Employer Resources for New York State Paid Family Leave posted by the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board

Since first launching in 2018, New York State Paid Family Leave (PFL) has provided critical benefits to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of working New Yorkers and their families. As the Board looks ahead to 2024, there are exciting updates to share!

New! 2024 employee contribution rate and weekly benefit

Good news! Employees will be paying less for PFL in 2024. The employee contribution rate will decrease to 0.373% of an employee’s gross wages each pay period, capped at an annual maximum of $333.25. This is $66.18 less than 2023. Employers may begin taking deductions at the new rate starting January 1, 2024.

Additionally, the maximum weekly benefit for employees taking PFL will rise to $1,151.16 for leave that begins on or after January 1, 2024. This is about $20 more per week than 2023.

Employer resources

New York State has a created several resources to help employers communicate Paid Family Leave updates to your employees.

• Model Language for Employee Materials – Updated for 2024 – provides model language you can use, either in an employee handbook or other written materials, and customize based on your PFL policies and procedures.
• Employee Notice of Paid Family Leave Payroll Deduction for 2024 – a template you can use to tell employees what their expected payroll deduction will be.
• Statement of Rights for Paid Family Leave – outlines employees’ PFL rights and steps to apply.
• PFL At-A-Glance – provides a snapshot of the benefit, along with information on who can request PFL and how.

New York State offers complete details on PFL at PaidFamilyLeave.ny.gov, including a special page with updates for 2024, where you’ll find the above employer resources along with frequently asked questions and other information. You can also view the employer page of the website for additional resources.

Employer webinars

In October, the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board hosted a Paid Family Leave webinar for employers and HR professionals. If you weren’t able to attend, you can view the recording or access the slides.

On Tuesday, December 12 at 12:00pm, the Board will be hosting a Q&A webinar for employers and HR professionals, where we’ll review the most frequently asked questions, and leave time to answer questions live. More information, and the link to join, is on the webinar page.  

 

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The Workers' Compensation Board is required address all the arguments raised by Claimant seeking benefits on administrative appeal and provide an explanation for its determination

This applicant for Workers' Compensation benefits [Claimant] worked as a mass transit customer service agent for the self-insured employer [Employer]. On January 14, 2021, Claimant was confronted by an emotionally disturbed person. This person came up to Claimant, then in her enclosed booth, and banged on the windows while screaming and threatening to kill her. Thereafter, claimant took a three-month unpaid leave from work under the Family and Medical Leave Act (29 USC §2601 et seq.) and was treated by a private medical provider. 

When claimant returned to work she suffered a panic attack, and her supervisor advised her to file a workers' compensation claim. Claimant was referred to a medical provider authorized by the Workers' Compensation Board, who diagnosed her with causally-related anxiety and acute stress reaction.

Employer submitted a First Report of Injury form on June 15, 2021, indicating the Claim Type as "M — Medical Only" and the Agreement to Compensation as "L — With Liability." The Workers' Compensation Board issued a Notice of Case Assembly and advised the parties and Claimant filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits on June 21, 2021, asserting that she sustained post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]. The following day, June 22, 2021, Claimant began treating with a licensed social worker, who diagnosed her with causally-related PTSD, opined that she remained unable to return to work at that time and submitted a medical report to the Board.

Employer controverted the claim and argued that, because the Board had not indexed the case, the 25-day time period in which to file a notice of controversy under Workers' Compensation Law §25 (2) (b) had not been triggered. A Workers' Compensation Law Judge [WCLJ] found prima facie medical evidence of PTSD, agreed that Employer was entitled to controvert the claim and, thus, afforded it the opportunity to schedule an independent medical examination. 

Employer later filed a Subsequent Report of Injury controverting and denying the claim based on, among other grounds, no compensable accident. Claimant's treatment providers were deposed in December 2021, and claimant testified at the next hearing regarding the incident and her inability to work.

The WCLJ credited Claimant's testimony but disallowed the claim, finding that the incident did not qualify as an accident in that Claimant testified that she frequently experienced verbal abuse while working in the transit system and, thus, did not establish that the stress that caused her psychiatric injury was greater than that which other similarly-situated workers experienced in a normal work environment.

Ultimately the Workers' Compensation Board [Boar] affirmed the decisions of the WCLJ, agreeing that, because it never indexed the claim, the provisions of Workers' Compensation Law §25 (2) (b) did not apply. The Board further upheld the WCLJ's finding of no compensable accident. Claimant appealed the Board's determination.

The Appellate Division reversed the Board's determination, noting the Board did not address any of the related arguments raised by Claimant, including:

1. Employer's First Report of Injury form, indicating acceptance of the claim with liability and that report was binding on Employer; and

2. Employer's subsequent actions in controverting the claim violated the purpose of 12 NYCRR 300.37(c).

The matter was remitted to the Board "for it to satisfy its obligation to address the issues raised by Claimant on administrative appeal and provide an explanation for its determination."

The Appellate Division also observed "The Attorney General elected not to participate in this matter, involving significant questions of statutory and regulatory interpretation, while urging this Court not to draw any adverse inference from that lack of participation. This was also the case the last time these arguments were raised to this Court" (see Matter of Williams v New York City Tr. Auth., 214 AD3d 1099) and "strongly encourage such participation on any potential appeal following this remittal".

Click HERE to access the decision of the Appellate Division posted on the Internet.