Paid Family Leave
Effective: 1/1/18
General Provisions
New York’s Paid Family Leave program provides wage replacement to eligible employees to help them bond with a child, care for a close relative with a serious health condition, or help relieve family pressures when someone is called to active military service.
Eligible employees will continue their health insurance with the University while out on leave. If you contribute to the cost of your health insurance, you must continue to pay your portion of the premium cost while on Paid Family Leave. If an employee uses paid time off to supplement the PFL, payroll deductions for Health Insurance will be taken, otherwise the employee will be required to pay their portion by check or cash during the period of their leave.
PFL and FMLA leave can run concurrently if the reason for the employees’ leave qualifies under both laws and the employee qualifies for both leaves. Alfred Universities FMLA policies read that an employee must use all accrued time before going unpaid, therefore, if an event qualifies for both FMLA and PFL, we will require you use your accrued time to make up the percentage that PFL is not covering. If the event qualifies as only PFL employees cannot be required to use vacation or other paid time off benefits prior to or during PFL. It is important to remember that leave for an employee's own illness is not covered by PFL.
Non Faculty Employees who regularly work at least 20 hours a week will be eligible for PFL benefits after 26 consecutive weeks of employment, and employees who work fewer than 20 hours a week will be eligible after 175 worked days. Participation in the program is not optional for Non-Faculty employees.
New parents can use the leave for baby bonding in the first year after a child's birth, adoption or foster placement. Employees can also use the paid leave when a family member has a serious health condition or is called to active military duty.
Family members under the new law include: spouses, domestic partners, children, parents, grandparents and grandchildren. A “parent” or “child” is defined as: biological, adoptive, step, foster, or in-law parental relationships
| Year | Weeks Available | Max % of Employee Average Weekly Wage | Cap % of State Average Weekly Wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 8 | 50% | 50% |
| 2019 | 10 | 55% | 55% |
| 2020 | 10 | 60% | 60% |
| 2021 | 12 | 67% | 67% |
The maximum benefit is capped at the rate that an employee earning the state's average weekly salary would receive through the program. The benefit will be capped at 67 percent of the state's average weekly salary when the program is fully rolled out in 2021.
For example, in 2019, an employee who makes $1,000 a week would receive a benefit of $550 a week (55% of $1,000). Another employee who makes $2,000 a week would receive a benefit of $746.41, because this employee is capped at one-half of New York State's Average Weekly Wage (NYS AWW) of $1,357.11. 55% of that amount is the $746.41 benefit.
PFL is funded through payroll deductions from employees. 0.00153 of the employee’s weekly wage (capped at New York State’s current average weekly wage of $1,357.11** in 2019). This translates into a 2019 maximum contribution of $2.08/week for employee deductions from their paychecks. The Average Weekly Wage is set every year after a comprehensive analysis by the New York State Department of Labor.
PFL may be received on an intermittent basis, in increments of one full day. An employee who uses PFL on an intermittent basis is required to provide Alfred University with notice as soon as practicable before each day of intermittent leave.
The regulations state that employees who take leave for their own illness and to care for a family member in the same 52-week period may only receive up to a combined total of 26 weeks of paid leave under state short-term disability and PFL benefits.
Eligible employees may take the maximum benefit length in any given 52-week period. The 52-week clock starts on the first day the employee takes Paid Family Leave. Employees must give a 30 days’ notice for foreseeable leave.
Your leave may qualify for Paid Family Leave and Family Medical Leave Act, Human Resources will determine this. During Paid Family Leave you are not required to use any accrued vacation, sick, merit, personal/floating holiday. However, you may elect to use your accrued time to equal 100% of your pay.
Maternity and Paternity Leave
Whether you are a parent expecting, fostering, or adopting a child, you deserve to take time to care for your child without having to sacrifice your savings or your job. With proper documentation, in 2018, you may be eligible for up to 8 weeks of employee-funded Paid Family Leave.
