State Disability Benefits Law (DBL)
Paid Family Leave (PFL)
New York
NYS Workers' Compensation Board (WCB)
DBL Effective: 1949
PFL Effective: 01/01/18
Last updated: 01/16/24
State website: www.paidfamilyleave.ny.gov
New York Disability Benefits Law (NY DBL) Plan Details
Summary:
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State or private plan: (insured or self-insured). |
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Mandatory coverage: All employers with one or more employees for 30 days in a calendar year become a “covered employer” four weeks after the 30th day of the employment. The definition of employer does not include the state, a municipal corporations, local governmental agencies, other political subdivisions or public authorities. |
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Waiting period: 7 consecutive calendar days. |
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Benefit duration: No more than 26 weeks during any disability period or during any consecutive 52-week period. |
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Total combined maximum benefit duration for NY DBL and PFL: 26 weeks in a 52-week period. |
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Maximum benefit: $170. |
| Coverage details |
First Symetra offers an insured NY DBL plan but does not currently offer ASO services for an employer’s self-insured plan. |
| Covered employers |
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| Covered individuals |
Employees or recent employees of a covered employer who have worked at least four consecutive weeks. Part-time employees who have worked for 25 days of work with a covered employer. Employees who change jobs from one covered employer to another covered employer are covered from the first day on the new job. The list of employees who are not considered “Covered Individuals” is extensive (and nuanced). The state provides guidance for when coverage is required. The following are just a few examples of exempt employees:
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| Contribution amount |
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| Waiting period |
Seven consecutive calendar days. |
| Benefit calculation |
50% of the employee’s Average Weekly Wages. |
| Maximum weekly benefit amount |
$170. |
| Minimum weekly benefit amount |
$20. |
| Other income amount offsets |
None. NY DBL and NY PFL cannot be taken simultaneously. Note that unemployment insurance and Workers' Compensation are not payable at same time as NY DBL (and thus is not an offset). |
| Maximum duration |
No more than 26 weeks during any disability period or during any consecutive 52-week period. |
| Maximum duration: Combined NY DBL and NY PFL |
26 weeks in a 52-week period. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is coverage continued after termination of employment?
Yes, DBL coverage continues for four weeks after termination of employment.
What are the qualifying leave reasons?
The covered individual’s own injury or illness.
Effective 1/1/24, disability due to pregnancy is presumed at least four weeks prior to the due date. Pregnancy disability afterwards, is also presumed for six weeks post vaginal birth or eight weeks post C Section.
Effective 1/1/24, organ donation is added to the list of qualifying leave reasons.
What is the taxable wage base?
The Taxable Wage Base for benefits and contributions is capped at $89,343.80 for 2024.
How do we determine the benefit year?
52 consecutive weeks rolling back from first week/day of leave.
Does a relapse period apply to recurrent leaves?
Successive periods of disability or family leave caused by the same or related injury or sickness shall be deemed a single period of disability or family leave only if separated by less than three months.
Can leave be taken on an Intermittent Leave basis?
No. The law is silent on intermittent leave.
How are benefits prorated?
Benefits are prorated based on a 5-day week.
Is NY DBL leave job protected?
No. Protections may be afforded under FMLA or the NY Domestic Violence Leave law.
How does accrued paid leave apply to use of NY DBL?
The law is silent on accrued paid leave. As such, employers are not prohibited from using accrued paid leave to allow a top off of the NY DBL benefit.
Important Information:
Filing for a private coverage exemption
- Symetra provides the NY DBL/PFL proposal to the employer or the broker along with marketing materials.
- Employer must register with the New York Workers' Compensation Board (NY WCB). The employer must also pay all New York unemployment taxes, before we can issue NY DBL/PFL coverage. If the group does not first register, New York will not recognize the group as a New York employer and we would not be able to issue a policy.
- Employer must register all FEIN numbers, including any affiliates/subsidiaries of the employer.
- Employer chooses either a NY DBL/PFL standard plan or enhanced plan.
- Employer must complete a NY DBL/PFL application (LGC-10020-DBL-NY), which will be pre-populated with all policy information.
- Employer must also complete a First Symetra Tax Services Agreement.
- Contracts submits the NY DBL/PFL Certificate/Cancellation of Insurance form (DB 820/829) to the NY WCB for approval.
