New York State Has a New COVID-19 Sick and Paid Family Leave Law Applicable Immediately.
First, if any employer closes due to COVID -19, unemployment claims for those employers are not subject to a one week waiting period as normal under unemployment compensation.
Second, the law provides certain benefits for people unable to work because sick from COVID-19 or caring for a sick family member with COVID-19.
Who is covered? Employees subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation issued by the state of New York, the department of health, local board of health, or any government entity duly authorized to issue such order due to COVID-19.
The law does not apply to employees who are physically able to work and asymptomatic.
The law doesn’t apply to employees returning from level 2 or 3 travel alert countries unless the travel was for work purposes.
The law applies as follows to:
Small employers (1-10 employees), employees subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19 will receive unpaid sick days and the ability immediately to qualify for paid family leave and temporary disability benefits, plus full job protection. After 5 days, such employees may use paid family leave benefits.
Medium sized employers (11-99 employees) and small employers (1-10 employees) with a net income of $1 million a year, employees subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19 will receive five paid sick days and the ability immediately thereafter to qualify for paid family leave and temporary disability benefits, plus full job protection. After 5 days, such employees may use paid family leave benefits.
Large employers (100 or more employees) and public employees, employees subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19 will receive paid sick days for the entirety of the quarantine (up to 14 days), plus full job protection. Also applies to public employers (not fully covered here).
The above leave is in addition to an employee’s already accrued sick leave.
Employees will also be able to use their paid family leave benefits to care for a minor dependent child who is subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19.
For all employers regardless of size:
All employees subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation or caring for a minor dependent child due to COVID-19 are given full job protection during time of absence. You must allow them to return to work in their prior positions when they are well.
Third, COVID-19 disabilities now become eligible for worker’s compensation claims even though they didn’t arise on the job, after exhaustion of paid sick leave and on the first day thereafter:
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and for purposes of this act only, for purposes of article 9 of the workers’ compensation law, “disability” shall mean: any inability of an employee to perform the regular duties of his or her employment or the duties of any other employment which his or her employer may offer him or her as a result of a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation issued by the state, the department of health, a local board of health, or any government entity duly authorized to issue such order due to COVID-19 and when the employee has exhausted all paid sick leave provided by the employee’s employer under this act. Notwithstanding subdivision 1 of section 204 of the workers’ compensation law, disability benefits payable pursuant to this act shall be payable on the first day of disability.
Fourth, the Department of Financial Services will implement a risk adjustment pool to assist in the stabilization of claims related to paid family leave and temporary
disability benefits.
Fifth, to the extent that federal law changes in a way that affords bigger benefits to employees in New York, this law will no longer be in effect. But to the extent that state law affords better benefits, it will remain in effect.
IN TWO WEEKS, the FEDERAL FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT takes effect and, if more generous than the New York laws described above, will govern your leave decisions until it expires on December 31, 2020:
THE ABOVE IS A GENERAL SUMMARY and not considered legal advice. FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE ON HOW THESE APPLY TO YOU or YOUR COMPANY, PLEASE CONTACT US.
Contact Allison Walsh: [email protected], or [email protected] if you have questions or for other employment advice.