Paid Family Leave

Effective January 1, 2018, FCNY provides paid family leave (“PFL”) in accordance with New York’s Paid Family Leave Benefits Law (“PFL Law”).

Eligibility for Paid Family Leave

Only Fund employees who work in New York State are eligible for PFL. Fund employees who work in other states are subject to the laws of the state where they work.

An employee whose regular work schedule is 20 or more hours per week will be eligible to take PFL when he/she has been employed by FCNY for 26 weeks.

An employee whose regular work schedule is less than 20 hours per week will be eligible to take PFL when he/she has worked for FCNY for 175 days (actual days worked, not calendar days).

An eligible employee can begin taking leave when he/she has reached the relevant threshold (26 weeks/175 days) or January 1, 2018, whichever comes later.

Permissible Purposes for Paid Family Leave

Eligible employees will be entitled to PFL (i) to care for a family member (child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, spouse, or domestic partner) with a serious health condition, (ii) to bond with a child during the first 12 months after birth or placement for adoption or foster care, or (iii) because of any qualifying exigency arising from the fact that an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child or parent is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in the armed forces of the United States.

An employee must provide FCNY at least 30 days advance notice before leave is to begin if the qualifying reason for leave is foreseeable. When not foreseeable, the employee must provide notice as soon as practicable. Failure to provide timely notice may result in leave being delayed or denied. PFL may only be taken in full day increments, unless otherwise provided by law.

Applying for Paid Family Leave

An eligible employee who wishes to take PFL must submit his/her application to FCNY’s disability insurance carrier, and comply with applicable certification requirements of the need for leave. Additional documentation (such as copies of military orders) may also be required, as permitted by law. FCNY will complete the employer portion of the application. Please contact Human Resources at hrfcny@fcny.org for more information about how to apply for PFL.

Paid Family Leave Benefits and Duration

As of 2021, the maximum length of PFL benefits is 12 weeks and the PFL benefit amount is 67% of an employees average weekly wage (up to the state average weekly wage).

Use of Other Leave

To the extent permitted by law, employees may elect to charge all or part of their PFL time to unused paid time off and receive full pay. In such cases, FCNY will seek reimbursement from the carrier for PFL benefits that would have been payable to you.

Disability leave and PFL may not be used at the same time. An employee who is eligible for both disability benefits and PFL benefits during the same period of 52 consecutive calendar weeks may not receive more than 26 total weeks of disability and PFL benefits during that period of time.

Paid family leave will run concurrently with leave taken pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act or the FCNY FML leave policy (with the exception of leave taken due to the employee’s own health condition), the FCNY Paid Child Care Leave Policy for any portion of the leave that the employee is not receiving disability insurance payments, or any other paid or unpaid family leave provided by FCNY. If such other leave is paid, FCNY will seek reimbursement from the carrier for PFL benefits that would have been payable to you.

Protected Rights

Leave taken pursuant to the PFL Law is job protected. FCNY will restore an employee who returns from PFL to the same or a comparable position.

An employee who receives health benefits through FCNY is entitled to continued health benefits coverage during PFL on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work during the PFL leave. Note, however, that you will still be required to continue to pay your share of the health insurance premiums, and you may lose coverage retroactively to the date an unpaid premium was due (upon proper notice from our carrier) if you fail to pay your portion of the premium in a timely fashion.

FCNY prohibits retaliation or discrimination against an employee who exercises his or her rights under the PFL Law.

Funding of Paid Family Leave Benefits

In accordance with the PFL Law, PFL benefits are funded through payroll deductions at a prescribed amount from each eligible employee. Employees who are ineligible for PFL will be given the option of filing a (revocable) waiver of benefits, exempting them from payroll deductions, as permitted by law.

Please contact Human Resources at hrfcny@fcny.org, if you have any questions about PFL benefits or how to apply for PFL. Additional information can be found in the plan document and summary plan description, and those documents are controlling.