Paid Family Leave only begins after birth and is not available for prenatal conditions. A parent may take Paid Family Leave during the first 12 months following the birth, adoption, or fostering of a child.
Caring for a Close Relative with a Serious Health Condition
Employees have the right to be with their families in times of need without having to put their economic security at risk. The time you spend caring for a loved one with a serious health condition is critical. A close relative includes:
- Spouse, Domestic partner, Child, Parent, Parent-in-law, Grandparent, and/or Grandchild A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:
- Inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility; or Continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider.
For example, you need one or more full days to care for your mom when she undergoes chemotherapy; or your dad is having surgery followed by extensive recuperation; or your child is undergoing intense psychotherapy and is unable to attend school for a period of time. You can take Paid Family Leave in these types of instances.
Active Duty Deployment
Paid Family Leave is available for families eligible for time off under the military provisions in the federal Family Medical Leave Act when a spouse, child, domestic partner or parent of the employee is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order of active duty. Paid Family Leave cannot be used for one’s own disability or qualifying military event. It may only be taken to care for your: Spouse, Domestic partner, Child, and/or Parent.
When an employee has a foreseeable situation, they should provide The University 30 days advance notice of their intention to use Paid Family Leave. If the event was not foreseeable, the employee must notify Human Resources and their Supervisor as soon as practical.
An employee should submit a completed claim package to the University’s Paid Family Leave insurance carrier CIGNA within 30 days of their first day of paid leave. CIGNA must process the claim and issue a determination within 18 days.
When filing a Paid Family Leave claim, an employee must submit supporting documentation to CIGNA as detailed here:
Childbirth
The documentation requirement for a claim for Paid Family Leave to bond with a newly born child depends on whether the applicant is the birth mother or the second parent.
The birth mother must submit a birth certificate, if available, or documentation of pregnancy or birth from a health care provider. The document must include the mother’s name and the child’s due date or birth date. The second parent must submit, if available, a birth certificate naming them as a parent. If a birth certificate naming the second parent is not available, the second parent may submit a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity or a Court Order of Filiation naming them as a parent. If those documents are not available, the second parent can submit birth documentation from the birth mother’s health care provider and either a marriage certificate or evidence of a civil union or domestic partnership to demonstrate the relationship to the birth mother. If none of these documents are available, the second parent may submit other documentary evidence of parental relationship to the child, to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the carrier.
Foster Care
A claim for Paid Family Leave to bond with a fostered child requires the submission of a letter of placement issued by a county or city department of social services or local voluntary agency. If a second parent is not named in documentation, a copy of the document plus a document verifying the relation to the parent named in the foster care placement will be needed.
Adoption
A claim for Paid Family Leave to bond with an adopted child requires a court document finalizing adoption, or, for Paid Family Leave taken before the adoption is complete, a document showing that the adoption process is underway. Examples of proof of a pending adoption include a signed statement from an attorney, adoption agency or adoption-related social service provider that the employee is in the process of adopting a child.
If the second parent is not named in that document, they must also file documentation verifying the relationship to the parent named in the adoption.
Serious Health Condition
A claim for Paid Family Leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition requires a medical certification, completed by the care recipient’s health care provider.
An authorization for personal health disclosure form is required by the HIPAA Privacy Rule and must be completed by the care recipient and retained on file with the health care provider in order to submit the required medical information.
Active Military Duty Deployment
A claim for Paid Family Leave to assist loved ones when a family member is deployed abroad on active military duty generally requires either a PFL-5 “Military Qualifying Event” certification or a US Department of Labor “Certificate of Qualifying Exigency for Military Family Leave.” Those forms include (1) military documentation of the family member’s deployment or impending deployment (active duty orders or other notice from the military), and (2) documentation of the reason for leave.
PFL leave is job-protected, meaning that upon returning from PFL, an employee is entitled to reinstatement to his/her prior position, or to a comparable position with comparable, pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.
Please visit the official NY State website for all PFL related matters.
Here you can obtain access to Alfred Universities PFL forms that you may need to file your claim.