New York A 9571: Relates to increasing short-term disability benefits

Bill Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9571--A
IN ASSEMBLY
January 16, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON, SOLAGES, PHEFFER AMATO, BICHOTTE HERME-
LYN, SHRESTHA, CRUZ, STECK, SHIMSKY, BURDICK, KIM, GLICK, SEAWRIGHT,
FORREST, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, LUNSFORD, COLTON, SIMON, REYES, ROZIC, LEVEN-
BERG, CLARK, GALLAGHER, MEEKS, VALDEZ, ROMERO, WEPRIN, HEVESI, TAYLOR,
GRIFFIN, BRABENEC, BURROUGHS, ALVAREZ, SLATER, WOERNER, MAHER, KELLES,
BORES, LASHER, SANTABARBARA, GALLAHAN, SAYEGH, SIMONE, FALL, ANGELINO,
CHLUDZINSKI, GIGLIO, KASSAY, R. CARROLL, ANDERSON, RIVERA, McMAHON,
P. CARROLL, WRIGHT, TAPIA, SEMPOLINSKI, McDONOUGH, MITAYNES, KAY,
TORRES, SCHIAVONI, RAGA, LUPARDO, ROSENTHAL, BENEDETTO, PAULIN, ZACCA-
RO, LAVINE, BENDETT, GIBBS, CUNNINGHAM, OTIS, SEPTIMO, LUCAS,
K. BROWN, STIRPE, DE LOS SANTOS, STERN, WIEDER, EACHUS, JACOBSON,
MAGNARELLI, CHANDLER-WATERMAN, ZINERMAN, MORENO, COOK, LEE, MORINELLO,
BERGER, CASHMAN, CONRAD, BRAUNSTEIN, HOOKS, O'PHARROW, JACKSON,
WILLIAMS, DURSO, BARRETT, HAWLEY, DILAN, BURKE, DAIS, DINOWITZ, HUNT-
ER, McDONALD, POWERS, RAJKUMAR, RAMOS, VANEL, WALKER -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. DAVILA -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Labor -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law and the insurance
law, in relation to increasing short-term disability benefits
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 200 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by
2 section 1 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 § 200. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as
5 the "disability [ ] and [ ] paid family leave benefitsbenefits law the
6 law."
7 § 2. Subdivisions 14, 15 and 22 of section 201 of the workers' compen-
8 sation law, subdivision 14 as amended and subdivisions 15 and 22 as
9 added by section 2 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, are
10 amended to read as follows:
11 14. "A day of disability" means any day on which the employee was
12 prevented from performing work because of disability[, including any day
EXPLANATION--Matter in (underscored) is new; matter in bracketsitalics
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00302-06-6

A. 9571--A 2
1 ] and for which the employeewhich the employee uses for family leave,
2 has not received [ ] regular remuneration.his or her the employee's
3 15. "Family leave" shall mean any leave taken by an employee from
4 work: (a) to participate in providing care, including physical or
5 psychological care, for a family member of the employee made necessary
6 by a serious health condition of the family member; or (b) to bond with
7 the employee's child during the first twelve months after the child's
8 birth, or the first twelve months after the placement of the child for
9 adoption or foster care with the employee or on or after January first,
10 two thousand twenty-seven until January first, two thousand thirty-one,
11 for the six weeks immediately following a pregnancy loss at or after
12 twenty weeks of gestation if the employee who experienced the pregnancy
13 loss would have been deemed eligible to take family leave benefits under
14 this article based on an expected birth or placement and would otherwise
15 subsequently be deemed ineligible for family leave benefits due to preg-
16 ; or (c) because of any qualifying exigency as interpretednancy loss
17 under the family and medical leave act, 29 U.S.C.S § 2612(a)(1)(e) and
18 29 C.F.R. S.825.126[ ], arising out of the fact that the(a)(1)-(8)
19 spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent of the employee is on active
20 duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty)
21 in the armed forces of the United States.
22 22. "Health care provider" shall mean for the purpose of [family
23 ] , a person licensed under article one hundred thir-leave this article
24 ty-one, one hundred thirty-one-B, one hundred thirty-two, one hundred
25 thirty-three, one hundred thirty-six, one hundred thirty-nine, one
26 hundred forty-one, one hundred forty-three, one hundred forty-four, one
27 hundred fifty-three, one hundred fifty-four, one hundred fifty-six or
28 one hundred fifty-nine of the education law or a person licensed under
29 the public health law, article one hundred forty of the education law or
30 article one hundred sixty-three of the education law.
31 § 3. Section 203-a of the workers' compensation law, as added by
32 section 4 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to
33 read as follows:
34 § 203-a. Retaliatory action prohibited for [ ] leave. 1. Thefamily
35 provisions of section one hundred twenty of this chapter and section two
36 hundred forty-one of this article shall be applicable to family and
37 leave.disability
38 2. Nothing in this section shall be deemed