A 4906: Provides that the weekly benefit which the disabled employee is entitled to receive for disability commencing: on or after January first, two thousand twenty-eight shall be fifty percent of the employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed fifty percent of the state average weekly wage; on or after January first, two thousand twenty-nine shall be fifty-five percent of the employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed fifty-five percent of the state average weekly wage; on or after January first, two thousand thirty shall be sixty percent of the employee's weekly average wage but shall not exceed sixty percent of the state average weekly wage; and on or after January first of each succeeding year, shall be sixty-seven percent of the employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed sixty-seven percent of the state average weekly wage.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4906 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY February 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, RAGA, LUCAS, HEVESI, CLARK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the weekly benefit of a disabled employee The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "equity in leave act". 3 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 204 of the workers' 4 compensation law, as amended by section 5 of part SS of chapter 54 of 5 the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows: 6 (b) The weekly benefit which the disabled employee is entitled to 7 receive for disability commencing: (i) on or after January first, two 8 thousand twenty-eight shall be fifty percent of the employee's average 9 weekly wage but shall not exceed fifty percent of the state average 10 weekly wage; (ii) on or after January first, two thousand twenty-nine 11 shall be fifty-five percent of the employee's average weekly wage but 12 shall not exceed fifty-five percent of the state average weekly wage; 13 (iii) on or after January first, two thousand thirty shall be sixty 14 percent of the employee's weekly average wage but shall not exceed sixty 15 percent of the state average weekly wage; and (iv) on or after January 16 first of each succeeding year, shall be sixty-seven percent of the 17 employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed sixty-seven percent 18 of the state average weekly wage. The weekly benefit which the disabled 19 employee is entitled to receive for disability commencing on or after 20 May first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine and prior to January first, two 21 thousand twenty-eight shall be one-half of the employee's weekly wage, 22 but in no case shall such benefit exceed one hundred seventy dollars; 23 except that if the employee's average weekly wage is less than twenty 24 dollars, the benefit shall be such average weekly wage. The weekly bene- 25 fit which the disabled employee is entitled to receive for disability EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02485-01-5 
 A. 4906 2 1 commencing on or after July first, nineteen hundred eighty-four shall be 2 one-half of the employee's weekly wage, but in no case shall such bene- 3 fit exceed one hundred forty-five dollars; except that if the employee's 4 average weekly wage is less than twenty dollars, the benefit shall be 5 such average weekly wage. The weekly benefit which the disabled employee 6 is entitled to receive for disability commencing on or after July first, 7 nineteen hundred eighty-three and prior to July first, nineteen hundred 8 eighty-four shall be one-half of the employee's average weekly wage, but 9 in no case shall such benefit exceed one hundred thirty-five dollars nor 10 be less than twenty dollars; except that if the employee's average week- 11 ly wage is less than twenty dollars the benefit shall be such average 12 weekly wage. The weekly benefit which the disabled employee is entitled 13 to receive for disability commencing on or after July first, nineteen 14 hundred seventy-four, and prior to July first, nineteen hundred eighty- 15 three, shall be one-half of the employee's average weekly wage, but in 16 no case shall such benefit exceed ninety-five dollars nor be less than 17 twenty dollars; except that if the employee's average weekly wage is 18 less than twenty dollars, the benefit shall be such average weekly wage. 19 The weekly benefit which the disabled employee is entitled to receive 20 for disability commencing on or after July first, nineteen hundred 21 seventy and prior to July first, nineteen hundred seventy-four shall be 22 one-half of the employee's average weekly wage, but in no case shall 23 such benefit exceed seventy-five dollars nor be less than twenty 24 dollars; except that if the employee's average weekly wage is less than 25 twenty dollars the benefit shall be such average weekly wage. For any 26 period of disability less than a full week, the benefits payable shall 27 be calculated by dividing the weekly benefit by the number of the 28 employee's normal work days per week and multiplying the quotient by the 29 number of normal work days in such period of disability. The weekly 30 benefit for a disabled employee who is concurrently eligible for bene- 31 fits in the employment of more than one covered employer shall, within 32 the maximum and minimum herein provided, be one-half of the total of the 33 employee's average weekly wages received from all such covered employ- 34 ers, and shall be allocated in the proportion of their respective aver- 35 age weekly wage payments. 