What you should know
- New York State will now offer 12 weeks of fully paid paternity leave benefits to more than 80 percent of the state workforce, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday.
- The agreement to expand paid parental leave is with the state’s three largest unions: the Civil Service Employees Association, the Public Employees Federation and the United College Professions.
- Once the union contracts are ratified, more than 140,000 union employees will join the 10,000 unrepresented New York State employees who qualify for the measure. The Office of Employee Relations will continue to engage the remaining state unions in extending this benefit to their employees through collective bargaining.
NEW YORK — New York State will now offer 12 weeks of fully paid paternity leave benefits to more than 80 percent of the state’s workforce, Governor Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday. This historic change means that the majority of state workers will have access to this crucial benefit for the first time in New York’s history.
“No one should have to choose between a paycheck and taking care of their newborn child,” said Governor Hochul. “By extending fully paid parental leave to more than 80 percent of state employees, New York is leading by example and providing a critical line of support for working families.”
The agreement to expand paid parental leave is with the three largest state unions:
- The first agreement with the Civil Service Employees Association, which represents New York State workers in a variety of roles, expands paid parental leave to more than 52,000 employees.
- The agreement of pending contracts with the Federation of Public Employees, which represents public employees with professional, scientific and technical titles.
- The agreement with the United College Professions, which represents higher education workers, which includes fully paid paternity leave benefits for members.
If ratified, workers will meet the requirement to receive 12 weeks of fully paid leave to use in bonding with a newborn, fostered or adopted child.
Once the union contracts are ratified, more than 140,000 union employees will join the 10,000 unrepresented New York State employees who qualify for the measure. The Office of Employee Relations will continue to engage the remaining state unions in extending this benefit to their employees through collective bargaining.
Despite the well-documented positive benefits of paid parental leave for maternal and child health, as well as family economic security and workforce retention, the United States is the only developed country in the world without a national parental leave policy. paid. New parents and caregivers rely on a patchwork of various federal, state, and local leave policies, in addition to employer-sponsored benefits.
New York has long been a leader in parental and family leave benefits, enacting the statewide Paid Family Leave law in 2016. In 2021, the State enacted legislation expanding the law to include sibling care seriously ill.
2023-06-13 17:17:31
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