TL;DR: New York Paid Family Leave (NY PFL) pays 67% of your average weekly wage, up to $1,229 per week, for up to 12 weeks. It covers bonding with a new child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, and military family qualifying exigencies. There's no employer-size threshold — even a one-person business must provide it. You don't file with a state agency; you file with your employer's disability/PFL insurance carrier. NY PFL has been active since January 1, 2018.
If you work in New York, you've probably heard "PFL" mentioned on a paystub or in an HR email and moved on without really knowing what it covers. That's fair — most people don't think about paid leave until they need it, and by then the deadlines are already ticking. This guide breaks down exactly who qualifies for New York Paid Family Leave, how much it pays, and — because this trips people up more than any other part — where you actually send your claim. You'll also see how NY PFL interacts with federal FMLA and where New York's separate disability program fits in.
Quick Stats: New York Paid Family Leave
Detail | Figure |
|---|
Program name | New York Paid Family Leave (NY PFL) |
Wage replacement | 67% of average weekly wage |
Maximum weekly benefit | $1,229 |
Maximum duration | 12 weeks |
Employer size requirement | None — applies to employers of any size |
Tenure requirement (full-time) | 26 consecutive weeks (20+ hours/week) |
Tenure requirement (part-time) | 175 days worked, not necessarily consecutive |
Filing deadline | 30 days after leave begins |
Effective since | January 1, 2018 |
Covers bonding, caregiving, military family leave | Yes to all three |
Administering body | NY Workers' Compensation Board (claims filed with your employer's insurance carrier) |
NY PFL Benefits & Eligibility
Who qualifies
New York doesn't gate NY PFL behind a minimum company size the way federal FMLA does with its 50-employee rule. Every private-sector employer in New York, regardless of size, must provide NY PFL to eligible employees. A two-person accounting firm in Rochester has the same obligation as a 5,000-person employer in Manhattan.
To actually be eligible, you need to clear a tenure threshold:
Full-time employees (20+ hours a week): 26 consecutive weeks of employment with your current employer.
Part-time employees (fewer than 20 hours a week): 175 days worked, which don't need to be consecutive.
Notice this isn't a "months employed" test like FMLA's 12-month rule — it's built around weeks and days actually worked. That matters if you've had gaps in your schedule; a part-time worker who's logged 175 scattered workdays qualifies even without six straight months on the job.
What it pays
NY PFL replaces 67% of your average weekly wage, capped at $1,229 per week. Your average weekly wage is calculated from your earnings before your leave starts, so a recent raise or a stretch of overtime can shift your benefit amount. If your regular wage already sits above the level that produces the $1,229 cap, that cap is what you'll get — the formula doesn't scale past it.
This is a flat 67% rate rather than a tiered formula that gives lower earners a higher percentage (some other states do that). In New York, the percentage is the same whether you make $600 a week or $2,000 a week — only the dollar cap changes what actually lands in your account.
What it covers
NY PFL covers three qualifying reasons:
Bonding with a newly born, adopted, or fostered child.
Caring for a family member who has a serious health condition.
Military family leave for qualifying exigencies related to a family member's active-duty service.
NY PFL does not cover your own serious health condition or pregnancy recovery. That surprises a lot of people, since "family leave" sounds broad. For your own medical needs, New York runs a separate, older program: the New York Disability Benefits Law (NY DBL), administered by the same Workers' Compensation Board. DBL covers an employee's own non-work-related disability, including pregnancy recovery, but — unlike PFL — it comes with no job-protection component of its own. PFL and DBL share a combined 26-week annual cap, so if you use both back-to-back (say, DBL for a pregnancy-related disability, then PFL for bonding), the two draw from the same yearly pool.
How to File a Claim
Here's the part that catches people off guard: New York doesn't run NY PFL through a single central state portal the way California runs its program through the EDD. There's no NY equivalent of "log into the state website and file." Instead, your employer's private disability/PFL insurance carrier — or the State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) if that's who your employer uses — processes and pays your claim. The Workers' Compensation Board oversees the program and sets the rules, but the actual claims work happens at the carrier level.
Step 1: Find out who your carrier is. Check your paystub, your employee handbook, or ask HR directly. Your employer is required to tell you which carrier handles PFL claims.
Step 2: Give notice. If your leave is foreseeable — a due date, a planned surgery for a family member — give your employer at least 30 days' advance notice. If it's not foreseeable, notify them as soon as you reasonably can.
Step 3: Get the right forms. Every claim starts with the Request for Paid Family Leave (Form PFL-1), which has sections for you and your employer. Depending on your reason for leave, you'll attach a bonding certification, a family member's health care provider certification, or military-related documentation.
Step 4: Submit within 30 days. File your completed claim within 30 days of your leave start date to preserve full benefit eligibility. Filing late doesn't always disqualify you, but it risks delaying or reducing what you're paid.
Step 5: Send it to the carrier, not the state. Your employer's carrier — not paidfamilyleave.ny.gov itself, and not the Workers' Compensation Board directly — reviews and pays the claim. The official NY PFL site hosts the forms and a lookup tool to help you identify your carrier if you don't already know it, but the claim itself goes to that private insurer.
If your employer can't or won't tell you who the carrier is, the Workers' Compensation Board is the agency with regulatory authority over the program and can help you track it down.
