Time off work to care for a parent: FMLA and New York Paid Family Leave

The short version

The federal FMLA protects your job for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. New York Paid Family Leave (PFL) pays part of your wages for up to 12 weeks and also protects your job. Many caregivers can use both at the same time, so the paid weeks are also the protected weeks. Your employer's HR office and the state helpline can confirm your situation.

FMLA (federal)

The Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period to care for a parent, spouse, or child with a serious health condition, among other reasons. Your health insurance continues on the same terms. To be eligible you must have worked for the employer at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months, at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles. Leave can be taken all at once or in blocks, and intermittently for appointments when medically needed.

New York Paid Family Leave

Most employees of private employers in New York are covered. You can take up to 12 weeks in a 52-week period to care for a family member with a serious health condition, at 67 percent of your average weekly wage up to a cap; the state's 2026 maximum weekly benefit is $1,228.53, and the cap changes each year. Family members include a parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, and child, and the person can live outside New York. Job protection and continued health insurance are part of the law, and retaliation is prohibited.

Who is eligible for PFL

Employees who work 20 or more hours a week are eligible after 26 consecutive weeks with the employer; employees under 20 hours a week are eligible after 175 days worked. Public employees are covered only if their employer opted in. Immigration status does not affect eligibility. You pay for PFL through a small payroll deduction; in 2026 it is 0.432 percent of wages, capped for the year.

How to apply for PFL

Tell your employer at least 30 days ahead when the leave is foreseeable, otherwise as soon as you can. Complete the request form and have the parent's health care provider complete the medical certification; the family care forms are on the state site. Submit to your employer's PFL insurance carrier, which pays the benefit; the state says the carrier must pay or deny within 18 calendar days of a complete request. The PFL Helpline, (844) 337-6303, weekdays 8:30 to 4:30, answers questions and takes complaints.

Using them together, and the rest

• If you qualify for both, employers can require FMLA and PFL to run at the same time. Ask HR how they handle it.
• PFL is for a family member's condition, not your own; your own illness falls under disability benefits instead.
• Check whether your employer offers paid caregiver leave on top; some do.
• Self-employed people can opt into PFL; the state page explains the waiting period.