Working parents with newborns are entitled to 12 weeks of paid family leave at a rate of 67% of earnings.
New York has implemented the Paid Family Leave policy since 2016, which is aimed at helping working parents choose between financial stability and family.
The parents are allowed to take paid family leave within the first year following the child’s birth. They are permitted to take a maximum of 12 weeks of paid family leave at a rate of 67% of their salary. The parents should note that the allowed number of leave days is based on the average number of working days per week. For instance, a parent who works an average of three days each week is allowed to take up to 36 days of family leave. Parents who work for the same company are allowed to take Paid Family Leave at the same time unless objected to by their employer.
In the case of intermittent leave, if there is a gap of more than three months between the paid family leave days, the law considers the subsequent leave as a new claim. Accordingly, a new request for Paid Family Leave must be submitted.
The employer has the authority to deny granting the leave
However, the employer has the authority to deny or reduce the scheduled paid family leave. As the law states, “an eligible employee may use intermittent or reduced schedule leave after the birth to be with a healthy newborn child only if the employer agrees”. The employer must include the reason in the FMLA policy and must treat all employees equally and fairly when doing so.
