New York State Paid Family Leave Policy

Policy Statement

Fordham University will provide statutory New York State Paid Family Leave (NYPFL) benefits to its eligible employees who participate in the program through payroll deductions.

Reason for the Policy

The purpose of this policy is to provide employees with a detailed description of their NYPFL rights. In the event of any conflict between this policy and the applicable law, employees will be afforded all rights required by law.

Responsible University Office/Officer

Responsible Office – Office of Human Resources Management

Responsible Officer – Gulay Siouzios, Director of Labor and Employee Relations

Applicability of the Policy

This policy is applicable to all University employees who have not waived NYPFL coverage, and who meet the minimum service requirements specified in the policy.

Policy Text

Qualifying events for Receiving New York Paid Family Leave (NYPFL):

• Bonding with a child (or children) after birth, adoption or foster placement;
• Caring for a family member with a serious health condition, including spouses, domestic partners, children and step-children, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, biological siblings, adopted siblings, step-siblings, and half-siblings; and
• Assisting military families.

NYPFL may not be taken for any of the following reasons:

• for a birth mother’s pregnancy or prenatal conditions;
• for the employee's own health condition; and/or
• for the employee's own qualifying military event.

Eligibility

Employees become eligible to take New York Paid Family Leave for a qualifying event once they have met the minimum time-worked requirements as below:

• Employees who work a regular schedule of 20 or more hours per week are eligible after 26 consecutive weeks of employment.
• Employees who work a regular schedule of less than 20 hours per week are eligible after working 175 days, which do not need to be consecutive. Employees with irregular schedules should look at their average schedule to determine if they work, on average, fewer than 20 hours per week.

Definition of a Serious Health Condition

A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves:

• inpatient care in a hospital, hospice or residential health care facility; or
• continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a healthcare provider.

Employee Deductions

The New York State Paid Family Leave is an employee-funded program and employers are required to collect employee contributions through a payroll deduction which is determined annually by the New York State Department of Financial Services. For 2023, the employee contribution rate is 0.455% of the gross annual wage subject to a maximum deduction of $399.43.

Waiving NYPFL Coverage

Part-time employees are eligible to waive NYPFL coverage if they:

• Work a regular schedule of less than 20 hours per week, and will not work 175 days in a year; or
• Work a regular schedule of 20 or more hours per week, but won’t be in employment for 26 consecutive weeks.

If an employee waives coverage, they will not have to make contributions and will not be eligible for NYPaid Family Leave benefits. To waive the coverage please send the completed waiver form to the University’s Office of Payroll Services at [email protected].

If an employee waives NYPFL coverage and the employee’s regular schedule changes so that the employee will no longer meet the waiver criteria (either the employee works 26 consecutive weeks or 175 days in a consecutive 52-week period), then the employee’s waiver will be automatically revoked.

NYPFL Benefits  

• Leave Benefit: Up to twelve (12) weeks of leave within a 52-consecutive week period. Leave can be taken all at once or intermittently in full-day increments.
• Wage Benefit: 67% of employee’s average weekly wage, up to a cap of $1,131.08 for 2023. Vacation or sick time cannot be used to supplement the NYPFL benefit.
• Health Insurance Benefit: Continued health insurance coverage provided the employee continues to pay their contributions toward the health insurance cost.
• Job Protection: Employees on NYPFL are entitled to return to the position they held when the leave commenced, or to a comparable position with comparable benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment.
• Sick/Vacation Time: While on PFL employees will not accrue sick or vacation time.

Administrators are also eligible to receive the University’s “Enhanced Parental Leave” if they qualify for NYPFL under this section. See Fordham’s Enhanced Parental Leave Policy.

Procedure for Applying for New York Paid Family Leave

The NYPFL program is administered by the University’s Third Party Administrator (TPA), currently MetLife. Accordingly, eligible employees who qualify for NYPFL are paid NYPFL benefits by MetLife. 

It is the responsibility of the employees to timely submit their requests for NYPFL benefits directly to the TPA (MetLife). Please follow the steps below to apply for NYPFL benefits:

1) Provide Notice to Supervisor and Human Resources: Employees must provide at least 30 days’ advance notice to their supervisor and the Office of Human Resources Management at [email protected] of their intent to use New York Paid Family Leave, if it’s foreseeable. If the event is not foreseeable, the employee must provide the notice as soon as possible.

