Bill Text: NY A05125 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides employees with the opportunity to maintain health benefits through the employer during approved unpaid leave of absence, as long as the employee continues to pay the employee contribution share through the employer.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to labor [A05125 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A05125-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          5125
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 6, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. PERRY -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Labor
        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to retaining health  benefits
          during approved unpaid leave of absence
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section  201-g  to
     2  read as follows:
     3    §  201-g.  Maintenance  of  health  benefits  during approved leave of
     4  absence.   1. Whenever an employer or  governmental  agency  permits  an
     5  employee  to  take  an  approved  unpaid leave of absence, such employer
     6  shall offer such employee the opportunity to maintain his or her  health
     7  care  benefits,  provided that such employee continues to pay his or her
     8  employee contribution to such health plan through the employer.
     9    2. For the purposes of this section, the following  terms  shall  have
    10  the following meanings:
    11    (a)  "Employee"  means  a  person who performs service for hire for an
    12  employer, for an average of twenty or more hours per week, and  includes
    13  all  individuals  employed  at any site owned or operated by an employer
    14  but shall not include an independent contractor.
    15    (b) "Employer" means a person or entity that employs  twenty  or  more
    16  employees  at at least one site and includes an individual, corporation,
    17  county, town, city, school district, public authority or  other  govern-
    18  mental subdivision of any kind.
    19    3.  An employer shall not retaliate against an employee for requesting
    20  or obtaining a leave of absence as provided in this section.
    21    4. The provisions of this section  shall  not  affect  or  prevent  an
    22  employer  from providing leave in addition to any other leave authorized
    23  by law. The provisions of this section shall not  affect  an  employee's
    24  rights with respect to any other employee benefit provided by law.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09382-01-7
        A. 5125                             2
     1    5.  The provisions of this section shall not affect any other terms of
     2  the employer's health care benefits as provided by contract or by law.
     3    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
     4  have become a law.