Bill Text: NY S08919 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Expands family leave eligibility to include participation in remote learning for certain employees who are the parents or guardians of certain children.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-09-09 - PRINT NUMBER 8919A [S08919 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S08919-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8919--A IN SENATE August 19, 2020 ___________ Introduced by Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to expanding family leave eligibility to include participation in remote learning for certain employees who are the parents or guardians of certain children The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 15 of section 201 of the workers' compensation 2 law, as added by section 2 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, 3 is amended to read as follows: 4 15. "Family leave" shall mean any leave taken by an employee from 5 work: (a) to participate in providing care, including physical or 6 psychological care, for a family member of the employee made necessary 7 by a serious health condition of the family member; or (b) to bond with 8 the employee's child during the first twelve months after the child's 9 birth, or the first twelve months after the placement of the child for 10 adoption or foster care with the employee; or (c) because of any quali- 11 fying exigency as interpreted under the family and medical leave act, 29 12 U.S.C.S § 2612(a)(1)(e) and 29 C.F.R. S.825.126(a)(1)-(8), arising out 13 of the fact that the spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent of the 14 employee is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or 15 order to active duty) in the armed forces of the United States; or (d) 16 to participate in remote learning where the employee has a child under 17 the age of twelve or over the age of twelve who has special learning 18 needs or has a medical or developmental disability requiring services or 19 accommodations, and the school such child attends is physically closed 20 during a pandemic or declared state disaster emergency as defined under 21 section twenty-eight of the executive law or when the child participates 22 in remote learning as a result of a declared state of disaster emergency 23 as defined under section twenty-eight of the executive law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD17129-02-0S. 8919--A 2 1 § 2. Section 203 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by 2 section 3 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 § 203. 1. Employees eligible for benefits under section two hundred 5 four of this article. Employees in employment of a covered employer for 6 four or more consecutive weeks and employees in employment during the 7 work period usual to and available during such four or more consecutive 8 weeks in any trade or business in which they are regularly employed and 9 in which hiring from day to day of such employees is the usual employ- 10 ment practice shall be eligible for disability benefits as provided in 11 section two hundred four of this article. Employees in employment of a 12 covered employer for twenty-six or more consecutive weeks and employees 13 in employment during the work period usual to and available during such 14 twenty-six or more consecutive weeks in any trade or business in which 15 they are regularly employed and in which hiring from day to day of such 16 employees is the usual employment practice shall be eligible for family 17 leave benefits as provided in section two hundred four of this article. 18 Every such employee shall continue to be eligible for family leave bene- 19 fits only during employment with a covered employer. Every such employee 20 shall continue to be eligible for disability benefits during such 21 employment and for a period of four weeks after such employment termi- 22 nates regardless of whether the employee performs any work for remunera- 23 tion or profit in non-covered employment. If during such four week peri- 24 od the employee performs any work for remuneration or profit for another 25 covered employer the employee shall become eligible for disability bene- 26 fits immediately with respect to that employment. In addition every such 27 employee who has previously completed four or more consecutive weeks in 28 employment with the covered employer for purposes of disability bene- 29 fits, or twenty-six or more consecutive weeks in employment with the 30 covered employer for purposes of paid family leave, and returns to work 31 with the same employer after an agreed and specified unpaid leave of 32 absence or vacation without pay shall become eligible for benefits imme- 33 diately with respect to such employment. An employee who during a period 34 in which he or she is eligible to receive benefits under subdivision two 35 of section two hundred seven of this article returns to employment with 36 a covered employer and an employee who is currently receiving unemploy- 37 ment insurance benefits or benefits under section two hundred seven of 38 this article and who returns to employment with a covered employer shall 39 become eligible for disability benefits immediately with respect to such 40 employment. An employee regularly in the employment of a single employer 41 on a work schedule less than the employer's normal work week shall 42 become eligible for disability leave benefits on the twenty-fifth day of 43 such regular employment and for purposes of paid family leave an employ- 44 er shall become eligible for benefits on the one hundred seventy-fifth 45 day of such regular employment. An employee who is eligible for disabil- 46 ity and family leave benefits in the employment of a covered employer 47 shall not be deemed, for the purposes of this article, to have such 48 employment terminated during any period he or she is eligible to receive 49 benefits under section two hundred four of this article with respect to 50 such employment. 51 2. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations regarding 52 eligibility of an employee for family leave pursuant to paragraph (d) of 53 subdivision fifteen of section two hundred one of this article which 54 shall include but not be limited to: 55 (a) Limiting eligibility for such family leave to periods where school 56 is in session; andS. 8919--A 3 1 (b) Limiting the eligibility for such family leave to one parent or 2 legal guardian per household concurrently. 3 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 204 of the workers' compensation law is 4 amended by adding a new paragraph (a-1) to read as follows: 5 (a-1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, family 6 leave taken pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision fifteen of section 7 two hundred one of this article shall be taken on an hourly basis which 8 shall not exceed a total of four hundred twenty hours in a single 9 covered period and shall be equal to the employee's current hourly wage 10 or salary equivalent. 11 § 4. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 205 of the workers' 12 compensation law, as amended by section 6 of part SS of chapter 54 of 13 the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows: 14 (b) for any day of disability or family leave during which the employ- 15 ee performed work for remuneration or profit, provided however, that 16 this paragraph shall not apply to family leave taken pursuant to para- 17 graph (d) of subdivision fifteen of section two hundred one of this 18 article; 19 § 5. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 3 of section 206 of the workers' 20 compensation law, as added by section 7 of part SS of chapter 54 of the 21 laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows: 22 (d) for any day in which claimant works at least part of that day for 23 remuneration or profit for the covered employer or for any other employ- 24 er while working for remuneration or profit, for him or herself, or 25 another person or entity, during the same or substantially similar work- 26 ing hours as those of the covered employer from which family leave bene- 27 fits are claimed, except that occasional scheduling adjustments with 28 respect to secondary employments shall not prevent receipt of family 29 leave benefits, provided however, that this paragraph shall not apply to 30 family leave taken pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision fifteen of 31 section two hundred one of this article. 32 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.