium: 0.388% of gross weekly wages, capped at an annual maximum of $354.53
Benefit Payout Amount	50% of NYS Average Weekly Wage up to with $170 maximum weekly benefit	67% of NYS Average Weekly Wage, up to a $1,177.32 maximum weekly benefit
Maximum Duration	26 weeks	12 weeks
Payments Start	8th consecutive day of disability There is a 7-day waiting period where no benefits are paid. Benefits begin on the eighth consecutive day of disability If an employee has been disabled more than seven days, the employer must provide them with a Statement of Rights under the Disability Benefits Law (Form DB-271S) within five days of learning that they are disabled (WCL §229[2]).	1st day of qualified paid leave event
State Resources	NY DBL Overview	NY PFL Overview

Can an employee take NY Paid Family Leave and NY Disability Benefits together?

New York Disability Benefits and New York Paid Family Leave benefits cannot be claimed at the same time. They can, however, be taken consecutively. Combined, NYDBL and NYPFL must not amount to more than the 26-week benefit max during any 52 consecutive calendar weeks.

NY PFL, NY DBL and Other Types of Leave

Employees may also have access to additional payments during leave under company leave of absence policies, and/or other paid or unpaid leave benefits related to different reasons for leave. These include Short-Term Disability (STD) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

If employees are using a company leave policy in addition to state benefits like NY PFL or NY DBL, they may choose to utilize any banked vacation or PTO to receive additional pay during any unpaid or partially-paid portion of their leave (though employers cannot require them to do so). However, employees cannot use NY PFL or NY DBL while receiving workers’ compensation benefits if they are not working.

Short-Term Disability (STD)

Short-Term Disability is a private insurance policy that provides partial wage replacement for eligible, enrolled employees who are unable to work due to injury or illness, up to a maximum benefit amount. NY PFL cannot be taken concurrently with STD, though employees may be eligible to use them consecutively. However, NY DBL can run concurrently with STD, and is typically taken before NY PFL if an employee is eligible for both during the same leave. It’s important to note that if STD and NY DBL are utilized concurrently, the STD benefit amount will be reduced by the amount issued by NY DBL.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

FMLA is a United States labor law that provides job-protected, unpaid leave for employees for qualified medical and family reasons. If an employee has an event that qualifies for leave under both FMLA and Paid Family Leave, and the employer is covered under both laws, the employer can require them to run concurrently. In order for the two types of leaves to run together, the employer must notify the employee that the leave qualifies for both FMLA and Paid Family Leave, and that it will be designated as such. While employers cannot require employees to use paid time off while on NYPFL, employers can compel an employee to use paid time off while on FMLA.

How are taxes impacted if an employee files a claim for NY PFL or NY DBL?

New York Paid Family Leave

Employees would receive the benefit payout without taxes withheld, which needs to be reported on a Form 1099-Misc as taxable, non-wage income. Employees will receive the Form 1099 from MetLife, which they would include when they file their personal income tax returns. The NY PFL benefit earnings will be subject to federal taxes. Paid Family Leave benefits are not subject to employee or employer NY state income taxes, FICA, FUTA or SUTA.

New York Disability Benefits Law

Employees would receive the benefit payout pre-tax, which will be reported on a Form W-2 as taxable, non-wage income. Justworks will provide the Forms W-2 and this will be available in their Justworks profile under Documents > Tax Documents. Employees would include this when they file their personal income tax returns. The earnings will be subject to Federal (FICA) taxes and State Income taxes.

Filing a claim

Justworks uses MetLife to administer NY PFL and NY DBL benefits. If an eligible employee wishes to make a claim, there are three ways in which they can do so:

1. Online

2. Via phone

3. Via fax or mail

Note: New York State requires a paper version of the NY PFL claim forms. If an employee files their claim online, they must also submit their completed paper version of the same claim forms to MetLife. If an employee files online first, MetLife will reach out to them to have them submit their paper claim.

For more information on these options, visit: How To File a Claim for MetLife Benefits with Justworks

Disclaimer

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal or tax advice. If you have any legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, then you should consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.