What paid family and sick leave does New York require in 2026?

The assumption that trips out-of-state employers is the 50-employee threshold. Federal FMLA hits at 50 employees, but New York PFL, DBL and sick-leave accrual apply from your first New York hire. A three-person Manhattan team carries the same PFL deduction and sick-leave accrual as a 3,000-person enterprise. Check your New York employer cost including PFL and DBL premiums before you make the hire.

The benefit covers bonding with a new child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, and certain military-family needs. The Department of Financial Services resets the contribution rate and the maximum each year, so the 0.432% deduction and the $411.91 annual cap are 2026-specific figures. Most employers carry PFL through their statutory disability insurance policy, and benefits are paid by that carrier rather than out of payroll.

Eligibility runs on a tenure test: an employee who works 20 or more hours a week qualifies after 26 weeks, and a part-time employee qualifies after 175 days worked. That is a different clock from the federal FMLA rule, so a worker can qualify for PFL wage replacement before they qualify for FMLA job protection. New Jersey runs a comparable wage-replacement programme, but NY PFL's 67% rate and 12-week duration make it one of the most generous in the region. Compare the full picture on our New Jersey paid family leave page.

DBL pays 50% of an employee's average weekly wage to a statutory ceiling of $170 a week, after a 7-day waiting period, for up to 26 weeks in a 52-week period. That $170 cap has not moved for years, so DBL on its own replaces only a small slice of a New York salary. Many employers layer voluntary short-term disability on top to close the gap, but the statutory floor is the part you must carry under the Workers' Compensation Board rules.

DBL and PFL are usually written on the same carrier policy, which is why the two get confused. They are not the same benefit: DBL covers the employee's own non-work disability, PFL covers family caregiving and bonding. An employee can use DBL for their own pregnancy disability and then move to PFL for bonding, so the same parental event can touch both programmes in sequence. Check how that sequencing affects payroll on the New York state tax and unemployment insurance page.

Covered uses are broad: an employee's own illness, care for a family member, and safe time related to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking. Accrual cannot be capped below 1 hour per 30 worked, and unused sick time carries over year to year, though usage can be limited to the 40- or 56-hour annual figure for the employer's size band. See the full accrual rules at dol.ny.gov.

New York City and Westchester run their own sick-and-safe-leave ordinances that stack on the state floor: NYC's Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) layers on extra rules, including a recent expansion. Where a local rule is more generous on a specific point, that rule applies. A national policy that accrues less than 1 hour per 30 worked is short on every New York payroll, before any city overlay. The same hire's minimum wage and overtime obligations sit on the New York wage and overtime page.

Where both apply, the smart sequence is concurrent: the state claim funds the wages while FMLA preserves the role. FMLA adds up to 26 weeks of military caregiver leave on top. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), enforced by the EEOC, requires reasonable accommodation at any employer with 15 or more employees, separate from any leave entitlement, and New York adds its own 20 hours of paid prenatal leave that sits outside all of these. If termination during or after leave is a concern, the rules sit on the New York termination and at-will exceptions page.

What that looks like, day to day: a leave concierge files the PFL or DBL claim with the carrier and tracks the 12-week and 26-week clocks; the sick-leave ledger accrues 1 hour per 30 worked and applies the right 40- or 56-hour band plus the NYC ESSTA overlay automatically by work location; and the 0.432% PFL deduction is withheld and remitted on the same run.

There is no setup fee and no exit fee, and statutory employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice. Contractor onboarding, EOR payroll and entity graduation all live on one platform: a New York contractor who converts to W-2 keeps their record, and that same employee can graduate to your own US entity without switching systems. Use the Crossover Calculator to see the month the model flips, or the employer cost calculator to price the full New York package. EOR is the right model for a first New York hire, until it isn't.