New York Maternity Leave
Federal law does not allow employees to be laid off due to necessity of
leave. Under New York state law and federal law employees are entitled
to take an unpaid leave of absence for the purposes of medical or
family care. An employee cannot be terminated for needing to take leave
nor can an employee be terminated due to pregnancy.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act under federal law also allows
expectant employees job protection while expecting and on maternity
leave. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 protects
employee occupations. Upon returning to work an employee on leave is
entitled to his or her prior occupation or an occupation of the same
salary and benefits. An employer has the right to hire a temporary
employee to handle the employee on leave's duties but is then required
to terminate the temporary employee after the allotted time period.
Each employee is allowed up to twelve weeks of necessary leave each
year. This leave is always unpaid and must be taken consecutively.
Family and medical leave cannot be spread out throughout the year. The
necessities for family and medical leave include maternity leave,
caring for an elderly parent, caring for an ill child, hospitalization,
or any other extended need for psychological or medical purposes.
Maternity leave includes caring for a newborn as well as allowing
adoptive parents to bond with a new child. Paternity leave is also
available in most cases.
Holiday Pay
New York does not have a law requiring employees to be paid for working
holidays. New York also does not have a law requiring employers to
allow employees time off for holidays. According to federal law
companies and businesses can legally be open three hundred sixty-five
days a year, requiring employees to work holidays and all weekdays.
Federal law and New York state law also does not require employees to
be paid more for working holidays.
Businesses and companies have the right to allow employees to take
holidays off, pay employees more for working holidays, and allow
employees to choose which holidays they would like to work. Under
written company policy employers are required to fulfill this
obligation if offered. Federal holidays also do not apply to companies
and businesses. Federal holidays are mandated for government agencies
and post offices only. If companies and businesses wish to allow
employees federal holidays off, it is at their own discretion.
If an employer allows an employee to be off for a holiday and that
employee works more than forty hours that week, he or she most often
will not qualify for overtime payment. In these cases the holiday pay
will cancel out the overtime worked.
Meal Laws
The state of New York is one of eleven states that requires employers
to provide meal breaks during an eight-hour shift. These meal breaks
are usually not paid, unless stipulated by company policy, and are
usually one hour long. Employees are usually required to work no more
than six hours before taking a meal break. Some companies and
businesses allow employees to be paid while on meal breaks, while
others only allow thirty-minute meal breaks.