Bill Text: NY S03235 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides that the weekly benefit which the disabled employee is entitled to receive for disability commencing: on or after January first, two thousand twenty-eight shall be fifty percent of the employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed fifty percent of the state average weekly wage; on or after January first, two thousand twenty-nine shall be fifty-five percent of the employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed fifty-five percent of the state average weekly wage; on or after January first, two thousand thirty shall be sixty percent of the employee's weekly average wage but shall not exceed sixty percent of the state average weekly wage; and on or after January first of each succeeding year, shall be sixty-seven percent of the employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed sixty-seven percent of the state average weekly wage.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-24 - REFERRED TO LABOR [S03235 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S03235-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3235 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 24, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. COONEY, FERNANDEZ, GOUNARDES, SCARCELLA-SPANTON, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be commit- ted to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the weekly benefit of a disabled employee The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "equity in leave act". 3 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 204 of the workers' 4 compensation law, as amended by section 5 of part SS of chapter 54 of 5 the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows: 6 (b) The weekly benefit which the disabled employee is entitled to 7 receive for disability commencing: (i) on or after January first, two 8 thousand twenty-eight shall be fifty percent of the employee's average 9 weekly wage but shall not exceed fifty percent of the state average 10 weekly wage; (ii) on or after January first, two thousand twenty-nine 11 shall be fifty-five percent of the employee's average weekly wage but 12 shall not exceed fifty-five percent of the state average weekly wage; 13 (iii) on or after January first, two thousand thirty shall be sixty 14 percent of the employee's weekly average wage but shall not exceed sixty 15 percent of the state average weekly wage; and (iv) on or after January 16 first of each succeeding year, shall be sixty-seven percent of the 17 employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed sixty-seven percent 18 of the state average weekly wage. The weekly benefit which the disabled 19 employee is entitled to receive for disability commencing on or after 20 May first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine and prior to January first, two 21 thousand twenty-eight shall be one-half of the employee's weekly wage, 22 but in no case shall such benefit exceed one hundred seventy dollars; 23 except that if the employee's average weekly wage is less than twenty 24 dollars, the benefit shall be such average weekly wage. The weekly bene- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02485-01-5S. 3235 2 1 fit which the disabled employee is entitled to receive for disability 2 commencing on or after July first, nineteen hundred eighty-four shall be 3 one-half of the employee's weekly wage, but in no case shall such bene- 4 fit exceed one hundred forty-five dollars; except that if the employee's 5 average weekly wage is less than twenty dollars, the benefit shall be 6 such average weekly wage. The weekly benefit which the disabled employee 7 is entitled to receive for disability commencing on or after July first, 8 nineteen hundred eighty-three and prior to July first, nineteen hundred 9 eighty-four shall be one-half of the employee's average weekly wage, but 10 in no case shall such benefit exceed one hundred thirty-five dollars nor 11 be less than twenty dollars; except that if the employee's average week- 12 ly wage is less than twenty dollars the benefit shall be such average 13 weekly wage. The weekly benefit which the disabled employee is entitled 14 to receive for disability commencing on or after July first, nineteen 15 hundred seventy-four, and prior to July first, nineteen hundred eighty- 16 three, shall be one-half of the employee's average weekly wage, but in 17 no case shall such benefit exceed ninety-five dollars nor be less than 18 twenty dollars; except that if the employee's average weekly wage is 19 less than twenty dollars, the benefit shall be such average weekly wage. 20 The weekly benefit which the disabled employee is entitled to receive 21 for disability commencing on or after July first, nineteen hundred 22 seventy and prior to July first, nineteen hundred seventy-four shall be 23 one-half of the employee's average weekly wage, but in no case shall 24 such benefit exceed seventy-five dollars nor be less than twenty 25 dollars; except that if the employee's average weekly wage is less than 26 twenty dollars the benefit shall be such average weekly wage. For any 27 period of disability less than a full week, the benefits payable shall 28 be calculated by dividing the weekly benefit by the number of the 29 employee's normal work days per week and multiplying the quotient by the 30 number of normal work days in such period of disability. The weekly 31 benefit for a disabled employee who is concurrently eligible for bene- 32 fits in the employment of more than one covered employer shall, within 33 the maximum and minimum herein provided, be one-half of the total of the 34 employee's average weekly wages received from all such covered employ- 35 ers, and shall be allocated in the proportion of their respective aver- 36 age weekly wage payments. 