On Wednesday, June 20, the New York State Legislature passed an amendment to the state’s Paid Family Leave Act (PFL), adding “bereavement leave” as a qualifying reason for leave. The amendment will grant virtually all private-sector employees partially-paid, fully-protected leave to grieve and heal following the passing of a family member. Employers should note that the amendment will not immediately impact their PFL program; once signed into law, the bereavement leave amendment will not take effect until January 1, 2020.

The state’s Paid Family Leave Act went into effect on January 1, 2018. Currently, eligible employees may take PFL for three qualifying reasons: (1) to provide care for a family member with a serious health condition, (2) to bond with their newly born or adopted child, and (3) to attend to a qualifying exigency arising out of a family member’s military service. The amendment now adds a fourth qualifying reason for leave: “leave taken for the purposes of bereavement due to the death of a family member.” The amendment will require employees to provide notice of bereavement leave “as soon as practicable.” In cases where an employee’s family member passes away while the employee was providing care, the employee will be able to immediately transition their remaining PFL time to bereavement leave.

The amendment passed with significant bipartisan support, sponsored in the State Assembly by Democrat Joe Morelle and in the State Senate by Republican Rich Funke.

The amount of leave and cash benefits under PFL will increase annually until 2021. Assuming the bereavement leave amendment is signed as-is by Governor Cuomo, eligible employees will be able to take 10 weeks of bereavement leave starting in 2020, while receiving 60% of their average weekly wage. In the interim, employers should evaluate their current leave policies and practices. The full PFL implementation calendar is below:  

For more on Paid Family Leave, please join us either in-person or via webinar this Thursday, June 28, as we will discuss developments and insights from the first six months of the Paid Family Leave Act.