FMLA, Paid Family Leave, Disability Benefits and Sick Leave in New York: How They Fit Together

Six different leave laws can come into play when a New York worker or a family member is ill or pregnant, and they do different jobs. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protects your job but may be unpaid; New York's disability benefits and Paid Family Leave replace part of your pay; State sick leave, State paid prenatal leave and New York City's protected time off give shorter blocks of time.⁠^{[2][4][9][5][6][10]} None of them is a disability discrimination law, and the duty to consider a reasonable accommodation continues alongside them.⁠^[7]

What each leave law is for, who it covers and what it pays

Law (layer)	What the leave is for	Who is covered	How much time	Pay
FMLA (federal)	Among other reasons, the employee's own serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the job, or care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition.⁠[1]	Employers with 50 or more employees. The employee needs at least 12 months with the employer and at least 1,250 hours of service in the previous 12 months, and is excluded if the employer has fewer than 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite.⁠[11]	A total of 12 workweeks in any 12-month period.⁠[1]	The statute says the leave may consist of unpaid leave.⁠[2]
Paid Family Leave (New York State)	Care for a family member with a serious health condition; bonding with a child during the first twelve months after birth, adoption or foster placement; certain military-related needs. Not the worker's own illness.⁠[3]	Eligible employees of covered employers under the Workers' Compensation Law.⁠[12]	Up to 12 weeks in any 52-week period.⁠[9]	67 percent of the employee's average weekly wage, capped at 67 percent of the New York State average weekly wage. The State's 2026 update page lists a maximum weekly benefit of $1,228.53.⁠[9]
Disability benefits, often called short-term disability or DBL (New York State)	Inability to perform the regular duties of the job because of an injury or sickness that did not arise out of the employment.⁠[3]	Employees covered by the disability benefits provisions of the Workers' Compensation Law.⁠[4]	No more than 26 weeks in any 52 consecutive weeks. The Workers' Compensation Board states that there is a seven-day waiting period.⁠[4][13]	One-half of the weekly wage, but no more than $170 per week.⁠[4]
State sick leave, Labor Law § 196-b (New York State)	A mental or physical illness, injury or health condition of the employee or a family member, whether or not it has been diagnosed or needs medical care at the time; diagnosis, care, treatment or preventive care; and specified safety needs of victims of domestic violence and similar offenses.⁠[14]	Every employer size, in different amounts.⁠[5]	Up to 40 hours a year at employers with 4 or fewer employees and at employers with 5 to 99 employees; up to 56 hours at employers with 100 or more. Leave accrues at not less than one hour per 30 hours worked.⁠[5]	Paid at employers with 5 or more employees. Unpaid at employers with 4 or fewer, unless the employer's net income exceeded $1 million in the previous tax year.⁠[5]
Paid prenatal leave, Labor Law § 196-b(4-a) (New York State)	Health care services received by an employee during or related to their pregnancy, including physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussions with a health care provider.⁠[6]	The statute says "every employer," on and after January 1, 2025.⁠[6]	20 hours during any 52-week period, in addition to sick leave. It may be taken in hourly increments.⁠[6]	Paid at the regular rate or the minimum wage, whichever is greater.⁠[6]
Protected time off, formerly presented as earned safe and sick time (New York City)	The City's notice of employee rights lists uses that include medical care or recovery from your own illness or injury and care for a sick family member.⁠[10]	Per the City's notice dated February 22, 2026, all employees, in amounts that depend on employer size.⁠[10]	32 hours immediately available to all employees, plus accrued time of up to 56 hours at employers with 100 or more employees and up to 40 hours at smaller employers, accruing at 1 hour per 30 hours worked.⁠[10]	The 32 immediately available hours are unpaid. Accrued time is paid at employers with 5 or more employees or more than $1 million in business earnings, and for household employees; it is unpaid at employers with 1 to 4 employees and less than $1 million. The notice also lists 20 hours of paid prenatal leave.⁠[10]

Two cautions about the table. First, the 2026 Paid Family Leave dollar figure comes from the State's own 2026 update page and is tied to the State average weekly wage, so check the current year's figure before relying on it.⁠^[9] Second, the New York City row rests on the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection's Notice of Employee Rights dated February 22, 2026, which now calls the law "NYC's Protected Time Off Law."⁠^[10]

Do you get your job back, and what protects you from retaliation?

