Bill Text: NY A02059 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes light duty during pregnancy and parental leave for railroad employees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-10 - enacting clause stricken [A02059 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A02059-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2059

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 23, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. JOYNER -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Transportation

        AN ACT to amend the railroad law, in relation to establishing light duty
          during pregnancy and parental leave for railroad employees

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The railroad law is amended by adding two new sections 64-a
     2  and 64-b to read as follows:
     3    § 64-a. Light duty for employees. 1. Should any  employee  engaged  in
     4  the  service  of  any  railroad, including any commuter rail service, as
     5  defined by section ninety-seven-a of this article, owned or operated  by
     6  a  state  authority  or its subsidiary, as defined by section two of the
     7  public authorities law, who is pregnant be prevented by  such  pregnancy
     8  from  performing  the activities involved in her regular assigned duties
     9  due, but is able, as determined by the employee's medical  provider,  to
    10  perform specified types of light duty, the employer shall make available
    11  such light duty to the employee, provided, however, that such light duty
    12  shall enable her to continue to be entitled to her concurrent assignment
    13  earnings,  including increases thereof and fringe benefits, to which she
    14  would have been entitled  if  she  were  able  to  perform  her  regular
    15  assigned duties.
    16    2.  Nothing  in  this  section shall be deemed to diminish the rights,
    17  privileges, or remedies of any employee under any collective  bargaining
    18  agreement or employment contract.
    19    § 64-b. Parental leave for railroad employees. 1. For purposes of this
    20  section,  "parental  leave" shall mean any leave taken by an employee of
    21  any railroad, including any commuter rail service, as defined by section
    22  ninety-seven-a of this article, owned or operated by a  state  authority
    23  or  its  subsidiary, as defined by section two of the public authorities
    24  law, from work to bond with the employee's child during the first twelve

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06868-01-3
        A. 2059                             2

     1  months after the child's birth, or the first  twelve  months  after  the
     2  placement of the child for adoption or foster care with the employee.
     3    2. Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-four, railroad employ-
     4  ees  in  employment  for  twenty-six  or more consecutive weeks shall be
     5  eligible for parental leave benefits. Every such employee shall continue
     6  to be eligible for parental leave  benefits  until  the  termination  of
     7  employment with the employer. An employee regularly in the employment of
     8  an  employer  as  described in subdivision one of this section on a work
     9  schedule less than the employer's normal work week shall become eligible
    10  for parental leave benefits on the one hundred seventy-fifth day of such
    11  regular employment. An employee who is eligible for parental leave bene-
    12  fits shall not be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to have such
    13  employment terminated during any period he or she is eligible to receive
    14  benefits under this section with respect to such employment.
    15    3. The weekly benefit for parental leave that occurs on or after Janu-
    16  ary first, two thousand  twenty-four,  shall  not  exceed  twelve  weeks
    17  during  any  fifty-two  week  calendar  period  and shall be sixty-seven
    18  percent of the employee's average weekly wage. The entire period of  the
    19  leave  of  absence granted pursuant to this section shall not be charged
    20  against any other leave such employee is otherwise entitled to. Benefits
    21  may be payable to employees for parental leave taken  intermittently  or
    22  for  less  than  a  full work week in increments of one full day or one-
    23  fifth of the weekly benefit.
    24    4. Parental leave benefits shall be payable to  an  eligible  employee
    25  for  the  first  full day when parental leave is required and thereafter
    26  during the continuance of the need for parental leave. The first payment
    27  of benefits shall be due on the fourteenth day  of  parental  leave  and
    28  benefits  for  that  period  shall  be paid directly to the employee and
    29  thereafter benefits shall be due and payable bi-weekly in like manner.
    30    5. Nothing in this section shall be deemed  to  diminish  the  rights,
    31  privileges,  or remedies of any employee under any collective bargaining
    32  agreement or employment contract.
    33    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.