For workers in New York, FMLA in New York State is only half the picture: the federal Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave a year, while the state’s separate Paid Family Leave program pays a partial wage benefit (up to $1,228.53 per week in 2026) for a similar block of time, and a third program, state disability, covers your own illness.1Paid Family Leave. New York Paid Family Leave Updates for 2026 The three cover different situations, different family relationships, and different employers, and they usually run at the same time rather than back-to-back.
Who Qualifies for FMLA in New York
FMLA applies to private employers with at least 50 employees during 20 or more workweeks in the current or previous calendar year. Public agencies and public or private elementary and secondary schools are covered no matter their headcount.2U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28: The Family and Medical Leave Act The 50 employees also have to work within 75 miles of your worksite. A company with 200 people nationwide but only 30 near your office is not a covered employer for you.
You also have to qualify as an individual. That means at least 12 months of employment with that employer (not necessarily consecutive), at least 1,250 hours of actual work in the 12 months before leave begins, and a worksite where 50 or more employees are within a 75-mile radius.3eCFR. 29 CFR 825.110 – Eligible Employee The 1,250-hour count is time actually worked. Vacation, sick days, and other paid time off do not count toward it.
What FMLA Leave Covers
Eligible employees can take up to 12 workweeks in a 12-month period for any of these reasons:4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2612 – Leave Requirement
- Bonding with a new child after birth, adoption, or foster placement, taken within 12 months of the child’s arrival.
- Caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition. Federal FMLA does not cover in-laws, siblings, or grandparents.5U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28F: Reasons That Workers May Take Leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act
- Your own serious health condition that keeps you from doing your job, including anything needing hospitalization or ongoing treatment.
- Qualifying exigencies from a spouse, child, or parent’s covered active duty or call to duty, such as arranging childcare or attending military events.
A separate and larger entitlement exists for military caregivers. If you are the spouse, child, parent, or next of kin of a current servicemember or a veteran discharged within the past five years with a serious injury or illness, you can take up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period. That 26-week figure is a combined cap covering all FMLA leave taken during those 12 months.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet: Using FMLA Leave Because of a Family Member’s Military Service
How New York Paid Family Leave Fills the Gaps
New York’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) is a state program that pays you while you are out. In 2026, the benefit is 67% of your average weekly wage, capped at $1,228.53 per week, based on a statewide average weekly wage of $1,833.63. Employees fund it through a payroll deduction of 0.432% of gross wages, with a $411.91 annual maximum.1Paid Family Leave. New York Paid Family Leave Updates for 2026
Eligibility is easier to hit than under FMLA. Virtually all private employers in New York must carry PFL coverage, with no minimum headcount. Full-time employees qualify after 26 consecutive weeks; part-timers working fewer than 20 hours a week qualify after 175 days. There is no 1,250-hour test.
PFL provides up to 12 weeks a year for three purposes: bonding with a new child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, or handling matters tied to a family member’s military deployment abroad.7Paid Family Leave. New York State Paid Family Leave It also recognizes more family relationships than FMLA does: domestic partners, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and parents-in-law are all covered.
The trap in PFL is what it leaves out. It does not cover your own serious health condition.8Paid Family Leave. Paid Family Leave and Other Benefits If you are the one who is sick, you need FMLA for job protection and New York’s disability program for income.
State Disability Benefits for Your Own Illness
Short-term disability under Workers’ Compensation Law Article 9 covers non-work-related illness or injury.9New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Disability Benefits and Paid Family Leave Insurance The 2026 maximum benefit is $170 per week for up to 26 weeks.10NYSIF. NYSIF Lowers Standard Disability Benefits Premium Rate for 2026 Virtually all private employers in New York must carry this coverage.11New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Disability Benefits Coverage Requirements
That $170 weekly cap is not a typo, and it will not come close to replacing most workers’ income. For a serious medical condition, the realistic financial picture is FMLA for job protection plus whatever supplemental short-term disability insurance your employer offers on top of the state minimum. If your employer offers nothing beyond the statutory coverage, plan accordingly before you need the leave.
How the Programs Run Together
When a single absence qualifies under both FMLA and PFL, employers will generally require the two leaves to run concurrently. You get 12 weeks of job-protected time that is also partially paid, not 12 weeks of FMLA followed by another 12 weeks of PFL. You cannot stack the programs to double your time off.
The differences between the programs matter most in a few common situations:
- Your own illness. FMLA covers it; PFL does not. Income comes from state disability or an employer-provided disability plan. Someone recovering from surgery, for instance, uses FMLA for job protection and files a disability claim rather than a PFL claim.
