Crossing State Lines: When Does New York Paid Family Leave Apply?

Confused about where out-of-state employers — or employees — fit under New York's Paid Family Leave law? Here are the latest guidelines from the state, along with some helpful examples.

Private employers with employees working in New York for 30 or more days in a calendar year must obtain both Disability Benefits Law and Paid Family Leave coverage. New York State's guidelines state that the Paid Family Leave benefit only covers people who work in New York. It doesn't matter where the employer's headquarters are located or where the employee lives.

For example:

• An employee working from home in New York for an employer headquartered in Texas should be covered.
• An employee working in Connecticut for an employer headquartered in New York is not covered.
• An employee who lives in New York but is working in Massachusetts is not covered.
• An employee who travels to New York occasionally for work would not be covered, unless the employee works in New York for 30 or more days in a calendar year.

Employers have been allowed to extend DBL coverage to employees outside of the state of New York by adding a rider to their DBL policy. Employers may still elect to extend DBL to employees working outside of New York. However, they won't be allowed to extend their New York Paid Family Leave coverage to out-of-state employees.

Employers may elect to create their own company-sponsored paid-leave programs for employees working outside of New York State. Any company-sponsored program will not fall under the same regulations or jurisdiction as the New York Paid Family Leave program.

For more details, visit: ny.gov/programs/new-york-state-paid-family-leave.