How It Works With FMLA
FMLA and NY PFL solve two different problems, and understanding the split matters because one without the other leaves a gap.
FMLA protects your job. It guarantees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave — but only if your employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles and you've cleared FMLA's own eligibility test (12 months employed, 1,250 hours worked). It pays nothing.
NY PFL pays you. It replaces part of your wages during leave, and because there's no employer-size threshold, it applies even at small employers where FMLA doesn't reach at all. NY PFL also carries its own job-protection guarantee — you're entitled to return to the same or a comparable position, independent of whether FMLA applies to your employer.
When you qualify under both, they typically run concurrently: the same 12 weeks count against both your FMLA entitlement and your PFL benefit, so you're not stacking extra time off — you're getting paid during time you'd otherwise take unpaid. If you work for a small employer where FMLA doesn't apply, NY PFL still pays you and still protects your job on its own. That's a meaningfully stronger position than workers get in states where the paid-leave program covers wages but leaves job protection entirely up to a federal law that may not even reach that employer.
For a broader look at how New York's leave laws layer together — including bereavement and disability provisions — see our New York state leave laws guide. To check your specific FMLA eligibility before you count on that job protection, use our FMLA eligibility guide. And if you want the official program page with New York's own benefit calculator and current-year figures, visit our New York Paid Family Leave overview or run your numbers through our paid leave calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does NY PFL pay?
NY PFL pays 67% of your average weekly wage, up to a maximum of $1,229 per week, for up to 12 weeks. Your average weekly wage is based on your earnings in the period before your leave starts.
Why might my NY PFL benefit be lower or higher than 67% of my current paycheck?
NY PFL calculates your benefit from your average weekly wage — your typical earnings in the period leading up to your leave — not your salary on the day you file. If you've recently gotten a raise, worked substantial overtime, or had your hours cut, that shows up in the average and can push your weekly payment above or below what a simple 67% of your current paycheck would suggest. The payment is also hard-capped at $1,229 per week, so if your average weekly wage is high enough that 67% of it exceeds that figure, you'll still only receive the cap. For the exact lookback period your carrier uses to calculate the average, check your claim paperwork or ask your employer's PFL carrier directly.
Who pays for NY PFL — is it deducted from my paycheck?
NY PFL is generally funded through payroll deductions from employees rather than billed to the employer directly, so you'll typically see a PFL line item on your paystub. New York sets and can adjust the contribution rate annually, so the amount withheld can change from year to year. Check your paystub or paidfamilyleave.ny.gov for the current withholding rate — this guide focuses on your benefit amount and eligibility rather than tracking the yearly premium.
Who administers New York Paid Family Leave?
Unlike states such as California, where a single agency (the EDD) handles everything, New York doesn't run PFL through one central state office. The NY Workers' Compensation Board oversees the program, but claims are processed by your employer's disability/PFL insurance carrier — a private insurer or the State Insurance Fund (NYSIF). Check your paystub or ask HR to find out which carrier covers you.
Does NY PFL cover my own illness or pregnancy recovery?
No. NY PFL covers bonding with a new child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, and military family leave — not your own medical condition. Your own non-work-related disability, including pregnancy recovery, falls under the separate New York Disability Benefits Law (NY DBL), which shares a combined 26-week annual cap with PFL.
Do I need to work for a large employer to qualify for NY PFL?
No. NY PFL has no employer-size threshold — it applies to private-sector employers of any size, including businesses with just one employee. That's different from FMLA, which only applies at employers with 50 or more workers within 75 miles.
Can self-employed New Yorkers get NY PFL coverage?
Not automatically. NY PFL is built around the employer-employee relationship, so being self-employed doesn't get you covered by default the way a W-2 employee is. New York does allow certain self-employed people and sole proprietors to opt into PFL coverage voluntarily, but the enrollment process, waiting periods, and cost work differently than standard employer-provided coverage. If you're self-employed and want coverage, start with paidfamilyleave.ny.gov or the Workers' Compensation Board to confirm the current opt-in requirements before assuming you're either covered or excluded.
Where do I actually submit my NY PFL claim?
You file with your employer's PFL insurance carrier, not with a state website. Ask your employer which carrier handles their PFL coverage, then submit Form PFL-1 with the required certification directly to that carrier. paidfamilyleave.ny.gov hosts the forms and a carrier-lookup tool, but doesn't process the claim itself.
How long do I have to file after my leave starts?
File within 30 days of your leave start date to preserve full benefit eligibility. Filing later can delay your payment or reduce what you're owed, so submit your Form PFL-1 and supporting documentation as soon as you reasonably can.
What happens if my NY PFL claim is denied?
You have the right to appeal, and the denial notice from your carrier should spell out its specific appeal steps and deadline — read it carefully as soon as it arrives. If your carrier's internal review doesn't resolve things, the Workers' Compensation Board has regulatory authority over PFL disputes and is the place to escalate to next. Keep copies of your original claim, any certification (medical, bonding, or military-related) you submitted, and the denial letter itself, since you'll need them if you appeal.
Can I use NY PFL and FMLA at the same time?
Yes, and for most eligible employees, they run concurrently — the same leave period counts against both. FMLA protects your job (at employers with 50+ employees); NY PFL pays part of your wages and independently protects your job regardless of employer size. If your employer is too small for FMLA to apply, NY PFL still covers you on its own.
