HR Alert: 2025 NYS Paid Family Leave Updates

RECENT BLOG POST
Check out our blog. We cover everything from car accidents to employment law and other hot legal topics.

Start the Conversation Today

We’ve written about New York’s Paid Family Leave Act in the past. New York State’s Workers’ Compensation Board Chair Clarissa M. Rodriguez recently announced some new updates and employee-favorable terms that go into effect on January 1, 2025.

New York Paid Family Leave

As we know by now, New York employers are required to offer paid family leave (PFL) to employees who meet the minimum time-worked requirement.

Full-time employees who work more than 20 hours each week become eligible for PFL after 26 consecutive weeks of employment.

Part-time employees who work fewer than 20 hours per week become eligible for PFL after working for 175 days. Note that the workdays need not be consecutive, so seasonal employees can qualify for this kind of leave, depending on their circumstances.

Under PFL, an eligible employee may take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for certain qualifying reasons. These reasons include:

  1. bonding with a new child,
  2. caring for a family member with a serious health condition, or
  3. assisting loved ones when a family member is an active duty servicemember and deployed abroad.

2025 Updates

Employees using PFL are entitled to receive 67% of their average weekly wage.

But if they’re a high-wage earner, that amount is capped at 67% of the current New York State Average Weekly Wage (AWW) which for 2025 is $1,757.19. This means that the maximum weekly benefit an employee using PFL can receive is $1,177.32.

The 2025 maximum weekly benefit increased by $26.26 over the 2024 maximum, which reflects a slight increase in New York State’s Average Weekly Wage.

Of course this doesn’t mean that your employee should be paid $1,177.32 automatically when taking PFL; rather, it serves as the maximum amount of wages to which she’s entitled. Remember that New York employers have insurance for this benefit, with employees paying in a small amount per pay period towards the premiums.  Your benefits administrator or short-term disability insurance carrier can provide the nitty-gritty details on this for you.

For payroll deduction purposes, the contribution from employees maxes out at 0.388% of their gross wages each pay period, with the maximum annual contribution being $354.53. Employees who earn less than the AWW will contribute less than the $354.53 maximum.

Additional Resources

There are multiple resources published by the State about NYS Paid Family Leave and the changes coming in 2025. They may be useful to you and your human resources professionals. For example, you can find out more details about PFL here.

The 2025 updates to PFL are found here.

New York has also created several resources specifically for employers, including a quick PFL guide, model language for your policies and procedures, and a statement of rights for paid family leave. These resources can be found at the very end of the 2025 updates to PFL.

If you have questions about New York’s PFL or any other employment-related mandate, feel free to contact us. We can be reached at 716.839.9700 or info@coppolalegal.com.

 

Lisa Coppola

Written by Lisa Coppola

Founder of The Coppola Firm

Lisa A. Coppola, Esq. understands the challenges her clients face, whether they’re starting a new business, taking their existing operations in a new direction, or facing a claim or threat.

Blog Categories

Call Us Now Message Us