FMLA and Paid Leave Attorney

New York City employees have some of the strongest leave protections in the country. Between the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, New York Paid Family Leave, statewide paid sick leave, and the city's own Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, most workers in the five boroughs are covered by at least two overlapping leave laws. Employers still deny valid leave requests, miscount eligibility hours, refuse reinstatement, and fire people for taking time they were legally entitled to take. Our firm represents employees in these disputes, from a denied leave request through trial.

The Federal FMLA: 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.

The FMLA gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for their own serious health condition, to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition, for the birth or placement of a child, or for certain military family needs. 29 U.S.C. § 2612(a). Up to 26 weeks is available in a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember.

You are eligible if you meet all three requirements:

• 12 months of employment: The months need not be consecutive.
• 1,250 hours worked: Counted over the 12 months immediately before the leave begins.
• Worksite size: Your employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your worksite. In New York City, this test is almost always satisfied for mid-size and large employers.

The regulations impose concrete duties on both sides. For foreseeable leave, you must give 30 days' advance notice where practicable. 29 C.F.R. § 825.302. For unforeseeable leave, notice as soon as practicable is enough, and you do not need to say the letters "FMLA" to trigger protection. Once your employer has enough information to know the leave may be FMLA-qualifying, it must give you an eligibility notice within five business days and later a written designation notice stating whether the leave counts as FMLA leave. 29 C.F.R. § 825.300. An employer that stays silent, then fires you for "unexcused absences," has likely interfered with your rights under 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a).

At the end of FMLA leave, you are entitled to reinstatement to the same position or an equivalent one with equivalent pay, benefits, and terms. 29 C.F.R. § 825.214. A demotion, a schedule cut, or a "restructured" role on your return is often actionable.

New York Paid Family Leave: Workers' Compensation Law Article 9

New York Paid Family Leave (PFL) fills the biggest gap in the FMLA: it pays you. Under Article 9 of the Workers' Compensation Law, eligible employees receive up to 12 weeks of leave at 67% of their average weekly wage, capped at 67% of the statewide average weekly wage, to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or handle needs arising from a family member's active military service. The covered family circle is broader than the FMLA's and includes siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, domestic partners, and parents-in-law.

Eligibility is generous. Employees who regularly work 20 or more hours per week qualify after 26 consecutive weeks of employment; those who work fewer than 20 hours per week qualify after 175 days worked. There is no minimum employer size. PFL covers nearly all private employers in New York, including small businesses the FMLA never reaches.

PFL also carries its own job protection. Workers' Compensation Law § 203-b requires reinstatement to the same or a comparable position, and § 120 prohibits retaliation for taking or requesting leave. Health insurance must continue during leave on the same terms as if you were working.

Procedure matters here. PFL benefits are paid by your employer's insurance carrier, not the employer directly. Once you submit a completed claim, the carrier must pay or deny it within 18 calendar days. 12 NYCRR 380-5.4. If the carrier denies the claim or fails to act, you can request arbitration through the state-designated neutral arbitrator. Many denials rest on paperwork technicalities or a carrier's misreading of the medical certification, and they can be reversed.

Paid Sick and Safe Leave in New York City

Two additional laws cover shorter-term absences:

• NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA): N.Y.C. Admin. Code §§ 20-911 through 20-924. Employees accrue one hour of leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours per year at employers with fewer than 100 employees and up to 56 hours at employers with 100 or more. Employers with four or fewer employees and net income under $1 million must still provide the leave unpaid. "Safe time" covers absences related to domestic violence, sexual offenses, stalking, and human trafficking.
• New York State Paid Sick Leave: Labor Law § 196-b, which largely mirrors the city law statewide and is enforced by the New York State Department of Labor.

Under ESSTA, employers may not require you to find a replacement worker as a condition of using leave, may not demand medical documentation for absences of three days or fewer, and may not count protected sick time against you under an attendance policy. You can file a complaint with the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection or, since a 2020 amendment, sue directly in court. N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 20-924.

Retaliation Is a Separate Claim

Firing, demoting, disciplining, or cutting the hours of an employee because she requested or took protected leave violates 29 U.S.C. § 2615 (FMLA), Workers' Compensation Law § 120 (PFL), Labor Law § 215 (state sick leave), and N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 20-918 (ESSTA). Retaliation claims often succeed even where the underlying leave dispute is close, because timing tells the story: an employee with clean reviews who is terminated two weeks after submitting FMLA paperwork has powerful circumstantial evidence.

Deadlines and Damages: A Worked Example

Suppose your employer fires you on March 1, 2025, ten days after you requested FMLA leave for surgery. Your key deadlines:

1. FMLA lawsuit: Two years from the violation, so March 1, 2027, extended to March 1, 2028 if the violation was willful. 29 U.S.C. § 2617(c). No administrative filing is required first; you can go straight to court.
2. Labor Law § 215 retaliation: Two years from the retaliatory act. Labor Law § 215(2)(a).
3. ESSTA complaint: Two years to file with the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 20-924(a).
4. PFL benefit dispute: If a carrier denied your PFL claim, request arbitration promptly; the carrier's own decision deadline was 18 days from your completed claim under 12 NYCRR 380-5.4.

A successful FMLA plaintiff can recover lost wages and benefits, an equal amount in liquidated damages unless the employer proves good faith, reinstatement or front pay, and attorney's fees and costs. 29 U.S.C. § 2617(a). Labor Law § 215 adds civil penalties and liquidated damages up to $20,000, and ESSTA authorizes back pay, statutory damages, and reinstatement.

How We Handle Leave Cases

We start by mapping every statute that covers you, because the strongest claim is often not the obvious one. An employee at a 30-person Manhattan company has no FMLA rights but full PFL and ESSTA protection. We gather the leave requests, certifications, attendance records, and personnel file, calculate eligibility hours ourselves rather than trusting the employer's math, and send preservation demands early. Many cases resolve through negotiated reinstatement or severance; the rest we litigate in federal or state court or before the relevant agency.

You can contact the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin by phone at 212-233-1233 or by email at [email protected].