37 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 209 of the workers' 38 compensation law, as amended by section 10 of part SS of chapter 54 of 39 the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows: 40 (a) Disability benefits. The contribution of each such employee to the 41 cost of disability benefits provided by this article shall be one-half 42 of one per centum of the employee's wages paid [to him or her] on and 43 after July first, nineteen hundred fifty and prior to January first, two 44 thousand twenty-eight, but not in excess of sixty cents per week. The 45 contribution of each such employee to the cost of employee disability 46 benefits provided by this article shall be one-half of one per centum of 47 the employee's wages paid on and after January first, two thousand twen- 48 ty-eight, but not in excess of two dollars and twenty cents per week. 49 § 4. Section 203-a of the workers' compensation law, as added by 50 section 4 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to 51 read as follows: 52 § 203-a. [Retaliatory] Interference and retaliatory action prohibited 53 for disability and family leave. 1. The provisions of section one 54 hundred twenty of this chapter and section two hundred forty-one of this 55 article shall be applicable to disability and family leave.S. 3235 3 1 2. It shall be unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, 2 or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided 3 under this article, including: (a) failing to comply with the require- 4 ments of section two hundred twenty-nine of this article, such as by 5 failing to provide an employee with the notice of rights required by 6 such section; (b) failing to provide an employee with complete and accu- 7 rate information related to the submission of a claim for disability or 8 family leave benefits, such as by failing to inform the employee that it 9 is the employee's responsibility to submit the completed application 10 materials to the employer's insurance carrier or by failing or refusing 11 to provide the employee with the name of the employer's insurance carri- 12 er and/or the employer's policy number with said insurance carrier; (c) 13 failing to accurately complete and return to the employee the disability 14 or family leave application paperwork within the time period specified 15 by the chair; (d) providing the employer's insurance carrier with inac- 16 curate information about an employee's employment as it relates to the 17 employee's eligibility for disability or family leave benefits; (e) 18 refusing to allow an employee who has requested disability or family 19 leave under this article to begin leave until the employer's insurance 20 carrier has approved the employee's claim for disability or family leave 21 benefits; (f) failing or refusing to carry disability or family leave 22 insurance as required by section two hundred eleven of this article; (g) 23 threatening termination, demotion, discipline, suspension, or reduction 24 of hours or wages, reporting or threatening to report an employee's 25 suspected citizenship or immigration status or the suspected citizenship 26 or immigration status of a family member of the employee to a federal, 27 state, or local agency, or threatening any other action against an 28 employee seeking to take disability or family leave that might reason- 29 ably deter an employee from exercising a right provided under this arti- 30 cle; or (h) threatening or taking any other action that may have the 31 effect of preventing or discouraging an employee from exercising a right 32 provided under this article. 33 3. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the rights, 34 privileges, or remedies of any employee under any collective bargaining 35 agreement or employment contract. 36 § 5. Section 203-b of the workers' compensation law, as added by 37 section 4 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to 38 read as follows: 39 § 203-b. Reinstatement following disability or family leave. Any 40 eligible employee of a covered employer who takes leave, including leave 41 for disability, under this article shall be entitled, on return from 42 such leave, to be restored by the employer to the position of employment 43 held by the employee when the leave commenced, or to be restored to a 44 comparable position with comparable employment benefits, pay and other 45 terms and conditions of employment. The taking of family leave or leave 46 due to a disability shall not result in the loss of any employment bene- 47 fit accrued prior to the date on which the leave commenced. Nothing in 48 this section shall be construed to entitle any restored employee to the 49 accrual of any seniority or employment benefits during any period of 50 leave, or any right, benefit or position to which the employee would 51 have been entitled had the employee not taken the leave. 52 § 6. Section 203-c of the workers' compensation law, as added by 53 section 4 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to 54 read as follows: 55 § 203-c. Health insurance during disability or family leave. In 56 accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. §§S. 3235 4 1 2601-2654), during any period of disability or family leave the employer 2 shall maintain any existing health benefits of the employee in force for 3 the duration of such leave as if the employee had continued to work from 4 the date [he or she] such employee commenced disability or family leave 5 until the date [he or she returns] of return to employment. 6 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