- Once filing is approved by the NY WCB, New Business saves a PDF version of submission.
- Contracts creates and provides a NY DBL poster form DB 120 to client. Once all employer information is signed and provided to First Symetra, Contracts issues policy to the client.
- Claims will provide the client with an Employee Statement of Rights for Paid Family Leave (PFL-271s). This form must be provided by the employer in a timely manner to employees at the time of claim. This form is reviewed annually by Claims for any updates provided by NY.
Process to obtain proof of coverage - DB120.1 requests
From time to time, a governmental entity in New York will request proof of coverage for NY DBL and NY PFL. First Symetra is able to provide covered employers with a db120.1 form, certifying proof of coverage. The employer is then responsible for providing the governmental entity with the completed db120.1 form.
To request a db120.1, please provide the following in the body of your email:
- Policy number;
- The name of the government entity requesting proof of their coverage;
- The full legal address of the government entity; and
- The name and address of the participating entity in the policy that we are creating the db120.1 for (if applicable).
- The request is sent via email to contracts.
- Contracts verifies that the entity they are requesting proof of coverage for is registered appropriately before creating the db120.1.
- The completed db120.1 is promptly returned to the covered employer.
- The covered employer submits the completed db120.1 form to the requesting government entity.
New York Paid Family Leave (NY PFL) Plan Details
Summary:
|
State or private plan: (insured or self-insured). |
|
Mandatory coverage: All employers with one or more employee for 30 days in a calendar year become a “covered employers” four weeks after the 30th day of the employment. The definition of employer does not include the state, a municipal corporations, local governmental agencies, other political subdivisions or public authorities. |
|
Waiting period: Seven consecutive calendar days. |
|
Benefit duration: 12 weeks during any 52-week period (or for intermittent leave, the employee’s average number of days worked per week multiplied by 12). |
|
Total combined benefit duration for NY DBL/NY PFL Maximum: 26 weeks in a 52-week. |
| Coverage details |
Symetra offers insured NY PFL via a rider to the NY DBL policy, but does not currently offer ASO services for an employer’s self-insured plan. |
| Covered employers |
|
| Covered individuals |
Employees or recent employees of a covered employer who have worked at least four consecutive weeks. Full-time employees are eligible if they have worked 20 or more hours/week for 26 or more consecutive weeks of covered New York employment. Part-time employees working less than 20 hrs/week will be eligible after 175 days of covered New York employment. The list of employees who are not considered “covered individuals” is extensive (and nuanced). The state provides guidance Eligibility | Paid Family Leave (ny.gov). The following are just a few examples of exempt employees:
Additional information can be found here: Eligibility | Paid Family Leave (ny.gov) |
| Contribution amount |
|
| Waiting period |
None. |
| Benefit calculation |
67% of the employee’s Average Weekly Wages. |
| Maximum weekly benefit amount |
$1,151.16 (effective 1/1/2024). |
| Minimum weekly benefit amount |
The lesser of $100 or the employee’s Average Weekly Wages. |
| Other income amount offsets |
None. NY DBL and NY PFL cannot be taken simultaneously. Note that unemployment insurance is not payable at same time as NY PFL (and thus is not an offset). |
| Maximum duration |
12 weeks during any 52-week period (or for intermittent leave, the employee’s average number of days worked per week multiplied by 12). |
| Maximum duration: Combined NY DBL and NY PFL |
26 weeks in a 52-week period. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is coverage continued after termination of employment?
No. Unlike NY DBL, coverage is not continued after termination of employment.
What are the qualifying leave reasons?
- Bonding with a child during the first 12 months after birth, adoption or foster care placement
- Caring for a family member with a serious health condition. Family member is defined as:
- Spouse or domestic partner
- Child, stepchild, or anyone for whom the employee has legal custody
- Parent, stepparent, or parent-in-law
- Grandparent
- Grandchild
- Sibling
- Active military service deployment abroad or on leave for rest and recuperation to support any of the following:
- Spouse
- Domestic partner
- Child
- Parent
What is the taxable wage base?
The Taxable Wage Base for benefits and contributions is capped at $89,343.80 for 2024.
What is the State Average Weekly Wage?
The State Average Weekly Wage for 2024 is $1,718.15 and is updated annually.
