Relates to paid family leave benefits, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4727
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 5, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. BRONSON, HUNTER, SHIMSKY, TAPIA, HEVESI, LEVEN-
   BERG, McMAHON, JACOBSON, DAVILA, COLTON -- read once and  referred  to
   the Committee on Labor
 
 AN  ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to extending
   paid family leave benefits

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 203 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by
 section  3  of  part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to
 read as follows:
   § 203. Employees eligible for benefits under section two hundred  four
 of  this article. Employees in employment of a covered employer for four
 or more consecutive weeks and employees in employment  during  the  work
 period usual to and available during such four or more consecutive weeks
 in  any  trade  or  business in which they are regularly employed and in
 which hiring from day to day of such employees is the  usual  employment
 practice  shall  be  eligible  for  disability  benefits  as provided in
 section two hundred four of this article.  Employees in employment of  a
 covered  employer for twenty-six or more consecutive weeks and employees
 in employment during the work period usual to and available during  such
 twenty-six  or  more consecutive weeks in any trade or business in which
 they are regularly employed and in which hiring from day to day of  such
 employees  is the usual employment practice shall be eligible for family
 leave benefits as provided in section two hundred four of this  article.
 FOR  PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE, EMPLOYEES WHO PERFORM CONSTRUCTION, DEMO-
 LITION,  RECONSTRUCTION,  EXCAVATION,  REHABILITATION,  REPAIRS,   RENO-
 VATIONS, ALTERATIONS, OR IMPROVEMENTS FOR MULTIPLE EMPLOYERS PURSUANT TO
 A  COLLECTIVE  BARGAINING  AGREEMENT  SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR FAMILY LEAVE
 BENEFITS IF THEY WERE EMPLOYED FOR AT LEAST TWENTY-SIX OF THE LAST THIR-
 TY-NINE WEEKS BY ANY COVERED EMPLOYER WHICH IS SIGNATORY TO A COLLECTIVE
 BARGAINING AGREEMENT. Every such employee shall continue to be  eligible
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00216-01-5
 A. 4727                             2
 
 for  family leave benefits only during employment with a covered employ-
 er. Every such employee shall continue to  be  eligible  for  disability
 benefits  during  such  employment  and for a period of four weeks after
 such  employment  terminates regardless of whether the employee performs
 any work for remuneration or profit in non-covered employment. If during
 such four week period the employee performs any work for remuneration or
 profit for another covered employer the employee shall  become  eligible
 for  disability benefits immediately with respect to that employment. In
 addition every such employee who has previously completed four  or  more
 consecutive  weeks  in employment with the covered employer for purposes
 of disability benefits, or  twenty-six  or  more  consecutive  weeks  in
 employment  with the covered employer for purposes of paid family leave,
 and returns to work with the same employer after an agreed and specified
 unpaid leave of absence or vacation without pay  shall  become  eligible
 for  benefits immediately with respect to such employment.  FOR PURPOSES
 OF THIS ARTICLE, EMPLOYEES WHO PERFORM CONSTRUCTION, DEMOLITION,  RECON-
 STRUCTION,  EXCAVATION,  REHABILITATION,  REPAIRS,  RENOVATIONS,  ALTER-
 ATIONS, OR IMPROVEMENTS FOR MULTIPLE EMPLOYERS PURSUANT TO A  COLLECTIVE
 BARGAINING AGREEMENT AND WHO BECAME ELIGIBLE FOR PAID FAMILY LEAVE BENE-
 FITS  BY  WORKING AT LEAST TWENTY-SIX OF THE LAST THIRTY-NINE WEEKS, AND
 WHO RETURN TO WORK AFTER AN AGREED AND SPECIFIED UNPAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE
 OR VACATION WITHOUT PAY WITH THE SAME OR DIFFERENT EMPLOYER SHALL BECOME
 ELIGIBLE FOR FAMILY LEAVE BENEFITS  IMMEDIATELY  WITH  RESPECT  TO  SUCH
 EMPLOYMENT.  IN  THE CASE OF EMPLOYEES WHO PERFORM CONSTRUCTION, DEMOLI-
 TION, RECONSTRUCTION, EXCAVATION, REHABILITATION, REPAIRS,  RENOVATIONS,
 ALTERATIONS,  OR  IMPROVEMENTS  FOR  MULTIPLE  EMPLOYERS  PURSUANT  TO A
 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT WHO ARE LAID-OFF AND  RECEIVE  UNEMPLOY-
 MENT  BENEFITS,  SUCH EMPLOYEES SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR FAMILY LEAVE BENE-
 FITS UPON RETURNING TO WORK IF THEY ARE OTHERWISE  QUALIFIED  BY  HAVING
 WORKED  AT  LEAST  TWENTY-SIX OF THE LAST THIRTY-NINE WEEKS. An employee
 who during a period in which [he or she] SUCH EMPLOYEE  is  eligible  to
 receive  benefits  under subdivision two of section two hundred seven of
 this article returns to  employment  with  a  covered  employer  and  an
 employee  who  is currently receiving unemployment insurance benefits or
 benefits under section two hundred seven of this article and who returns
 to employment with a covered employer shall become eligible for disabil-
 ity benefits immediately with respect to such employment.   An  employee
 regularly in the employment of a single employer on a work schedule less
 than the employer's normal work week shall become eligible for disabili-
 ty leave benefits on the twenty-fifth day of such regular employment and
 for  purposes of paid family leave an employer shall become eligible for
 benefits on the one hundred seventy-fifth day of  such  regular  employ-
 ment.  An employee who is eligible for disability and family leave bene-
 fits in the employment of a covered employer shall not  be  deemed,  for
 the  purposes of this article, to have such employment terminated during
 any period [he or she] SUCH EMPLOYEE is  eligible  to  receive  benefits
 under  section  two  hundred  four  of this article with respect to such
 employment.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.