Senate Bill S8727

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8727
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 7, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. C. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to  extending
   paid family leave benefits to members of the New York national guard
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Section 203 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by
 chapter 651 of the laws of 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   § 203. Employees eligible for benefits under section two hundred  four
 of  this article. Employees in employment of a covered employer for four
 or more consecutive weeks and employees in employment  during  the  work
 period usual to and available during such four or more consecutive weeks
 in  any  trade  or  business in which they are regularly employed and in
 which hiring from day to day of such employees is the  usual  employment
 practice  shall  be  eligible  for  disability  benefits  as provided in
 section two hundred four of this article. Employees in employment  of  a
 covered  employer for twenty-six or more consecutive weeks and employees
 in employment during the work period usual to and available during  such
 twenty-six  or  more consecutive weeks in any trade or business in which
 they are regularly employed and in which hiring from day to day of  such
 employees  is the usual employment practice shall be eligible for family
 leave benefits as provided in section two hundred four of this  article.
 FOR PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE, ANY PERSON ENLISTED, APPOINTED, OR COMMIS-
 SIONED  TO BE A PART OF THE NEW YORK ARMY NATIONAL GUARD OR THE NEW YORK
 AIR NATIONAL GUARD FOR TWENTY-SIX OR MORE  CONSECUTIVE  WEEKS  SHALL  BE
 ELIGIBLE  FOR  FAMILY  LEAVE  BENEFITS.  For  purposes  of this article,
 employees who perform construction,  demolition,  reconstruction,  exca-
 vation,  rehabilitation,  repairs, renovations, alterations, or improve-
 ments for multiple employers pursuant to a collective bargaining  agree-
 ment  shall  be eligible for family leave benefits if they were employed
 for at least twenty-six of the last thirty-nine  weeks  by  any  covered
 employer  which is signatory to a collective bargaining agreement. Every
 such employee shall continue to be eligible for  family  leave  benefits
 only  during  employment  with  a  covered employer. Every such employee
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD13383-03-6
 S. 8727                             2
 
 shall continue to  be  eligible  for  disability  benefits  during  such
 employment  and  for a period of four weeks after such employment termi-
 nates regardless of whether the employee performs any work for remunera-
 tion or profit in non-covered employment. If during such four week peri-
 od the employee performs any work for remuneration or profit for another
 covered employer the employee shall become eligible for disability bene-
 fits immediately with respect to that employment. In addition every such
 employee  who has previously completed four or more consecutive weeks in
 employment with the covered employer for purposes  of  disability  bene-
 fits,  or  twenty-six  or  more consecutive weeks in employment with the
 covered employer for purposes of paid family leave, and returns to  work
 with  the  same  employer  after an agreed and specified unpaid leave of
 absence or vacation without pay shall become eligible for benefits imme-
 diately with respect to such employment.  FOR PURPOSES OF THIS  ARTICLE,
 ANY  PERSON ENLISTED, APPOINTED, OR COMMISSIONED TO BE A PART OF THE NEW
 YORK ARMY NATIONAL GUARD OR THE NEW YORK  AIR  NATIONAL  GUARD  AND  WHO
 BECAME  ELIGIBLE  FOR  PAID  FAMILY  LEAVE  BENEFITS  BY BEING ENLISTED,
 APPOINTED, OR COMMISSIONED FOR AT LEAST TWENTY-SIX OF THE PRIOR  THIRTY-
 NINE  WEEKS, AND WHO RETURNS TO SUCH ENLISTMENT, APPOINTMENT, OR COMMIS-
 SION AFTER AN AGREED AND SPECIFIED UNPAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE  OR  VACATION
 WITHOUT  PAY  WITH  THE NEW YORK ARMY NATIONAL GUARD OR THE NEW YORK AIR
 NATIONAL GUARD SHALL BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR  FAMILY  LEAVE  BENEFITS  IMME-
 DIATELY WITH RESPECT TO SUCH ENLISTMENT, APPOINTMENT, OR COMMISSION. For
 purposes  of  this  article, employees who perform construction, demoli-
 tion, reconstruction, excavation, rehabilitation, repairs,  renovations,
 alterations,  or  improvements  for  multiple  employers  pursuant  to a
 collective bargaining agreement and who became eligible for paid  family
 leave  benefits  by  working at least twenty-six of the last thirty-nine
 weeks, and who return to work after an agreed and specified unpaid leave
 of absence or vacation without pay with the same or  different  employer
 shall become eligible for family leave benefits immediately with respect
 to  such  employment. In the case of employees who perform construction,
 demolition, reconstruction, excavation, rehabilitation,  repairs,  reno-
 vations, alterations, or improvements for multiple employers pursuant to
 a collective bargaining agreement who are laid-off and receive unemploy-
 ment  benefits,  such employees shall be eligible for family leave bene-
 fits upon returning to work if they are otherwise  qualified  by  having
 worked  at  least  twenty-six of the last thirty-nine weeks. An employee
 who during a period in which such employee is eligible to receive  bene-
 fits  under subdivision two of section two hundred seven of this article
 returns to employment with a covered employer and  an  employee  who  is
 currently  receiving  unemployment  insurance benefits or benefits under
 section two hundred seven of this article and who returns to  employment
 with  a  covered  employer shall become eligible for disability benefits
 immediately with respect to such employment. An  employee  regularly  in
 the  employment  of  a  single employer on a work schedule less than the
 employer's normal work week shall become eligible for  disability  leave
 benefits  on  the  twenty-fifth  day  of such regular employment and for
 purposes of paid family leave an  employer  shall  become  eligible  for
 benefits  on  the  one hundred seventy-fifth day of such regular employ-
 ment. An employee who is eligible for disability and family leave  bene-
 fits  in  the  employment of a covered employer shall not be deemed, for
 the purposes of this article, to have such employment terminated  during
 any  period  such employee is eligible to receive benefits under section
 two hundred four of this article with respect to such employment.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.