PFL - NY | Imamother

amother

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 12:38 pm

Is it possible for a large office (of over 50 employees) to get around allowing their employees to take 12 weeks of maternity leave?

amother

Heather

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 12:43 pm

I sure hope not.
Society is finally improving in increasing maternity leave after years of requiring women to return at 6 weeks, which is abusive.
An employer should be supportive and understanding of the need for a proper maternity leave and not try to find ways around it

amother

Strawberry

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 12:47 pm

amother Heather wrote:

And just to add, women can actually take 18 weeks- 6 weeks disability followed by 12 weeks PFL

OP, I would sure hope not. Even 12 weeks is abysmal.
Heather, I am on maternity leave now, but I thought it wouldn't be worth it to take disability since its only about $160 a week?

amother

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 12:49 pm

I know about the DBL followed by PFL. No one in my office does that, though. And I hear there is talk trying to lower the maternity leave allowance of 12 weeks.

amother

Heather

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 12:54 pm

amother Strawberry wrote:

OP, I would sure hope not. Even 12 weeks is abysmal.
Heather, I am on maternity leave now, but I thought it wouldn't be worth it to take disability since its only about $160 a week?

Right if you can afford to only make $160 a week then you can do 18 weeks total
But if that is too tight financially for someone then I guess they would just do the 12 weeks of PFL and skip the disability

And totally agree that even 12 weeks isn't enough.

amother

Heather

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 12:57 pm

amother OP wrote:

I know about the DBL followed by PFL. No one in my office does that, though. And I hear there is talk trying to lower the maternity leave allowance of 12 weeks.

Just because they don't do it doesn't mean they aren't legally allowed to.

And talk is just talk. It's meaningless until it's actually law, if it comes to that (which it likely won't, any elected official who fights to lower maternity leave will probably lose their next election)

And even if they get rid of PFL in NY, employess can still take 12 week of unpaid leave under FMLA which is a federal law

scintilla

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 12:58 pm

What do you mean by allowing? Are they telling you they aren't covered by PFL insurance, or that they can't hold your job for you, or something else? I believe the second option is absolutely illegal if they do fall under the guidelines for PFL. As far as the first you can look up online if they have PFL insurance, it's separate from disability insurance which they are required to have either way iirc, but them not having it doesn't mean they aren't supposed to have it legally.

scintilla

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 12:59 pm

Also, are you in NY? The website is pretty clear about who is eligible: https://paidfamilyleave.ny.gov/eligibility

amother

Taupe

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 1:01 pm

amother Strawberry wrote:

OP, I would sure hope not. Even 12 weeks is abysmal.
Heather, I am on maternity leave now, but I thought it wouldn't be worth it to take disability since its only about $160 a week?

I don’t know if it was because I’m1099, but I bought a plan which paid me 50% off my average weekly salary from before I gave birth.

amother

Heather

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 1:13 pm

amother OP wrote:

I'm an employee. I heard talk that the boss is trying to get this changed legally. Not sure how, though.

That's disgusting. Hopefully they won't be successful though. I don't see how they can get NYS to change a law.

amother

Chocolate

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 1:35 pm

scintilla wrote:

I don’t know how you’d be able to see online but you should just be able to see if it’s a deduction on your paycheck. If you’re paying in then you’re opted into the plan from what I understand. If it’s not they somehow were able to opt out of it.

amother

Heather

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 1:38 pm

amother OP wrote:

Can they change the way we're paid? Can they make people sign off on this?

What does change the way you're paid mean? Switching from a W2 to a 1099?

scintilla

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 1:39 pm

amother Chocolate wrote:

My apologies, I forgot to post the link. https://www.wcb.ny.gov/icpocin.....h.jsp you can look up any company in NY there and see which policies they have, and it will say if they have a PFL policy or just DBL. I used this to help someone who couldn't tell from their pay stubs, it was lumped together with something else.

amother

Heather

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 1:45 pm

amother OP wrote:

I definitely have PFL listed as one of the taxes deducted.

Then they can't prevent you from claiming the benefits after you have a baby

scintilla

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 1:51 pm

amother Heather wrote:

Then they can't prevent you from claiming the benefits after you have a baby

Yep, and they can't just change you from a W2 to a 1099 either, there are classifications to each one.