Pay and job protection are separate questions. A law can replace wages without promising the job back, and a law can protect the job without paying anything.

Law (layer)	Return to the job	Retaliation and interference rule
FMLA (federal)	On return, the employee is entitled to the same position or an equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay and other terms.⁠[15]	It is unlawful for an employer to interfere with, restrain or deny FMLA rights, or to discharge or discriminate against a person for opposing a practice the FMLA makes unlawful. A federal regulation says FMLA leave cannot be counted under no-fault attendance policies.⁠[15][16]
Paid Family Leave (New York State)	On return, the employee is entitled to the same position or a comparable position with comparable benefits, pay and other terms.⁠[12]	Workers' Compensation Law § 120, the anti-discrimination section, applies to family leave. It makes it unlawful to discharge, fail to reinstate or otherwise discriminate against an employee for claiming benefits under that law.⁠[12][17]
Disability benefits (New York State)	The reinstatement section of the benefits law, § 203-b, is headed "Reinstatement following family leave."⁠[4][18]	Workers' Compensation Law § 241 makes § 120 applicable to the article of that law that contains these benefits.⁠[19]
State sick leave and paid prenatal leave (New York State)	On return, the employee is restored to the position held before the leave, with the same pay and other terms and conditions.⁠[20]	No employer may discharge, threaten, penalize or otherwise discriminate or retaliate against an employee for requesting or using sick leave or paid prenatal leave. An employer also may not require disclosure of confidential information about the health condition as a condition of providing the leave.⁠[21][14]
Protected time off (New York City)	The City's notice of employee rights, dated February 22, 2026, states the anti-retaliation rule in the next column and does not set out a separate return-to-work rule.⁠[10]	The City's notice states that it is illegal to punish or fire employees for requesting or using leave or for reporting violations, and that an employer can require documentation only when four or more workdays in a row are used.⁠[10]

One New York State rule cuts across every row. Labor Law § 215 prohibits penalizing an employee for using any legally protected absence under federal, local or state law, and it defines retaliation to include assessing a demerit, occurrence or other point, or a deduction from an allotted bank of time, that subjects or could subject the employee to discipline.⁠^[22] That provision is covered in the guide to retaliation under Labor Law § 215, and the leave-specific rules are collected in retaliation for taking leave or filing a workers' compensation claim.

Which law covers your own illness, injury or surgery?

For your own health condition, four of the six laws can apply:

• FMLA (federal). Leave is available for a serious health condition, meaning an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider, when it makes you unable to perform the functions of the job.⁠^[1]
• Disability benefits (New York State). Partial wage replacement applies when an injury or sickness that did not arise out of the job leaves you unable to perform your regular duties.⁠^[3][4]
• State sick leave (New York State). The leave can be used for your own mental or physical illness, injury or health condition, even if it has not been diagnosed.⁠^[14]
• Protected time off (New York City). The City's notice lists medical care and recovery from your own illness or injury among the uses.⁠^[10]

New York Paid Family Leave is not on that list. A common mistake is to assume it covers the worker's own surgery; the statute defines family leave as care for a family member, bonding with a child, or certain military-related needs.⁠^[3] The Workers' Compensation Board also states that combined disability benefits and Paid Family Leave may not exceed 26 weeks in a 52-week period.⁠^[4][13]

An injury that happens on the job is different again. Disability benefits are defined around injury or sickness "not arising out of and in the course of" employment, so a work injury belongs to the workers' compensation system.⁠^[3] State law makes it unlawful to discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee for claiming workers' compensation, and a complaint under that section must be filed within two years.⁠^[17]

Which law covers caring for a family member?

