Effective January 1, 2027, New York expands Paid Family Leave (PFL) eligibility to reach construction workers who perform work for multiple employers under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The change, enacted by Assembly Bill A4727 and signed into law on December 19, 2025, lets qualifying construction workers aggregate weeks worked across multiple CBA-signatory employers to meet PFL’s service threshold Construction employers that are parties to a CBA should expect a larger share of their workforce to become PFL-eligible and should prepare their payroll and benefits processes now.
New York’s PFL program provides eligible employees with job-protected, paid leave to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or address a qualifying military exigency. The benefit is funded entirely by employees through payroll deductions; employers are not required to fund any portion of the benefit (N.Y. Workers’ comp. Law § 209 (McKinney)).
Under the existing rule, a full-time employee generally must complete 26 consecutive weeks of employment with a single covered employer before becoming eligible for PFL. That requirement poses a structural barrier in the construction industry, where workers routinely move among employers over the course of a year and rarely accumulate 26 consecutive weeks with any one company.
A new statutory category. The Workers’ Compensation Law now defines a “Construction employee” as a worker who performs “construction, demolition, reconstruction, excavation, rehabilitation, repairs, renovations, alterations, or improvements for multiple employers pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement” (N.Y. Workers’ comp. Law § 201 (McKinney)).
Aggregation of service across employers. A qualifying construction employee may count covered weeks worked across multiple CBA-signatory employers toward PFL eligibility. Eligibility is satisfied where, in the aggregate, the worker performed construction-related work for at least 26 of the prior 39 weeks for employers that are signatories to a collective bargaining agreement.
The practical effect: workers who could never satisfy the 26-consecutive-week test with a single employer may now qualify based on their cumulative service across the signatory group.
What Is Not Changing
- Benefit level. PFL remains up to 12 weeks of leave in any 52-week period, paid at 67% of the employee’s average weekly wage, capped at 67% of the New York State Average Weekly Wage (N.Y. Workers’ comp. Law § 204 (McKinney)).
- Employee funding. PFL continues to be funded by employees through payroll deductions. Employers collect contributions as agent for their employees and are not required to fund the benefit (N.Y. Workers’ comp. Law § 209 (McKinney)). The annual contribution rate and benefit cap are reset by the Department of Financial Services each year; employers should confirm the 2027 figures rather than assume the 2026 numbers carry over.
- Core employer duties. When an employee files a claim, the employer must complete its portion of the request (Part B of form PFL-1) and return it within three business days (N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 12, § 380-5.1). Employers must restore employees returning from PFL to the same or a comparable position (N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 12, § 380-8.1; N.Y. Workers’ comp. Law § 203-b (McKinney)), maintain group health coverage during leave (N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 12, § 380-7.4), and refrain from retaliating against employees who take leave (N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 12, § 380-8.1).
A CBA Administration Option
New York’s PFL regulations permit an employer and a union to administer PFL through their collective bargaining agreement — rather than through the standard statutory mechanism — provided the agreement furnishes PFL benefits “at least as favorable” as the law and does not allow employees to waive their right to family leave. For multiemployer construction arrangements, this may allow the parties to tailor administration, potentially through a multiemployer health and welfare fund, so long as employees receive benefits at least equivalent to the statute.
Action Items for Construction Employers
- Determine whether the new rule reaches your workforce. If you are a CBA signatory, identify which workers may now qualify through aggregated multi-employer service.
- Coordinate week-tracking across the signatory group. Work with your payroll administrator, PFL carrier, and any benefit funds on how covered weeks will be reported, aggregated, and verified across employers.
- Update your PFL intake and claim-handling procedures to account for the expanded eligible population and confirm you can meet the three-business-day employer-response requirement.
- Confirm the 2027 contribution rate and benefit cap with your carrier before adjusting payroll deductions for the new year.
- Review your CBA with labor counsel to evaluate whether to administer PFL through the agreement and a multiemployer fund, and whether any CBA language needs to be conformed to the new law.
This alert is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. The 2027 Department of Financial Services contribution and benefit figures should be independently confirmed.