2) Submit Application for New York Paid Family Leave to University’s TPA (MetLife): Employees can submit an application for NYPFL to MetLife by

a) Calling MetLife customer service support desk at 1-888-762-2347 between 8 a.m. – 11 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday; or

b) Applying online at metlife.com/mybenefits (Employees will have to create an account if they are accessing the site for the first time.)          

Employees may need to provide and/or verify the following information:

a) Personal Information: mailing address, phone number, SSN, employee ID number, job title, workplace location, work schedule, supervisor’s name and phone number, and date of hire;

b) Type of Leave: child bonding - natural birth, adoption or foster care; care for a sick family member and relationship to family; member military exigency family leave and relationship to family member;

c) Anticipated Leave Schedule: last day worked, leave start date, anticipated return to work, phone number, and mailing address;

d) Authorization to release family member’s medical information to University’s TPA (MetLife);

3) Approval of Leave: The University’s TPA (MetLife) will review the documentation submitted by the employee to support their need for Paid Family Leave and provide an approval or denial decision, as required by the law, within 18 calendar days of receiving the completed request for New York Paid Family Leave or the employee's first day of leave, whichever is later.

Employees can check the status of their claim at any time by visiting www.metlife.com/mybenefits or by calling MetLife customer service support desk at 1-888-762-2347 between 8 a.m. – 11 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

If the claim is denied, employees will receive notification from the TPA indicating the reason for the denial. The notification will also include contact information of TPA’s claims representative to whom employees can informally dispute the decision prior to seeking arbitration.

Relationship with Other Leaves

Employees who are eligible for New York State statutory disability benefits may receive only a combined amount of 26 weeks of disability benefits and NYPFL benefits in a 52-consecutive calendar week period.

PFL will run concurrently with leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) where the reason for leave qualifies under both NYPFL and FMLA. In these cases, employees will be required to comply with all applicable employee requirements (e.g., application, certification, notice, etc.) under both policies. Accordingly, employees should also review and refer to the University’s FMLA Policy. If an employee’s leave qualifies under both NYPFL and FMLA, but the employee declines to apply for NYPFL benefits, any leave taken by the employee for such a reason will be counted against the employee’s NYPFL allotment.

If employees are collecting workers’ compensation for a total disability, they cannot take NYPFL. If they are on a reduced earnings schedule, they may still be eligible for NYPFL.

As PFL provides only partial pay, employees may choose to use their accrued and available vacation time instead of accepting the PFL pay benefit from the TPA. Accrued and available vacation time must be used in full-day increments and will be deducted from the employee’s vacation balance. For any period of the leave covered by accrued and available vacation time, the employee will not receive any PFL payments and the  time used will be counted towards the 12 weeks of PFL leave benefit.

Job Benefits and Protection

During an approved PFL leave, the University will continue healthcare insurance coverage provided the employee continues to pay their contributions towards the health insurance cost.  For any portion of the leave in which the employee is paid by the University, the University will continue to make payroll deductions to collect the employee’s share of the premium. 

Employees’ should make arrangements with the Office of Human Resource Management regarding paying the premium for any portion of the leave in which they are paid by the TPA. The University has the right to cancel coverage if the payment is delayed by more than 30 days. 

Employees who exercise their right to PFL will, upon the expiration of that leave, be entitled to be restored to the position they held when the leave commenced, or to a comparable position with comparable benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment. The taking of leave covered by PFL will not result in the loss of any employment benefit accrued prior to the date on which the leave commenced unless the employee chooses to use accrued vacation time in lieu of PFL payments. While on PFL, employees will not accrue sick or vacation time if they are receiving PFL payments from the TPA.

Protection from Discrimination and Retaliation

The University will not discriminate or retaliate against any employee for inquiring about, applying for, or using PFL benefits.  If you feel that you may have been discriminated or retaliated against for requesting or taking Paid Family Leave or have not been restored to the job you had prior to taking PFL or to a comparable job upon return  please contact the Office of Human Resources Management at [email protected].

Employees can also follow the process defined by the New York State’s Worker Compensation Board to file a complaint.

Fraud

An employee who fraudulently obtains PFL, or who uses PFL in an improper manner, is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Questions

MetLife’s representatives are available on  1-888-762-2347 between 8 a.m. – 11 p.m. ET , Monday through Friday for assistance with Paid Family Leave questions. Questions regarding this policy can also be addressed to the Office of Human Resources Management  at [email protected] or by calling (718) 817-4930.

In addition, employees can obtain more information on PFL by visiting New York State’s Paid Family Leave or calling (844) 337-6303.

Related Policies and Procedures

• Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Fordham University’s Enhanced Parental Leave Policy