NY Paid Family Leave: Flustered by Forms?

With the NY Paid Family Leave program in full swing, do you have employees requesting to take leave?

If so, you may be feeling a bit flustered by the forms involved. Or maybe you have questions about the information you need to provide on form PFL-1, part B.

Don't worry. At The Standard, we understand that some questions on the form can be frustrating. Here's some quick guidance:

1. What is the Employer's Standard Industrial Classification Code?

This is a four-digit code used to classify the industry of your company. If you don't already know this code, you can search the full list of available codes. You can also ask your insurance carrier for help if you can't determine your appropriate code.

2. Next, what is the employee's occupation code? Bonus earned in preceding 52 weeks

PFL forms also require you to provide an occupation code for your employee filing for the leave. This is a different code provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The good news? You likely already have this occupational classification information available. It's the same code used for Workers Compensation coverage.

3. How do I calculate the last eight weeks of gross wages for my employee?

For PFL, the gross weekly wage is the total weekly pay — including overtime, tips, bonuses and commissions — before any deductions, such as federal and state taxes. To calculate the average weekly wage amount for your employee, follow three steps:

Step 1: Add all gross wages received before any deductions over the last eight weeks before the start of PFL. Include any overtime and tips.

Step 2: Divide the gross wages calculated in step one by eight (or the number of weeks worked if less than eight) to calculate the average weekly wage.

Step 3: If the employee received any bonuses or commissions in the 52 weeks before the PFL leave, add the prorated weekly amount to the average weekly wage. To determine the prorated amount, add all bonuses/commissions earned in the 52 weeks prior to PFL leave, then divide by 52.

4. What does it mean to request reimbursement?

Both Disability Benefits Law and PFL allow employers to request reimbursement payments. Employers can do this when extending full salary to employees while they're eligible to receive the DBL or PFL benefit. Is this the practice at your company? If so, you can request on the PFL-1 form that benefit checks be sent to your company while your employee is receiving full pay from you.

5. What is my PFL policy number?

This is usually the same policy or contract number as your DBL policy. If you have questions or can't find this information, ask your insurance carrier.

Have more questions about forms? If The Standard is your carrier, don't worry. We're here to help. Please reach out to your account team.

To find out more about PFL and other regulations that affect employees, follow The Standard on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter with the hashtag #PaidFamilyLeave, and subscribe   to this blog's RSS feed to receive updated content as new information becomes available.

For more details about New York Paid Family Leave, visit: ny.gov/programs/new-york-state-paid-family-leave.