Spring has sprung, and along with it comes Mother’s Day and Father’s Day! Now, more than ever, parents deserve to be celebrated – many pulling double, or even triple duty during these unprecedented times of COVID-19. We understand the challenges parents face first-hand, as many of us at ShelterPoint have kids home with us now, too. Which is why we created this set of instantly downloadable coloring sheets – freshly updated with special Mother’s Day and Father’s Day pages for your kids to color!
In honor of Mother’s and Father’s Day, we are sharing an inside look at how the moms and dads among our insured members used NY Paid Family Leave for bonding in 2019, and how those numbers compare to 2018. New York increased the benefits and duration for Paid Family Leave in 2019. So how did our claimants use PFL? Did they take the extended 10 weeks leave length in 2019? Did fathers or mothers take more time, or was it the same amount of time? Get an inside look at our claim data!
Last year’s 2019 Paid Family Leave claims lined up closely with our 2018 claims data. The breakdown was quite similar, with bonding leave representing the clear majority of claims in 2019, holding in the 76% range (at 76.3% versus 76.7% in 2018).
So, while bonding leave claims continue to make up about ¾ of our claims, we are observing some interesting trends among this type of leave:
- 69% of ShelterPoint bonding claims were from moms vs. 31% from dads.
- However, moms still tend to bond longer than dads: while both are not maxing out on the amount of leave available, the average claim duration from moms went from 7 to 8.5 weeks and dads from 4.5 to 5.2 weeks.
- More dads took leave to bond in 2019 than 2018: 31% as opposed to 28%.
While we’re on the topic of 2019 PFL use, let’s close out with a quick look at caregiver leave: We still see a similar split by gender with a little over 70% of caregiver claims coming from women.
Similar to bonding leave, the average claim duration for caregiver leave went up slightly: from 4 to 4.7 weeks, which is still less than half of the permitted duration. And we still see a similar split by gender, with little over 70% of caregiver claims coming from women.
In 2019, the maximum duration was extended from 8 to 10 weeks. So, what was the average overall claim duration like in 2019? In 2019, the average overall claim duration clocked in at less than 7 weeks, indicating that our claimants, on average, did not max out on the amount of leave available to them.
Next year, in its final phase-in year, the maximum duration is scheduled to go up to 12 weeks. It will be interesting to continue monitoring the duration to see if it keeps increasing gradually as PFL adoption and the program continue to mature.
Happy Mother’s and Father’s Day to all the parents out there! Don’t forget about our coloring pages to help your kids make something special for their Mom or Dad - download them here!
Have questions about Paid Family Leave? Email your PFL experts anytime at pflquestions@shelterpoint.com.
This blog post is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal counsel. Please consult with an appropriate professional for legal and compliance advice. Any PFL information is as of the blog post’s date stamp; it is based on the applicable statutes and regulation, and may change as regulations evolve or NY State issues guidance regarding Paid Family Leave regulations. Have more questions? Email us at pflquestions@shelterpoint.com