36 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 209 of the workers' 37 compensation law, as amended by section 10 of part SS of chapter 54 of 38 the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows: 39 (a) Disability benefits. The contribution of each such employee to the 40 cost of disability benefits provided by this article shall be one-half 41 of one per centum of the employee's wages paid [to him or her] on and 42 after July first, nineteen hundred fifty and prior to January first, two 43 thousand twenty-eight, but not in excess of sixty cents per week. The 44 contribution of each such employee to the cost of employee disability 45 benefits provided by this article shall be one-half of one per centum of 46 the employee's wages paid on and after January first, two thousand twen- 47 ty-eight, but not in excess of two dollars and twenty cents per week. 48 § 4. Section 203-a of the workers' compensation law, as added by 49 section 4 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to 50 read as follows: 51 § 203-a. [Retaliatory] Interference and retaliatory action prohibited 52 for disability and family leave. 1. The provisions of section one 53 hundred twenty of this chapter and section two hundred forty-one of this 54 article shall be applicable to disability and family leave. 55 2. It shall be unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, 56 or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided 
 A. 4906 3 1 under this article, including: (a) failing to comply with the require- 2 ments of section two hundred twenty-nine of this article, such as by 3 failing to provide an employee with the notice of rights required by 4 such section; (b) failing to provide an employee with complete and accu- 5 rate information related to the submission of a claim for disability or 6 family leave benefits, such as by failing to inform the employee that it 7 is the employee's responsibility to submit the completed application 8 materials to the employer's insurance carrier or by failing or refusing 9 to provide the employee with the name of the employer's insurance carri- 10 er and/or the employer's policy number with said insurance carrier; (c) 11 failing to accurately complete and return to the employee the disability 12 or family leave application paperwork within the time period specified 13 by the chair; (d) providing the employer's insurance carrier with inac- 14 curate information about an employee's employment as it relates to the 15 employee's eligibility for disability or family leave benefits; (e) 16 refusing to allow an employee who has requested disability or family 17 leave under this article to begin leave until the employer's insurance 18 carrier has approved the employee's claim for disability or family leave 19 benefits; (f) failing or refusing to carry disability or family leave 20 insurance as required by section two hundred eleven of this article; (g) 21 threatening termination, demotion, discipline, suspension, or reduction 22 of hours or wages, reporting or threatening to report an employee's 23 suspected citizenship or immigration status or the suspected citizenship 24 or immigration status of a family member of the employee to a federal, 25 state, or local agency, or threatening any other action against an 26 employee seeking to take disability or family leave that might reason- 27 ably deter an employee from exercising a right provided under this arti- 28 cle; or (h) threatening or taking any other action that may have the 29 effect of preventing or discouraging an employee from exercising a right 30 provided under this article. 31 3. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the rights, 32 privileges, or remedies of any employee under any collective bargaining 33 agreement or employment contract. 34 § 5. Section 203-b of the workers' compensation law, as added by 35 section 4 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to 36 read as follows: 37 § 203-b. Reinstatement following disability or family leave. Any 38 eligible employee of a covered employer who takes leave, including leave 39 for disability, under this article shall be entitled, on return from 40 such leave, to be restored by the employer to the position of employment 41 held by the employee when the leave commenced, or to be restored to a 42 comparable position with comparable employment benefits, pay and other 43 terms and conditions of employment. The taking of family leave or leave 44 due to a disability shall not result in the loss of any employment bene- 45 fit accrued prior to the date on which the leave commenced. Nothing in 46 this section shall be construed to entitle any restored employee to the 47 accrual of any seniority or employment benefits during any period of 48 leave, or any right, benefit or position to which the employee would 49 have been entitled had the employee not taken the leave. 50 § 6. Section 203-c of the workers' compensation law, as added by 51 section 4 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to 52 read as follows: 53 § 203-c. Health insurance during disability or family leave. In 54 accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. §§ 55 2601-2654), during any period of disability or family leave the employer 56 shall maintain any existing health benefits of the employee in force for 
 A. 4906 4 1 the duration of such leave as if the employee had continued to work from 2 the date [he or she] such employee commenced disability or family leave 3 until the date [he or she returns] of return to employment. 4 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.