Its Time To Prepare For NY’s Paid Family Leave

Today I have one message for you: It’s time to stop ignoring New York’s Paid Family Leave Law. It  Kicks-in  on January 1. Based on some of the questions that have come into our compliance department,  I get the feeling that some of you keep on hitting the snooze button when it comes to preparing for this expansive new mandate. It’s time to stop. The final regulations were released last week.

Most importantly, this law applies to your credit union and its employees regardless of how many employees it has or  whether it  is  state or federally  chartered. Employees with a regular schedule of 20 or more hours per week are eligible after 26 weeks of employment. Qualifying events triggering leave include:  leave to care for a child after birth or placement for adoption or foster care within the first 12 months after the birth or placement; for a qualifying exigency arising from the service of a family member in the armed forces of the United States; or to care for a family member with a serious health condition.

This is a big deal, especially since most credit unions aren’t subject to the FMLA.

There are nuanced regulations to learn, notices to be prepared and handbooks that have to be updated. In addition there is the practical consideration of  how best to deal with potential  absences of employees.  in other words ,  it’s time to get an HR expert in the room and get serious about complying with this new law if you haven’t done so already.