New York State established the Paid Family Leave Program (PFL), with benefits beginning effective January 1, 2018. The program provides employees paid time off to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or assist loved ones when an immediate family member is deployed abroad on active military service. Most often, PFL is used by mothers and fathers when a new baby is born, adopted, or fostered.
The question was recently raised if a pregnant mother takes a medical leave from her duties as a volunteer firefighter, could she receive LOSAP points for this period of leave? The thought process was that the mother was going to receive PFL benefits for her leave from her employer, so could points also be awarded for LOSAP purposes?
The short answer is no. There is no PFL equivalent in the New York State LOSAP statute.
It may be natural to extrapolate that the LOSAP statute should be amended to include a quasi-PFL provision. However, it is critical to remember two important facts about PFL:
- While PFL is mandatory for private employers, public employers have to opt-in for this coverage. In plain English, PFL it is not mandatory for public employers.
- Typically, PFL benefits are paid by employee contributions, though an employer does have the option to pay for the benefit. Those contributions are used to pay the insurance premiums for the policy that actually provides the PFL benefit. Generally speaking, an employee’s contribution for New York State PFL in 2024 will be 0.373% of gross wages up to a maximum of $333.25.
There is a common misconception that PFL benefits are mandatory or a “free” benefit. In reality, unless the employer has elected to pay for coverage, employees are paying the premiums required to provide the PFL benefit.
It is important to remember that LOSAPs are non-contributory plans by design, and so the participating volunteer does not have the ability to contribute to a LOSAP. This is a necessary distinction from other benefit programs. As a result, there isn’t a direct line to apply the literal concept and parameters of the NYS PFL law to LOSAP.
The original question was regarding a pregnancy leave. If we ignore the other eligible qualifying events that are covered by PFL and focus just on granting points for a pregnancy leave, the legislature must decide if it should be an optional point system category or a mandatory provision like military leave points. Then parameters such as documentation requirements and the number of points to award, and for how long, would need to be determined.
The information provided herein about Paid Family Leave in New York is general and not meant to be legal advice. Please speak to your attorney or insurance agent for more information about PFL. Firefly does not provide legal advice or sell insurance policies.
Leave a Reply