- Small employer. If fewer than 50 employees work within 75 miles of you, FMLA does not apply. PFL almost certainly does, since it has no size threshold. You get paid leave and state-law job protection, but not the federal protections.
- Extended family. Caring for a grandparent, sibling, domestic partner, or parent-in-law is covered by PFL but not by FMLA. Your leave is protected and paid under state law alone.
PFL benefits are included in federal gross income and reported on Form 1099. Employee contributions come out of after-tax wages. State tax treatment follows separate guidance from the New York Department of Taxation and Finance.
Intermittent Leave
FMLA leave can be taken in blocks or on a reduced schedule when medically necessary. An employee going through chemotherapy might take every Friday off for several months rather than 12 straight weeks. The healthcare provider’s certification has to support the need for intermittent treatment or recovery.12eCFR. 29 CFR 825.202 – Intermittent Leave or Reduced Leave Schedule
Bonding leave works differently. Intermittent FMLA bonding leave requires the employer’s agreement, and if the employer refuses, bonding leave has to be taken in one continuous block.12eCFR. 29 CFR 825.202 – Intermittent Leave or Reduced Leave Schedule PFL, by contrast, allows leave in full-day increments without requiring the employer’s permission for intermittent use.
For tracking, employers must use the smallest increment they use for other leave, and no larger than one hour.13U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet: Counting Leave Use under the Family and Medical Leave Act If your company logs vacation in 15-minute blocks, it has to log FMLA the same way. You should not have to burn a full day of FMLA leave for a two-hour appointment.
Job Restoration and Health Insurance While You Are Out
The point of FMLA is that your job (or an equivalent one) is there when you return. An equivalent position means virtually identical pay, benefits, and working conditions, with substantially similar duties, at the same or a nearby worksite, generally on the same shift.14U.S. Department of Labor. Family and Medical Leave Act Advisor: Equivalent Position and Benefits Unconditional raises that took effect during your absence, like cost-of-living adjustments, apply to your salary when you come back. You cannot be forced to re-qualify for benefits you already had.
Your group health insurance continues during leave on the same terms as when you were working.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2614 – Employment and Benefits Protection If you normally pay part of the premium, you still owe that share while on leave, and your employer has to give you written notice of how to pay. If your payment is more than 30 days late, the employer can drop coverage after giving at least 15 days’ written warning.16United States Department of Labor. The Employer’s Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act
Notice, Certification, and Deadlines
FMLA Paperwork
Employers can require a medical certification for a serious health condition. The Department of Labor’s optional forms are WH-380-E for your own condition and WH-380-F for a family member’s.17U.S. Department of Labor. FMLA: Forms Military-related leave uses its own forms and documents like active-duty orders.
For foreseeable leave (scheduled surgery, a due date), give at least 30 days’ notice. When leave is not foreseeable, notify your employer as soon as practicable.18eCFR. 29 CFR 825.302 – Employee Notice Requirements for Foreseeable FMLA Leave Poor notice can push back the start of your protected leave.
After your request, the employer has five business days to give you a Notice of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities, and five business days after it has enough information to give you a Designation Notice confirming whether the time will count as FMLA. If your certification is incomplete, the employer has to tell you in writing what is missing and give you seven calendar days to fix it.19eCFR. 29 CFR 825.300 – Employer Notice Requirements
PFL Claims
PFL claims are filed with your employer’s PFL insurance carrier, not with your employer or the state. The core form is a Request for Paid Family Leave (PFL-1), plus a leave-specific form: bonding certification (PFL-2), healthcare provider certifications for a sick family member (PFL-3 and PFL-4), or a military qualifying event form (PFL-5).20NYSIF. About Your Paid Family Leave Claim
Give your employer at least 30 days’ notice for foreseeable leave, and get your completed forms to the carrier within 30 days after your first day of leave to avoid losing benefits. The carrier has 18 days after receiving complete forms to accept or deny the claim.20NYSIF. About Your Paid Family Leave Claim A denial can go to arbitration through the Workers’ Compensation Board.
If Your Employer Violates Your Rights
Employers cannot interfere with FMLA rights or retaliate against you for using them. That covers refusing valid leave, discouraging you from taking it, manipulating your hours to knock you out of eligibility, using leave as a negative factor in promotion or discipline, or counting FMLA absences against you under a no-fault attendance policy.21U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #77B: Protection for Individuals under the FMLA
Complaints go to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, which investigates and can take employers to court, or you can file a private lawsuit. The general deadline for an FMLA claim is two years from the violation.21U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #77B: Protection for Individuals under the FMLA PFL disputes, including retaliation and denied claims, go through the Workers’ Compensation Board.