FMLA in New York is supplemented by state legislation that grants additional benefits to employees who have a spouse that is a member of the National Guard, Reserves, or Armed Forces. Any employer with twenty or more employees must provide up to ten days of leave when the employee’s spouse is on leave during deployment. In addition, New York State Law requires that employers offering leave for birth of a biological child, must make the same time available to an employee who adopts a child that is preschool age or younger (or up to 18 years old, if disabled).

FMLA in New York has also been directly impacted by the June 26, 2013 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that determined the Defense of Marriage Act’s (DOMA’s) definition of marriage to be unfair and more importantly, unconstitutional. This landmark decision puts the power to determine a definition of marriage into the hands of each individual state, leaving a void in many states, but not the state of New York. Because New York has already taken legislative action in order to define marriage. Therefore, as one of the thirteen states that has already decided to recognize same-sex marriage, effective immediately any couple married in and living in New York must be treated in exactly the same fashion regarding the application of FMLA in New York.

FMLA in New York has become confusing according to a number of covered employers. However, large penalties have recently been levied against employers found not to be compliant with FMLA requirements, which reinforces the fact that confusion will not be a successful defense against a FMLA lawsuit. And the $80,000 legal expense recently cited as the average cost to defend a FMLA lawsuit, regardless of outcome, adds to the urgent business need for an efficient, cost-effective and automatically compliant leave administration system. FMLA in New York doesn’t need to be a four-letter word.

Compliance with FMLA in New York can easily be accomplished with the implementation of Qcera’s LeaveSource™ software. This administrative system has been keeping covered employers, of any size, compliant for more than thirteen years. More than a dozen Fortune 500 companies have found success with LeaveSource’s efficient, user-friendly, and cloud-based software system. Request a demonstration by clicking on the red button above, or visit the website at www.LeaveSource.com.