Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill that expands New York State’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) legislation to allow caring for siblings beginning January 1st, 2023. Under the current law, employees cannot take leave to care for a sibling with a serious health condition. In effect since 2018, PFL is employee-paid insurance that provides workers with job-protected, paid time off to bond with a newly born, adopted, or fostered child; care for a family member with a serious health condition, or assist loved ones when a member of the family is deployed abroad on active military service. Currently, Paid Family Leave family care covers caring for spouses, domestic partners, children and stepchildren, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, and grandchildren with a serious health condition. Through this legislation the definition of “family members” expands to include siblings. This includes biological siblings, adopted siblings, stepsiblings, and half-siblings. These family members can live outside of New York State, and even outside of the country. Read more here.
