Teachers and Clergy: Excluded from NY Paid Family Leave?

March 12, 2018

PFL Tips for Teachers

Private, for-profit business? Yes, teachers are covered.

Non-profit or public school? No, teachers aren't covered.

Does NY Paid Family Leave apply to teachers and clergy? What about voluntary coverage? You don’t need a Ph.D. to figure out who to cover. Here’s a quick course on how PFL rules apply to private schools and religious organizations.

The same regulations apply as for DBL. Paid Family Leave is a rider on the DBL policy. It applies to any entity currently considered a covered employer under DBL. That includes private-sector organizations with at least one employee who works in New York for at least 30 days in a year.

DBL-exempt employers are exempt from PFL. But they can choose to provide voluntary coverage.

Exempt private employers who have already opted in to provide DBL must also provide PFL now.

Covered employers may have workers in excluded classes or occupations. Employee classes excluded from DBL are also excluded from PFL. One exception occurs when the private employer has already extended DBL to a class of employees. Then the employer must also extend PFL to the same class of employees — as long as they work in New York.

One key dividing line? Nonprofit status. PFL law excludes certain classes of employees at incorporated nonprofit 501 (c)(3) religious, charitable or educational institutions. Examples include daycare centers, church preschools, charities, etc.

Excluded or Covered Under PFL?

PFL regulations exclude non-profit incorporated 501 (c)(3) religious, charitable or educational institutions such as daycare centers, church preschools, charities, etc.

Who's covered may also depend on employees' job duties. The chart shows more examples.

Excluded Classes Include:Excluded ExamplesCovered Examples
Executive officers
  • CFO
  • Assistant principal
  • Individual contributors
Employees in a Teaching Capacity who create lesson plans and provide classroom instruction
  • Teacher at a non-profit who provides classroom instruction, and drafts lesson plans in a daycare or school setting.
  • Teacher's aide
Clergy
  • Ministers
  • Priests
  • Rabbis
  • Imams
  • Sextons
  • Christian Science Readers
  • Members of a religious order
  • Administrative staff
  • Janitors
People participating in and receiving rehabilitative services in a sheltered workshop run by one of these specific non-profit institutions
  • Workshop participant
  • Rehabilitation counselors
Uncompensated volunteers
  • Unpaid Sunday school teachers
  • Other volunteers
N/A

Want to Provide Voluntary Coverage? 

Follow these guidelines:

  • Employers can apply to provide voluntary coverage to specific classes of excluded employees.
  • You must extend voluntary coverage to the entire class of employees.
  • You must maintain the coverage for at least one year.
  • To end the coverage, you must provide 90-day written notice to the chair of the Workers’ Comp Board and the affected employees.
  • You must also include how you’ll pay any costs incurred before and on the date coverage ends.

More About Paid Leave Administration

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