The wait is over! On May 31, 2017, New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) published their final regulations for Paid Family Leave (PFL) to align with today's release of the highly anticipated rates and rating mechanism:
Rating Mechanism: Single tier as a percent of salary
Rate: There is no fixed rate as it is based on the employee’s salary. The weekly contribution rate for Paid Family Leave is 0.126% of the employee’s weekly wage (capped at New York State’s current average weekly wage of $1,305.92*).
This translates into a maximum contribution of $1.65 per week per employee in 2018, regardless of gender, age, or other factors.
*NY Department of Labor releases the updated statewide AWW every March 31.
We now have everything we need to get our actuaries busy on commission scales. Stay tuned for details!
Here a few things that caught our attention at first glance in the final DFS regulations:
- The consequences for late PFL entrants have been modified:
- Since they are excluded by default Sole Proprietors, Partnerships, and members of an LLC/LLP (or any other self-employed people with employees) can obtain voluntary coverage for themselves effective January 1, 2018, or within 26 weeks (as opposed to initially proposed much shorter 30 days) of forming the above type of businesses or becoming a member of an LLC/LLP. They still must provide coverage for their employees.
- If they miss those dates, they can still obtain voluntary coverage for themselves and be endorsed onto the policy. They are, however, subject to a 2-year waiting period for PFL benefits, during which the regular community rate for PFL must be paid (as opposed the proposed additional option for a higher rate in exchange for immediate coverage).
- Any employees of a Sole Proprietor or LLC/LLP would not be subject to the 2-year waiting period if their employer is a late PFL entrant.
- This provision has been added:
Sole Proprietors and members of an LLC/LLP (or any other self-employed person) with employees must be covered under the same policy/rider as their employees.
- The ability to opt in for voluntary PFL coverage as a Sole Proprietors or member of an LLC/LLP (or any other self-employed person) without employees has been changed to line up with the underlying DBL practices, which require them to have at least 1 employee.
If you’re into details, click here to download a copy of the final DFS regulations for PFL.
Just a reminder: draft round 2 of the Workers’ Comp Board’s (WCB) part of the Paid Family Leave regulation is still in the comment period (read details here).
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