The New York State legislature is considering a bill (A.3737/S.4259) that would expand the covered reasons for leave under the New York Paid Family Leave Law (“NYPFLL”) to include fetal and infant bereavement.

Currently, the NYPFLL provides eligible New York employees with up to 12 weeks of partially paid leave in a rolling 12-month period for reasons including caring for a covered family member with a serious health condition, bonding with a newly born or placed child, and certain reasons related to military exigency.

The proposed bill would add as an additional covered reason “leave taken for the purposes of bereavement due to the fetal death or still birth of an infant born to the employee or the employee’s spouse, or due to the employee’s infant being declared medically not viable to survive birth” by a licensed physician.  Employees seeking to take leave for this purpose would be required to provide a fetal death certificate, certificate of still birth or death certificate as part of a claim for NYPFLL benefits.

If enacted, the law would take effect for claims beginning on January 1, 2024.

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Photo of Evandro Gigante Evandro Gigante

Evandro Gigante is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Employment Litigation & Arbitration group and the Hiring & Terminations group. He represents and counsels clients through a variety of labor and employment matters, including allegations of…

Evandro Gigante is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Employment Litigation & Arbitration group and the Hiring & Terminations group. He represents and counsels clients through a variety of labor and employment matters, including allegations of race, gender, national origin, disability and religious discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, defamation and breach of contract. Evandro also counsels employers through reductions-in-force and advises clients on restrictive covenant issues, such as confidentiality, non-compete and non-solicit agreements.

With a focus on discrimination and harassment matters, Evandro has extensive experience representing clients before federal and state courts. He has tried cases in court and before arbitrators and routinely represents clients before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as state and local human rights commissions.

Photo of Laura Fant Laura Fant

Laura Fant is a special employment law counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-administrative leader of the Counseling, Training & Pay Equity Practice Group. Her practice is dedicated to providing clients with practical solutions to common (and uncommon) employment concerns…

Laura Fant is a special employment law counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-administrative leader of the Counseling, Training & Pay Equity Practice Group. Her practice is dedicated to providing clients with practical solutions to common (and uncommon) employment concerns, with a focus on legal compliance, risk management and mitigation strategies, and workplace culture considerations.

Laura regularly counsels clients across numerous industries on a wide variety of employment matters involving recruitment and hiring, employee leave and reasonable accommodation issues, performance management, and termination of employment . She also advises on preparing, implementing and enforcing employment and separation agreements, employee handbooks and company policies, as well as provides training on topics including discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Laura is a frequent contributor to Proskauer’s Law and the Workplace blog and The Proskauer Brief podcast.