Video Description
Hi. My name's Alex Hartzband, and I'm an employment attorney at Faruqi & Faruqi.
Unfortunately, at present, federal law does not provide for paid parental, sick, medical or other leaves of absence, though it does allow certain employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family or medical reasons per year. That said, the state, city, or town in which you work may provide you with additional protections.
For example, most employees in New York state, as of January 1, 2019, are entitled to up to 10 weeks of paid family leave per year at up to 55% of their average weekly pay. And, these benefits are set to increase in 2020 and again in 2021. Additionally, most employees in New York City are entitled to up to 40 hours per year of paid sick leave.
Whether you're entitled to paid leave, under what circumstances you're entitled to it, and your rate of pay during that leave are going to vary depending on where you work and your particular circumstances.
If you'd like to learn more about your rights to paid leave or suspect that those rights are being violated by your employer, we encourage you to reach out to an attorney experienced in employment litigation as soon as possible.