Happy New Year!

If you’re a parent to be in 2018 and work in New York, you’re probably extra merry as new parental leave legislation now guarantees you paid leave to bond with your soon-to-be bundle of joy.

On Jan. 1, 2018, the New York State Paid Family Leave Benefits Law went into effect, requiring employers to provide paid family leave to eligible employees. To be eligible, an employee must:

• work at least 20 hours per week;
• have worked at least 26 consecutive weeks;
• part-time employees working fewer than 20 hours per week are eligible for benefits after working for the employer for 175 days (actual work, not just calendar days).

“Virtually every private employer must comply with these new obligations as there is no minimum employee requirement,” according to The National Law Review. “PFL is a benefit for employees who work in New York State, regardless of where the employer is headquartered or where the employee lives. An employer that is located outside of New York need not cover employees who live in New York but work outside of New York.”

That means even if your employer is headquartered in Chicago, you will still be covered if you work in New York City. And it’s not just for the purpose of bonding with a child after birth or adoption; it also covers taking time off to care for a family member with a serious illness.

This bill is making headlines because it represents a growing movement of states trumping federal requirements to provide better paid family leave — a hot-topic benefit in high demand by today’s professionals, especially millennials, which now represent the largest generation in the active workforce.

The current federal law is the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, signed into law during President Bill Clinton’s first term. Often called FMLA, this law mandates 12 weeks unpaid leave to mothers for the purpose of attending to a newborn or newly adopted child.

While the guaranteed time off is a positive, many families can’t afford to take 12 weeks off without any type of income, which means many mothers and fathers return to work much earlier. Some states are changing this by eliminating the tough decision between caring for a new baby and making ends meet.

The New York legislation specifies changes that are adopted at an increasing rate each year. In 2018, employees can receive 8 weeks paid leave at 50 percent of an employee’s average weekly wage or 50 percent of New York’s average weekly wage, whichever is less. By 2021, this grows to 12 weeks paid leave at 67 percent of an employee’s average weekly wage or 67 percent of New York’s average weekly wage, whichever is less. (These benefits are provided through an insurance policy that must be obtained by the employer.)

In addition to New York, only three other states offer paid family and medical leave: California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. If you work in these locations, familiarize yourself with the laws so you can use them when needed. If you work elsewhere, understand FMLA and consider companies that have their own parental leave policies. Some companies — like Netflix, Amazon, and 3M — offer corporate parental leave benefits.