Employee Leave – When Is It Required

We continue to receive many questions related to leave requirements for NY-based employers, so we’ve summed up the latest news below regarding all types of employee leave for 2021.

FEDERAL

           FFCRA

• Required employers provide up to 80 hours of paid sick leave or 12 weeks of expanded FMLA leave for specific reasons to COVID. This law expired on December 31, 2020.
• HOWEVER, employers can still provide this benefit AND receive dollar-for-dollar tax credits for leave through March 31^st, 2021.

NEW YORK STATE

PAID SICK LEAVE

• Effective January 1, 2021.
• Allows employee time off for medical treatment, diagnosis, or care for themselves or family members, OR any domestic violence situations, including reporting.
• The amount of time off depends on the number of employees and revenue. Time off ranges from 40 hours to 56 hours per calendar year.
• Not all employers need to provide paid leave; unpaid leave is applicable in certain situations.

PAID FAMILY LEAVE

• Employees entitled to receive 67% of pay, based on the states’ average weekly wage, for up to 12 weeks.
• Allows employee time off for: 
  •       Bonding with a newly born, adopted, or fostered child;
  •       Care for a close relative with a serious health condition;
  •       Assist with family situations when a family member is deployed abroad on active military service.

Full-time and Part-time employees are eligible for benefits.  There are different rules for each employee category. 

To learn best how to respond to employee leave inquiries and other benefits queries, please reach out to us.