05 Dec MEMORANDUM To: Assembly Member Angelo Santabarbara

MEMORANDUM

To: Assembly Member Angelo Santabarbara

From: xxxxxs, Policy Analyst for Assembly Member Angelo Santabarbara

Date:

Subject: How to improve New York State Paid Family Leave

Introduction

A recent study conducted by Steinhardt’s Natalie Brito, shows how paid maternal leave is positively associated with infant brain function at three months of age. The study looked at infant electroencephalography (EEG) from a diverse sample of families and found that paid family leave contributes to the physical and mental well-being of both mothers and infants and found that paid leave may support early child cognitive and socioemotional development. (Brito, 2022)

The United States is the only country that does not have a federal policy mandating paid leave for working caregivers. There are currently eleven states that have some sort of paid family leave for their workers, New York State being one of them.

The purpose of this policy analysis is to examine how New York State Paid Family Leave can be improved to better support mothers and their babies. Despite attempts to better New York State paid leave in recent years, many New Yorkers are still excluded from the current policy. After a thorough review of the current policy, alternative recommendations have been made to create a more beneficial policy for all workers in New York State.

Before paid family went into effect, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act into federal law in 1993. This bill allowed workers up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid time off to care for and bond with a newborn.

On April 4, 2016, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law paid family leave benefits in New York State. The new policy rolled out in phases beginning 2018 and increased in benefits over the following four years. The policy began with eight weeks of leave with up to fifty percent of wage benefits. The policy reached its target level in 2021 with a maximum of 12 weeks of leave and sixty-seven percent wage benefits. (NYS Benefits).

Workers not eligible for paid family leave under this policy include “licensed ministers, priests, or rabbis; persons engaged in teaching capacity for a not-for-profit; and those who work in service as a golf caddy. Although some categories of workers are not automatically covered by Paid Family Leave, such as those listed here, employers can choose to voluntarily cover them.” The minimum time worked requirements to qualify for paid family leave depend on whether workers are full-time or part-time employees. Full-time employees who work a regular schedule for 20 or more hours a week are eligible after 26 consecutive weeks of employment. Part-time employees who work 20 hours or less a week are eligible after working 175 days (ny.gov/eligibility). Under NYS Paid Family Leave there are many workers who are excluded from current policies. Workers who are just starting their jobs and those who do not work the qualifying hours weekly.

Workers who are not eligible for paid family leave must choose to take unpaid time off or return to work prematurely after having a child. Studies show evidence of the mental and physical health benefits of having paid parental leave. Even with these studies, the United States remains one of six countries that do not offer paid parental leave for all (American Psychology Association, 2022).