S 8727: Extends paid family leave benefits to members of the New York army national guard and New York air national guard.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8727  IN SENATE January 7, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. C. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to extending paid family leave benefits to members of the New York national guard The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 203 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by 2 chapter 651 of the laws of 2025, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 203. Employees eligible for benefits under section two hundred four 4 of this article. Employees in employment of a covered employer for four 5 or more consecutive weeks and employees in employment during the work 6 period usual to and available during such four or more consecutive weeks 7 in any trade or business in which they are regularly employed and in 8 which hiring from day to day of such employees is the usual employment 9 practice shall be eligible for disability benefits as provided in 10 section two hundred four of this article. Employees in employment of a 11 covered employer for twenty-six or more consecutive weeks and employees 12 in employment during the work period usual to and available during such 13 twenty-six or more consecutive weeks in any trade or business in which 14 they are regularly employed and in which hiring from day to day of such 15 employees is the usual employment practice shall be eligible for family 16 leave benefits as provided in section two hundred four of this article. 17 For purposes of this article, any person enlisted, appointed, or commis- 18 sioned to be a part of the New York army national guard or the New York 19 air national guard for twenty-six or more consecutive weeks shall be 20 eligible for family leave benefits. For purposes of this article, 21 employees who perform construction, demolition, reconstruction, exca- 22 vation, rehabilitation, repairs, renovations, alterations, or improve- 23 ments for multiple employers pursuant to a collective bargaining agree- 24 ment shall be eligible for family leave benefits if they were employed 25 for at least twenty-six of the last thirty-nine weeks by any covered 26 employer which is signatory to a collective bargaining agreement. Every 27 such employee shall continue to be eligible for family leave benefits 28 only during employment with a covered employer. Every such employee EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13383-03-6 
 S. 8727 2 1 shall continue to be eligible for disability benefits during such 2 employment and for a period of four weeks after such employment termi- 3 nates regardless of whether the employee performs any work for remunera- 4 tion or profit in non-covered employment. If during such four week peri- 5 od the employee performs any work for remuneration or profit for another 6 covered employer the employee shall become eligible for disability bene- 7 fits immediately with respect to that employment. In addition every such 8 employee who has previously completed four or more consecutive weeks in 9 employment with the covered employer for purposes of disability bene- 10 fits, or twenty-six or more consecutive weeks in employment with the 11 covered employer for purposes of paid family leave, and returns to work 12 with the same employer after an agreed and specified unpaid leave of 13 absence or vacation without pay shall become eligible for benefits imme- 14 diately with respect to such employment. For purposes of this article, 15 any person enlisted, appointed, or commissioned to be a part of the New 16 York army national guard or the New York air national guard and who 17 became eligible for paid family leave benefits by being enlisted, 18 appointed, or commissioned for at least twenty-six of the prior thirty- 19 nine weeks, and who returns to such enlistment, appointment, or commis- 20 sion after an agreed and specified unpaid leave of absence or vacation 21 without pay with the New York army national guard or the New York air 22 national guard shall become eligible for family leave benefits imme- 23 diately with respect to such enlistment, appointment, or commission. For 24 purposes of this article, employees who perform construction, demoli- 25 tion, reconstruction, excavation, rehabilitation, repairs, renovations, 26 alterations, or improvements for multiple employers pursuant to a 27 collective bargaining agreement and who became eligible for paid family 28 leave benefits by working at least twenty-six of the last thirty-nine 29 weeks, and who return to work after an agreed and specified unpaid leave 30 of absence or vacation without pay with the same or different employer 31 shall become eligible for family leave benefits immediately with respect 32 to such employment. In the case of employees who perform construction, 33 demolition, reconstruction, excavation, rehabilitation, repairs, reno- 34 vations, alterations, or improvements for multiple employers pursuant to 35 a collective bargaining agreement who are laid-off and receive unemploy- 36 ment benefits, such employees shall be eligible for family leave bene- 37 fits upon returning to work if they are otherwise qualified by having 38 worked at least twenty-six of the last thirty-nine weeks. An employee 39 who during a period in which such employee is eligible to receive bene- 40 fits under subdivision two of section two hundred seven of this article 41 returns to employment with a covered employer and an employee who is 42 currently receiving unemployment insurance benefits or benefits under 43 section two hundred seven of this article and who returns to employment 44 with a covered employer shall become eligible for disability benefits 45 immediately with respect to such employment. An employee regularly in 46 the employment of a single employer on a work schedule less than the 47 employer's normal work week shall become eligible for disability leave 48 benefits on the twenty-fifth day of such regular employment and for 49 purposes of paid family leave an employer shall become eligible for 50 benefits on the one hundred seventy-fifth day of such regular employ- 51 ment. An employee who is eligible for disability and family leave bene- 52 fits in the employment of a covered employer shall not be deemed, for 53 the purposes of this article, to have such employment terminated during 54 any period such employee is eligible to receive benefits under section 55 two hundred four of this article with respect to such employment. 56 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.