TL;DR: New York Life Group Benefit Solutions, the insurance company, not New York State's paid leave program, administers FMLA and disability leave claims for employers through a product called Absence Assist. If your employer uses New York Life, you'll file your FMLA paperwork and certification through them, either at myNYLGBS.com or by phone at (888) 842-4462. New York Life processes the paperwork and coordinates it with any short-term disability benefit, but your underlying FMLA rights still come from federal law, not from New York Life. Here's exactly how filing works.
If your HR department told you to "contact New York Life" about your leave, you probably had one of two reactions: relief that there's a clear next step, or confusion about whether this has anything to do with New York's state paid leave law. It doesn't. This post is about New York Life Insurance Company's Group Benefit Solutions division, a private third-party administrator some employers hire to process FMLA, disability, and state leave paperwork. It has nothing to do with New York State Paid Family Leave (NY PFL), even though the names sound similar and both can apply to the same New York-based employee at the same time. This guide walks through what New York Life actually does when your employer uses them for leave administration, how to file a claim, what happens after you submit it, and how your federal FMLA rights fit into all of it.
New York Life FMLA vs. New York State Paid Family Leave. Don't Confuse Them
This mix-up trips up a lot of people, so it's worth stating plainly up front:
| New York Life (this post) | New York State PFL |
|---|
What it is | A private insurance company's claims-administration service | A state-mandated paid leave program |
Who runs it | New York Life Group Benefit Solutions, a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company | New York State, via the Workers' Compensation Board |
Applies to | Only employees whose employer contracts with New York Life for leave/disability administration | Every private-sector employee working in New York State, regardless of employer |
Pays wage replacement? | Only if your employer's plan includes short-term disability or state PFL coordination through New York Life | Yes , 67% of average weekly wage, up to $1,229/week |
A Texas-based company can use New York Life Group Benefit Solutions to administer FMLA for employees in Ohio, Georgia, or anywhere else, the company name has nothing to do with the state of New York. Meanwhile, if you actually work in New York State, your employer may separately owe you NY PFL benefits regardless of which administrator handles your FMLA paperwork. We cover that program in detail in our New York Paid Family Leave guide, read that one if you're trying to figure out your state benefit, not this one.
What Is New York Life Group Benefit Solutions?
New York Life Group Benefit Solutions is the employee-benefits division of New York Life Insurance Company. The division grew substantially in December 2020, when New York Life closed a $6.3 billion acquisition of Cigna's group life, accident, and disability insurance business, one of the largest deals in New York Life's history, adding roughly 3,000 employees and more than nine million customers to the unit (Businesswire). That's why some employees who were previously on a Cigna-administered leave plan now deal with New York Life instead, the underlying plan didn't necessarily change, but the administrator did.
The product employers use for leave management is called Absence Assist. According to New York Life's own description, Absence Assist is built to help employers "meet regulatory leave requirements and all your company's administrative needs, including Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), state laws, company leave plans and Paid Family Medical Leave (PFL/PFML)," with support "from intake through return to work" (New York Life Group Benefit Solutions). In practice, that means one team reviewing your medical certification, tracking your FMLA weeks, and (if your employer's plan includes it) coordinating your short-term disability or ADA accommodation request at the same time.
How New York Life Fits Into Your FMLA Rights
Here's the part that matters most and gets glossed over the most: New York Life doesn't create or grant your FMLA rights. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act does. FMLA is a labor law enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, not an insurance benefit. New York Life's role is administrative, they collect your paperwork, verify your medical certification meets FMLA's requirements, and track your leave usage against your employer's records, on the employer's behalf.
That distinction matters when something goes wrong. If New York Life mishandles your certification or your employer misapplies the law, your legal recourse runs through the DOL and federal FMLA regulations, not through an insurance appeal process (more on that difference below).
Under federal FMLA rules, eligible employees get:
Up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave per 12-month period (up to 26 weeks for military caregiver leave)
Coverage for your own serious health condition, a family member's serious health condition, bonding with a new child, or qualifying military-family needs
Eligibility requirements: 12 months employed, 1,250 hours worked in the past year, and a worksite with 50+ employees within 75 miles
Unpaid leave. FMLA itself doesn't replace your wages; that's what a short-term disability benefit or state paid-leave program is for
You can read the full regulatory text at the DOL's FMLA page. For a deeper breakdown of whether you personally qualify, see our FMLA eligibility guide.
How to File an FMLA Claim Through New York Life
Tell your employer first. Your manager or HR contact starts the process and confirms whether New York Life administers your leave, disability, or both.
Contact New York Life. File online through the employee portal at myNYLGBS.com, or call (888) 842-4462 (Spanish-language support: 866-562-8241), available 7 a.m.-7 p.m. CST, see New York Life's own claim-filing instructions for the current contact options.
Have your details ready: your employer's name, employee ID or Social Security number, the reason for leave, and your expected leave dates.
Complete the certification paperwork. New York Life issues the FMLA medical certification form; your healthcare provider fills out the medical portion, covering your diagnosis, the expected duration, and (for your own condition) that you're unable to work. Our medical certification guide walks through exactly what providers need to include.
Submit within the federal deadline. DOL regulations give you 15 calendar days to return a completed medical certification once your employer requests one, this is a federal FMLA rule, not something New York Life sets on its own.
If you're also filing short-term disability, you can file that claim by mail or fax (New York Life Group Benefit Solutions, Paper Intake Team, P.O. Box 709015, Dallas, TX 75370-9015; fax 800-642-8553) or by email at [email protected] for absence/STD claims specifically.