How do we determine the benefit year?
52 consecutive weeks rolling back from first week/day of leave.
Does a relapse period apply to recurrent leaves?
Successive periods of family leave caused by the same or related injury or sickness shall be deemed a single period of family leave only if separated by less than three months.
Can leave be taken on an Intermittent Leave basis?
Yes. Leave may be taken intermittently in full-day increments.
How are benefits prorated?
Benefits are prorated based on a 5-day week.
Is NY PFL leave job protected?
- Yes. Employees are entitled to return to the same job, or a comparable one, after returning from Paid Family Leave. A comparable job is one with comparable employment benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment.
- Health insurance may also be continued while on leave. If the employee contributes to the cost of health insurance, the employee must continue to contribute to the cost during leave.
- FMLA applies concurrently when applicable.
- Even if the employee does not apply, the employer can count the period of time that would have qualified as NY PFL, towards the NY PFL entitlement if notice of NY PFL rights was given to the employee.
How does accrued paid leave apply to use of NY PFL?
Sick and continued pay may be received with NY PFL but it is the employer's responsibility to ensure the total does not exceed 100% of the employee's average weekly wage.
Important Information:
Filing for a NY PFL Exemption
- Symetra provides the NY DBL/PFL proposal to the employer or the broker along with marketing materials. NY PFL is a rider that is included with the NY DBL policy.
- Employer must register with the New York Workers’ Compensation Board (NY WCB). The employer must also pay all New York unemployment taxes, before we can issue NY DBL/PFL coverage. If the group does not first register, New York will not recognize the group as a New York employer and we would not be able to issue a policy.
- Employer must register all FEIN numbers, including any affiliates/subsidiaries of the employer.
- Employer chooses either a NY DBL/PFL standard plan or enhanced plan.
- Employer must complete a NY DBL/PFL application (LGC-10020-DBL-NY) which will be pre-populated with all policy information.
- Employer must also complete a First Symetra Tax Services Agreement.
- Contracts submits the NY DBL/PFL Certificate/Cancellation of Insurance form (DB 820/829) to the NY WCB for approval.
- Once filing is approved by the NY WCB, New Business saves a PDF version of submission.
- Contracts creates and provides a NY DBL poster form DB 120 to client. Once all employer information is signed and provided to Symetra, Contracts issues policy to the client.
- Claims will provide the client with an employee statement of Rights for Paid Family Leave (PFL- 271s). This form must be provided by the employer in a timely manner to employees at the time of claim. This form is reviewed annually by claims for any updates provided by NY.
Process to obtain proof of coverage -DB120.1 requests
From time to time a governmental entity in New York will request proof of coverage for NY DBL and NY PFL. Symetra is able to provide covered employers with a db120.1 form, certifying proof of coverage. The employer is then responsible for providing the governmental entity with the completed db120.1 form.
To request a db120.1, please provide the following in the body of your email:
- Policy number;
- The name of the government entity in NY requesting proof of their coverage;
- The full legal address of the government entity; and
- The name and address of the participating entity in the policy that we are creating the db120.1 for (if applicable)
- The request is sent via email to contracts.
- Contracts verifies that the entity they are requesting proof of coverage for is registered appropriately before creating the db120.1.
- The completed db120.1 is promptly returned to the covered employer.
- The covered employer submits the completed db120.1 form to the requesting government entity.
State Resources
Symetra Life Insurance Company, 777 108th Avenue NE, Suite 1200, Bellevue, WA 98004.
First Symetra National Life Insurance Company of New York, New York, NY. Mailing address: P.O. Box 34690, Seattle, WA 98124.
Symetra Life Insurance Company is a direct subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation. First Symetra National Life Insurance Company of New York is a direct subsidiary of Symetra Life Insurance Company and is an indirect subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation (collectively, “Symetra”). Neither Symetra Financial Corporation nor Symetra Life Insurance Company solicits business in the state of New York and they are not authorized to do so. Each company is responsible for its own financial obligations.
Symetra® is a registered service mark of Symetra Life Insurance Company.
Symetra assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or timeliness of any information provided herein. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel. We recommend employers speak with legal counsel specializing in labor and employment law to ensure compliance with applicable PFML and PFL mandates.
The information on this page was updated as of April 2024.