Workers' comp, disability and Paid Family Leave: the New York employer checklist

Three coverages, one payroll

The New York State Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) tells employers with workers in the state that they may be required to provide workers' compensation, disability benefits and New York Paid Family Leave coverage. They protect against different things:

When the obligation starts

Workers' comp is described by the WCB as mandatory for most employers of one or more employees. The Board also notes that the Workers' Compensation Law treats most people providing services to a for-profit business as employees, so calling someone a contractor does not settle the question on its own.

Disability and PFL run on a clock. Under WCL Section 202, an employer that has had one or more employees in New York on each of at least 30 days in a calendar year becomes a covered employer four weeks after that 30th day. The 30 days do not need to be consecutive. If you buy a business that was already a covered employer, you are covered immediately. Employees who must be covered for disability are also required to be covered for PFL.

Household employers of domestic workers and farms have their own rules on the WCB site, so check those pages if that is your setup.

Where coverage comes from

• A private carrier. The WCB says more than 200 private carriers are authorized by the Department of Financial Services to write workers' comp, bought through a carrier, broker or agent.
• NYSIF. The New York State Insurance Fund is a public, not-for-profit carrier that writes workers' comp, disability and PFL. The WCB says NYSIF must insure any employer seeking coverage regardless of business type, safety record or size, though it can refuse an employer that owes it money from a prior account.
• Self-insurance. Qualified employers can self-insure but must post a security deposit and meet all Board obligations. In practice this is a large-employer route.

The insurer reports your coverage to the Board electronically under your FEIN, so a wrong FEIN on the policy can trigger a non-compliance notice even when you are insured.

Employee contributions in 2026

Employers may, but do not have to, collect contributions toward DBL and PFL. Per the WCB, the DBL contribution is one-half of one percent of wages, capped at 60 cents a week. For 2026, the state's Paid Family Leave site lists the PFL employee contribution at 0.432% of gross wages per pay period, up to an annual maximum of $411.91. The same site lists 2026 PFL benefits at 67% of the employee's average weekly wage, capped at $1,228.53 a week, for up to 12 weeks.

Two practical notes from the Board: there can be no lapse in DBL/PFL coverage even when switching insurers, and you must post notice of coverage (the PFL notice is Form PFL-120) where employees can see it. Your DBL insurer supplies the notices.

What a gap costs

The penalty schedule is what makes this a cash-flow topic. According to the WCB:

• Workers' comp: penalties of up to $2,000 for every 10-day period without coverage. The Board warns the amount may already exceed $12,000 by the time a first penalty notice arrives. Separately, failing to cover five or fewer employees within a 12-month period is a misdemeanor with a $1,000 to $5,000 fine; more than five is a class E felony with a $5,000 to $50,000 fine. An uninsured employer also owes the wage and medical benefits on any claim, and the Board can issue a stop-work order.
• Disability and PFL: a penalty of up to one-half of one percent of payroll for the period of noncompliance plus up to $500 per period, and liability for claims paid during the gap or one percent of payroll, whichever is greater. Sole proprietors, partners and corporate officers can be held personally liable.

A business has 30 days from the initial workers' comp penalty notice to request a review.

Budgeting premiums without starving payroll

Premiums often land as a deposit plus installments, and a year-end payroll audit can produce a bill if headcount or wages grew. For illustration only: a shop that adds four hires in spring may find its audited payroll well above the estimate the policy was priced on, and the difference comes due in one lump. The WCB itself recommends getting quotes several months ahead, checking that your employees are in the right classification, and collecting certificates from subcontractors, since carriers routinely charge general contractors for uninsured subs.

If a premium deposit, an audit bill or a coverage restart is squeezing payroll, working capital can bridge it. We fund $25,000 to $5,000,000 for New York businesses, often in as little as 24 hours, based on about three months of business bank statements. No tax returns, FICO 500+ considered, and sole proprietors can apply. The application takes about 5 minutes.