Hochul announces major expansion to paid family leave

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the expansion on Tuesday of New York’s 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave benefits.

The program will now cover 150,000+ employees, or more than 80% of the state workforce.

“It comes down to maternal health, time for mom to take care of herself, because you don’t feel great for a long time. We don’t always talk about that, but depression can kick in. It’s very common, especially for first time moms. It’s just a lot of uncertainty and concerns,” Hochul said. “So it’s good for a family’s economic security, it’s good for maternal health, and it’s good for workforce retention.”

Hochul signed legislation in 2021 expanding the Paid Family Leave law to include caring for a seriously ill sibling.