Cuomo Vetoes Paid Leave, Deputy Retirement Benefit Bills

Thursday, January 3, 2019 | 0

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vetoed two more bills that would have expanded benefits for grieving workers and for sheriffs' deputies.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Senate Bill 8380 would have amended the state's workers' compensation statute to allow paid time off for workers who have lost a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, spouse or domestic partner. But Cuomo said the plan would end up costing employees significantly.

"First, the 12-week benefit upon full implementation would constitute an extreme expansion of the paid family leave program, the cost of which would result in a dramatic burden on low-wage workers," Cuomo said in a statement that was quoted in local news reports. "We anticipate that the employee contribution would increase significantly as the utilization of a new class of benefits is actuarially factored into the premium rate, which is set annually."

The state launched the family leave program earlier this year but required that funding to cover the time off would come from employees.

Also last week, Cuomo shot down SB 8066, which would have raised deputies' retirement pay. For local governments that participate in Article 14-B of the Retirement and Social Security Law, a deputy's accidental disability retirement would have gone from two-thirds of the final average salary, minus workers' compensation benefits, to three-fourths of the salary.

A fiscal note to the bill said it would add about 0.3% to the cost of deputies' pay and benefits.