What to Expect After You File
New York Life's published claims materials indicate a disability claim manager typically makes initial contact within 24 to 72 hours of submission, and that a claim manager generally cannot deny a claim for missing information before 45 days have passed without it, extendable if more documentation is still needed. That 45-day window reflects a standard federal claims-handling regulation for ERISA-governed disability plans, not a New York Life-specific promise, so treat it as a ceiling rather than a typical wait. Track your claim status any time through the myNYLGBS.com portal, which lets you upload documents and check progress without calling in.
Two things can happen in parallel if your employer's plan includes both:
FMLA protects your job while you're out, it's unpaid on its own.
Short-term disability (STD), if your employer offers it through New York Life, typically replaces a portion of your wages (commonly 50-70%, though the exact percentage is set by your employer's plan, not by New York Life uniformly).
File both at the same time if you need both. New York Life's Absence Assist model is built to run FMLA and STD claims concurrently rather than sequentially, so you don't lose job protection while your disability claim is still under review, and vice versa. If your leave also involves an ADA accommodation request (for example, a modified schedule during a chronic condition) Absence Assist administers that alongside FMLA and disability for employers who use it that way, rather than as a separate, disconnected process.
What If Your Claim Is Denied or Delayed?
This is where it's important to separate two different things New York Life might be doing for your employer, because the appeal path differs for each:
If a short-term disability claim is denied, that's an ERISA-governed insurance decision. You generally have 180 days to submit a written appeal, and once New York Life receives it, they typically have 45 days to issue a decision under ERISA claims regulations. Appeal in writing, address the specific reason given for the denial, and include any new medical documentation or provider notes, courts reviewing ERISA disability disputes usually only look at what's in the administrative record from the appeal stage, so a thin appeal file can hurt you later.
If your employer denies or interferes with your FMLA leave itself, that's a different problem, it's a potential violation of federal labor law, not an insurance claim. Start by asking your employer or New York Life, in writing, exactly why the leave wasn't designated as FMLA. If that doesn't resolve it, you can file a complaint with the DOL's Wage and Hour Division, which enforces FMLA independently of whatever third-party administrator your employer uses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is New York Life Group Benefit Solutions?
It's the employee benefits and leave-administration division of New York Life Insurance Company. Employers hire it to process FMLA, short-term disability, state paid-leave, and ADA accommodation claims on their behalf through a product called Absence Assist.
Is New York Life FMLA the same as New York State Paid Family Leave?
No, and this is the most common confusion around this topic. New York Life is a private insurance company's claims administrator that any employer, anywhere in the country, can hire. New York State Paid Family Leave (NY PFL) is a state-mandated wage-replacement program that applies to people working in New York, regardless of which company processes their FMLA paperwork. See our New York Paid Family Leave guide for the state program.
How do I file an FMLA claim through New York Life?
Notify your employer first, then file through the myNYLGBS.com portal or by calling (888) 842-4462. Your employer will confirm whether New York Life is your leave administrator before you file.
What information do I need before contacting New York Life?
Your employer's name, your employee ID or Social Security number, the reason for your leave, and your expected leave dates. Having your healthcare provider's contact information ready also speeds up the certification step.
How long does New York Life take to process an FMLA claim?
New York Life's published materials say a disability claim manager generally makes initial contact within 24 to 72 hours of submission, and can't deny a claim for missing information before 45 days pass without it. Treat 45 days as an outer limit, not a typical turnaround, many claims resolve well before that if your paperwork is complete.
Does New York Life decide whether I qualify for FMLA?
New York Life reviews your medical certification against FMLA's requirements and manages the paperwork, but your underlying eligibility comes from federal law: 12 months employed, 1,250 hours worked, and a worksite with 50+ employees within 75 miles. New York Life administers the process on your employer's behalf; it doesn't rewrite the federal eligibility rules.
Can New York Life handle my short-term disability claim at the same time as FMLA?
Yes, if your employer's plan includes both. File both claims at the same time. New York Life's Absence Assist model is designed to run them concurrently so your job protection and wage replacement overlap instead of running back-to-back.
What is New York Life Absence Assist?
Absence Assist is New York Life's absence-management product for employers. It covers FMLA, state leave laws, company-specific leave plans, and Paid Family Medical Leave (PFL/PFML) administration, plus ADA accommodation coordination, from intake through return to work.
What happens if my paperwork is incomplete?
Your claim will stall until the missing information (usually the medical certification) is received. Federal FMLA rules give you 15 calendar days to return a completed certification once it's requested, so don't wait until the deadline to start the conversation with your provider's office.
Can New York Life deny my FMLA leave?
New York Life can determine that submitted paperwork doesn't meet FMLA's certification requirements, which functions like a denial in practice. But the legal standard they're applying is federal law, and if you believe leave was wrongly denied, your recourse is with your employer and ultimately the DOL's Wage and Hour Division, not a New York Life-specific appeals desk.
How do I appeal if my short-term disability claim is denied?
Submit a written appeal within 180 days of the denial notice, addressing the stated reason and attaching any new medical evidence. Under ERISA claims regulations, New York Life generally has 45 days to decide the appeal once received. This process applies to the disability benefit specifically, not to FMLA leave designation.
Does New York Life handle ADA accommodation requests too?
For employers who use Absence Assist for this purpose, yes. ADA accommodation requests can be coordinated alongside FMLA and disability claims through the same team, rather than as a separate process. Confirm with your HR department whether your employer has set it up this way.
Key Takeaways
New York Life Group Benefit Solutions is a private insurance administrator, not New York State's paid leave program, don't confuse the two.
File through myNYLGBS.com or (888) 842-4462, after your employer confirms New York Life is your administrator.
Your FMLA rights come from federal law, not from New York Life, the company processes paperwork, it doesn't grant or define your entitlement.
File FMLA and short-term disability claims together if your employer offers both through Absence Assist.
Disability denials get a 180-day written appeal under ERISA; FMLA leave disputes go through your employer and the DOL, not an insurance appeal.