Under the federal FMLA, an eligible employee can take leave to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition.⁠^[1] Under New York State law, Paid Family Leave pays a share of wages while an employee provides care, including physical or psychological care, for a family member with a serious health condition.⁠^[3][9] State sick leave can also be used for a family member's illness, injury or health condition.⁠^[14] In New York City, the City's notice lists care for a sick family member among the uses of protected time off.⁠^[10]

Being treated worse at work because a relative has a disability is a separate question from leave. It is covered in the guide to perceived disability and association discrimination.

Pregnancy, prenatal care and bonding

Several of these laws meet during a pregnancy. Under New York State law, paid prenatal leave gives 20 hours in a 52-week period for health care received during or related to the pregnancy, on top of sick leave.⁠^[6] The Workers' Compensation Board states that a pregnant employee is eligible for disability benefits for four weeks before the due date and six weeks after giving birth, or eight weeks after a Caesarian delivery.⁠^[13] Paid Family Leave then covers bonding with the child during the first twelve months after birth.⁠^[3]

Leave is not the only tool. The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law each contain a duty to accommodate pregnancy-related needs.⁠^[23][24][25] They are explained in the guide to pregnancy accommodation in New York.

What happens when the leave runs out?

The end of a leave entitlement is not automatically the end of the job. A U.S. Department of Labor regulation says that nothing in the FMLA modifies or affects any federal or state law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability.⁠^[7] Under federal law, EEOC guidance treats the use of accrued paid leave or unpaid leave as a form of reasonable accommodation when a disability makes it necessary, and the Second Circuit has said that the duty to accommodate does not require an employer to hold a position open indefinitely.⁠^[8]

State and City law diverge on open-ended leave. The Court of Appeals has held that indefinite leave is not considered a reasonable accommodation under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL).⁠^[26] Under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), the NYC Commission on Human Rights says no accommodation, including indefinite leave, is categorically excluded, and each request is assessed case by case.⁠^[27] A New York appellate court has also held that both the State and City laws require an employer to consider a requested accommodation, in that case additional leave, through an individualized, interactive process.⁠^[28][29]

The details are in the guides to medical leave as a reasonable accommodation and being fired while on medical leave. If your condition is short-term, see temporary injuries and short-term conditions.

How long do you have to enforce these rights?

Law (layer)	Time limit stated in the law
FMLA (federal)	A lawsuit within 2 years after the last event constituting the violation, or within 3 years for a willful violation.⁠[30]
Workers' Compensation Law § 120, which applies to workers' compensation claims and to Paid Family Leave (New York State)	A complaint within two years of the discriminatory practice.⁠[17][12]
Labor Law § 215, protected absences and retaliation (New York State)	A civil action within two years after the violation.⁠[31]
New York City sick time law, as amended by Local Law 22 of 2024	A civil action within 2 years of the date the person knew or should have known of the violation.⁠[32]

Discrimination and accommodation claims run on different clocks from leave claims. Those are set out in New York employment claim deadlines.

What people commonly get wrong

• "New York City sick leave can only be enforced through the City agency." Local Law 22 of 2024 allows a person alleging a violation to bring a civil action in court.⁠^[32]
• "After 12 weeks, the employer owes nothing more." The FMLA does not modify disability discrimination law, and further leave may still need to be assessed as a reasonable accommodation.⁠^[7]

Practical steps if you are planning a leave

• Ask in writing which leave programs your absence is being counted under, and keep the reply.
• Keep copies of medical notes, benefit claim forms and any approval or denial you receive.
• Note the first and last day of each block of leave and how each was paid.
• If you expect to need changes at work when you return, read how to request a reasonable accommodation before the leave ends. Under the New York State regulation, an employee with a disability has a right to request an accommodation at any time.⁠^[33]