AARP to Working NYers: Paid Family Leave Starts January 1; Use it!

NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AARP is taking to the airwaves to make sure working New Yorkers know they can start taking advantage of the state's new paid family leave law beginning January 1.

AARP New York is spreading the news via television, radio, social media and other media that private sector and some public sector employees can take up to eight weeks of partially paid, job-protected leave from work beginning in the new year.

The association went to the State Capitol last year, joining Governor Andrew Cuomo to fight to pass paid family leave in the state Legislature.

AARP's message: paid family leave is for any working New Yorker who qualifies – from parents of newborns to military spouses to family caregivers who care for an older parent or spouse.

"Nobody should have to choose between their job and caring for a family member, and we want to make sure working New Yorkers know that they won't have to anymore," said AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel. "New York's new paid family leave law will provide critical support for unpaid family caregivers. There are nearly 2.6 million family caregivers across New York who provide care valued at over $31 billion annually. Many struggle to balance work and caregiving every day. This new law will help ease that strain.

"And it will help family caregivers help their loved ones age at home, rather than in far costlier and mostly taxpayer-funded institutional care settings."

AARP's campaign will include a livestreamed town hall the evening of November 28 at the ABC studios in Manhattan, a live broadcast, and a community affairs radio segment in January. It will also include digital ads as well as television and radio commercials airing throughout the fall and into 2018 from Buffalo to Brookhaven.

The campaign will provide information to working New Yorkers about whether they might qualify and the benefits they would receive if they take time off to care for a sick family member or newborn or to accommodate the military requirements of a family member. More information about the law is available at www.aarp.org/nypaidleave.

Family caregivers spend roughly $5,500 per year out of pocket for food, travel, transportation, medical insurance co-pays, medications and other costs to care for loved ones, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving. And the average caregiver loses over $300,000, conservatively, in wages, pension and Social Security benefits as a result of caregiving responsibilities, MetLife reported.

At first, the new law will provide up to half a worker's pay. The benefit increases gradually to up to 12 weeks in 2021 and up to two thirds the worker's pay.

SOURCE AARP New York