Who’s Taking Advantage of New York Paid Family Leave?
What Our Paid Family Leave Data Shows Us
Bonding is the #1 Claim
How are they taking it?
Data shows that not all claimants are taking PFL in one chunk, with about 60% of claimants were using it intermittently in the first half of the year. Paid Family Bonding Leave can also be taken in increments of as little as 1 day at a time for up to a year after the date of the birth, adoption or foster care. Example of how an employee who
works a typical 5-day, 40-hour work week might take DBL and intermittent PFL:
How is Paid Family Leave Being Used in Conjunction with Disability Leave?
Employers need to be prepared to adjust to maternity leaves that could now be up to 14 weeks with the combination of Disability and Paid Family Leave.
The Beginning of 2018 Marked the Launch of New York’s Paid Family Leave
The beginning of 2018 marked the launch of New York’s Paid Family Leave Act (PFL). As the nation’s strongest and most comprehensive paid family leave act to date, agents, employers and employees are all learning to navigate into this new territory.
While the new law is a major step forward for those advocating for better paid leave options for families, employers are faced with new challenges from a staffing perspective. Knowing how paid family leave is taken can help agents prepare their clients for tracking time off, finding temporary coverage and ensuring compliance with the requirements.
AmTrust Financial’s disability team
Analyzed our initial claims data to understand how paid family leave is used, and what we can learn from the trends we are seeing. Our data helped us determine:
- Who is taking advantage of the new law
- The size of the average claim by segment
- Which companies are most likely to report a PFL claim
New York’s Required Paid Family Leave Act
(PFL) went into effect at the beginning of 2018. This new law provides NY employees with job-protected, paid leave to:
- Bond with a newborn
- Care for a loved one with a serious illness
- Tend to family matters when a loved one is called to active military service
Who is Taking it?
19% of bonding claims were made by males
What’s Changing?
Paid Family Leave is based on a rolling 52-week period. You can use up to eight weeks in 2018, 10 weeks in 2019 and 2020 and 12 weeks in 2021.
Click here for the full 2019 Claims Benefit Changes. Learn More
For more information including who’s eligible, how to add PFL to your insurance coverage and advice for processing claims, visit AmTrust’s
New York’s Paid Family Leave Act page.