Effective March 18th, 2020 New York Governor Cuomo has signed the “Emergency Covid-19 Paid sick leave regulation”. https://www.lawandtheworkplace.com/files/2020/03/NY-Leave-Bill.pdf
Effective April 2nd, the Federal Government enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act which will provide paid leave for employers with less than 500 employees. New York benefits could be offset by benefits received under the Federal program.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employee-paid-leave
The New York regulation is intended to provide relief in the form of Paid Sick Leave, Paid Family Leave and /or Disability Benefits to covered employees subject to a precautionary or mandatory order of quarantine due to Covid-19 or to provide care for a minor child who is subject to an order.
The benefit structure depends on the size and annual net income of the employer:
https://paidfamilyleave.ny.gov/COVID19
| Businesses with 100 + Employees | Employers required to provide employees with at least 14 days of paid sick leave, during any mandatory or precautionary quarantine |
| State /public Employees | Same Standard as Businesses with 100+ |
| Businesses with 11 – 99 Employees | Employers required to provide 5 Days Paid Sick Leave. After 5 days, employees eligible for DBL and PFL coverage. These benefits would be paid concurrently with a maximum PFL benefit of $840.70 and a maximum DBL benefit of $2,043.92 per week. |
| Businesses 1- 10 Employees and net income of $1 million or more | Same Standards as businesses with 11-99 employees |
| Businesses of 1 – 10 Employees and net income less than $1 million | No requirement for employer paid sick leave, and the combination PFL/DBL benefit will be available for the duration of quarantine from day one. |
Other key points:
- Intended duration is 14 days; the 7 day waiting period for DBL is waived
- Combined DBL/PFL maximum is $2,884 per week.
- If an employer is closed, an employee may file for unemployment insurance.
- Coverage would not apply for employees who are able to work from home (remote)
- All DBL carriers including the NYSIF will be participating in a risk adjustment pool (page 4 of regulations)
Note all statutory DBL carriers are in contact with the State of NY through their legal departments to ensure compliance with this new regulation and will be releasing additional guidance. Like any new regulation, it is anticipated that questions will arise and therefore clarifications from the State of New York and/or our carriers may be required. As things develop we will do our best to keep you informed.
As experts in the NY DBL marketplace since 1949, we are here to assist (remotely), feel free to contact us with any questions!