Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official source posted by the New York State Senate, fetched 2026-08-11. Nothing is edited or removed. Where this bill amends existing law, language marked for deletion in the official source appears here in brackets. The official bill page.
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8795
I N S E N A T E
January 8, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to extending
paid family leave benefits to certain construction workers; and to
amend a chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the workers' compensation
law relating to extending paid family leave benefits, as proposed in
legislative bills numbers S. 50 and A. 4727, in relation to the effec-
tiveness thereof
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 201 of the workers' compensation law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 25 to read as follows:
25. "CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEE" MEANS EMPLOYEES WHO PERFORM CONSTRUCTION,
DEMOLITION, RECONSTRUCTION, EXCAVATION, REHABILITATION, REPAIRS, RENO-
VATIONS, ALTERATIONS, OR IMPROVEMENTS FOR MULTIPLE EMPLOYERS PURSUANT TO
A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT.
§ 2. Section 203 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by a
chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the workers' compensation law
relating to extending paid family leave benefits, as proposed in legis-
lative bills numbers S. 50 and A. 4727, 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.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00216-02-6
S. 8795 2
For purposes of this article, CONSTRUCTION employees [who perform
construction, demolition, reconstruction, excavation, rehabilitation,
repairs, renovations, alterations, or improvements for multiple employ-
ers pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement] shall be eligible for
family leave benefits WITH THE COVERED EMPLOYER IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING
THE PERIOD OF FAMILY LEAVE if [they were employed] THE EMPLOYEE WAS IN
EMPLOYMENT AND WORKED THE EMPLOYER'S NORMAL WORK WEEK for at least twen-
ty-six of the last thirty-nine weeks [by] WITH any covered employer
which is signatory to a collective bargaining agreement. Every such
employee shall continue to be eligible for family leave benefits only
during employment with a covered employer. 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 regard-
less 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 bene-
fits 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 bene-
fits, 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 imme-
diately with respect to such employment. For purposes of this article,
CONSTRUCTION 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
benefits by working IN THE EMPLOYMENT OF A COVERED EMPLOYER AND WORKED
THE EMPLOYER'S NORMAL WORK WEEK FOR 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 differ-
ent employer, shall [become] BE IMMEDIATELY eligible for family leave
benefits [immediately with respect to such employment] WITH THE COVERED
EMPLOYER IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE PERIOD OF FAMILY LEAVE. In the case
of CONSTRUCTION employees [who perform construction, demolition, recon-
struction, excavation, rehabilitation, repairs, renovations, alter-
ations, or improvements for multiple employers pursuant to a collective
bargaining agreement] who are laid-off and receive unemployment bene-
fits, such employees shall be eligible for family leave benefits WITH
THE COVERED EMPLOYER IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE PERIOD OF FAMILY LEAVE
upon returning to work if they are otherwise qualified by having worked
IN THE EMPLOYMENT OF A COVERED EMPLOYER AND WORKED THE EMPLOYER'S NORMAL
WORK WEEK FOR at least twenty-six of the last thirty-nine weeks. An
employee who during a period in which 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
S. 8795 3
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 such employee is eligible to receive benefits under section
two hundred four of this article with respect to such employment.
§ 3. Section 203-c of the workers' compensation law, as added by
section 4 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to
read as follows:
§ 203-c Health insurance during family leave. In accordance with the
Family and Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654), during any period
of family leave the employer shall maintain any existing health benefits
of the employee in force for the duration of such leave as if the
employee had continued to work from the date [he or she] SUCH EMPLOYEE
commenced family leave until the date [he or she] SUCH EMPLOYEE returns
to employment. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEES
SHALL MAINTAIN ANY EXISTING UNION HEALTH PLAN OR FUND BENEFITS IN FORCE
FOR THE DURATION OF FAMILY LEAVE AS IF THE CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEE HAD
CONTINUED TO WORK FROM THE DATE THEY COMMENCED FAMILY LEAVE UNTIL THE
DATE THE CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEE RETURNS TO EMPLOYMENT. NOTHING HEREIN
PREVENTS PARTIES TO A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT FOR CONSTRUCTION
EMPLOYEES FROM PROVIDING ADDITIONAL TERMS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
PAYMENT OF HEALTH CONTRIBUTIONS FOR SUCH EMPLOYEES ON LEAVE TIME, WHETH-
ER LEAVE TIME IS CONSIDERED HOURS WORKED FOR PURPOSES OF ELIGIBILITY IN
THE HEALTH PLAN OR FUND, OR OTHER TERMS THAT DO NOT CONFLICT WITH THIS
SECTION.
§ 4. Section 2 of a chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the workers'
compensation law relating to extending paid family leave benefits, as
proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 50 and A. 4727, is amended to
read as follows:
§ 2. This act shall take effect [immediately] JANUARY 1, 2027.
§ 5. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
manner as a chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the workers' compen-
sation law relating to extending paid family leave benefits, as proposed
in legislative bills numbers S. 50 and A. 4727, takes effect.Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.