Bill Text: NY S01968 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides that every public employer shall provide paid family leave benefits to the spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent of the employee who is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in the armed forces of the United States.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO LABOR [S01968 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S01968-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1968 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 16, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BROOKS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to family medical leave and military families 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,1229 U.S.C.S § 2612(a)(1)(e) and 29 C.F.R. S.825.126(a)(1)-(8),] arising 13 out of the fact that the spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent of 14 the employee is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending 15 call or order to active duty) in the armed forces of the United States. 16 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 212-b of the workers' compensation law, 17 as added by section 14 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is 18 amended to read as follows: 19 3. (a) An employee organization may, pursuant to collective bargain- 20 ing, opt in to paid family leave benefits on behalf of those public 21 employees it is either certified or recognized to represent, within the 22 meaning of article fourteen of the civil service law. Nothing in this 23 section shall prohibit an agreement to opt in to paid family leave 24 between the employee organization and any public employer. An employee 25 organization that has opted in to paid family leave benefits may, pursu- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03667-01-1S. 1968 2 1 ant to collective bargaining, opt out of it as is mutually agreed upon 2 between the employee organization and any public employer. 3 [b.] (b) For public employees who are not represented by an employee 4 organization, the public employer may opt-in to paid family leave bene- 5 fits within ninety days notice to such public employees. Following opt- 6 in by a public employer for public employees not represented by an 7 employee organization, the public employer may opt-out of paid family 8 leave benefits with twelve months notice to those public employees. 9 (c) (i) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, every employer 10 shall provide paid family leave benefits to the spouse, domestic part- 11 ner, child, or parent of the employee who is on active duty (or has been 12 notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in the armed 13 forces, national guard or reserves in accordance with the applicable 14 provisions of this article. 15 (ii) A covered servicemember or veteran is an eligible employee's 16 spouse, parent, son, daughter, or next of kin who is a member of the 17 armed forces, national guard or reserves, who is undergoing medical 18 treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, 19 or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious 20 injury or illness that was incurred by the member in the line of duty on 21 active duty in the armed forces (or existed before the beginning of the 22 member's active duty and was aggravated by service in the line of duty 23 on active duty in the armed forces); or a veteran who is undergoing 24 medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy for a serious injury or 25 illness and who was a member of the armed forces (including a member of 26 the national guard or reserves) at any time during the period of five 27 years preceding the date on which the veteran undergoes that medical 28 treatment, recuperation, or therapy. Leave is available on an intermit- 29 tent basis, as necessary. 30 (iii) Eligible employees are allowed up to twenty-six weeks of leave 31 in a single twelve-month period per covered servicemember or veteran per 32 injury. The twelve-month period must be measured forward from the start 33 date of the first use of military caregiver leave. Additional periods 34 of up to twenty-six weeks of leave may be taken in subsequent twelve- 35 month periods to care for a different servicemember or veteran or to 36 care for the same servicemember or veteran who has a subsequent serious 37 illness or injury. A husband and wife, who are both employed by the same 38 public employer, are limited to a combined twenty-six weeks of military 39 caregiver leave in a single twelve-month period per servicemember or 40 veteran, per injury. 41 (iv) An employee organization representing such employees may not 42 opt-out of such coverage pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. 43 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
