City Launches New Paid Family Leave Benefit

Today, the new paid family leave benefit is open for application in most agencies.

The benefit–which the union won through negotiations for the 2017-21 economic agreement–is now available to nearly 100,000 DC 37 members who are covered by the contract and work at mayoral agencies, NYC Health+Hospitals, the New York City Housing Authority, and the Dept. of Education.

There are a number of ways to apply for the benefit. You should start by asking your human relations office which process applies to you. Please click here for FMLA (Family & Medical Leave)

Members at mayoral agencies, NYCHA and H&H must fill out a form (PFL-1) and send it–along with the required documents–to an insurance company that manages the benefit. The insurance company will administer the benefit through an online portal called ABSOLVE. Here is the link to the Personnel Services Bulletin, which has information about the benefit.

Members at the Dept. of Education will apply for the benefit through the department’s Self-Service Online Leave Application System (SOLAS) on the HR Connect Portal. After logging in with your Windows/Outlook user ID and password, you can search for “DC 37 Paid Family Leave.” School workers must have a schools.nyc.gov email address to apply. The application link will be available on Jan. 10, and you will be able to apply retroactively for benefits starting on Jan. 7.

The union worked with worked with human resources, payroll agencies, and the Dept. of Citywide Administrative Services to open up the paid family-leave benefit. In upcoming weeks, the union will work with management to address any confusion and concerns that arise.

During the contract negotiations, last year, DC 37 and the city agreed to arrange for coverage through the New York State Paid Family Benefit. The union is negotiating to win the benefit for members covered by other contracts. Administrators at CUNY, where members approved a new contract in December, have told the union that the benefit should be available by the fall.

The DC 37 Blog is an official online publication of DC 37, AFSCME, which represents 121,000 municipal employers in New York City and surrounding areas.