A 299: Requires public employers who opt out of providing paid family leave benefits to provide parental leave in the alternative at the same pay rate and amount of time as paid family leave.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 299 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RAJKUMAR, CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to requiring public employers who opt out of providing paid family leave benefits to provide parental leave in the alternative The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 212-b of the workers' compensation 2 law is amended by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows: 3 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, if a 4 public employer chooses to opt out of paid family leave benefits pursu- 5 ant to paragraph b of this subdivision, then such public employer shall 6 be required to offer parental leave to its employees for a period not to 7 exceed twelve weeks during any fifty-two week calendar period. Employers 8 shall pay employees on parental leave a rate of sixty-seven percent of 9 the employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed sixty-seven 10 percent of the New York state average weekly wage in effect. 11 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01432-01-5