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Regional Benefits

Certain states, cities, towns, and municipalities in which Northwestern faculty and staff work have implemented laws and ordinances that may impact the University’s workforce.  Below are descriptions of such rules.

New York State Disability Benefits and Paid Family Leave

In compliance with the laws of the State of New York, Northwestern provides state-mandated short term disability and paid family leave to all eligible employees working in New York. This program has two main components, Short Term Disability and Paid Family Leave.

Short Term Disability

The Disability Benefits Law (Article 9 of the WCL) provides weekly benefits to replace, in part, wages lost due to injuries or illnesses that do not arise out of or in the course of employment (WCL §204). If you are injured or become disabled while you are eligible for or are collecting unemployment benefits, you are eligible for disability benefits if your injury or disablement results in you being ineligible for unemployment benefits.

Weekly Benefit: 50% of your average weekly wage for the last eight weeks worked, but no more than the maximum benefit allowed, currently $170 per week (WCL §204). Benefits paid are subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Benefits are paid for a maximum of 26 weeks of disability during any 52-consecutive-week period (WCL §205).

You cannot collect disability benefits and paid family leave benefits at the same time. The total combined disability leave and paid family leave in any 52-week period may not exceed 26 weeks.

For more information, please visit www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/offthejob/db-overview.jsp.

File a New York Disability Claim:
  1. Call The Hartford at 888-541-7283 within 30 days of your
  2. The Hartford, the insurance carrier, reviews the
  3. The Hartford will contact your physician directly to clarify or seek additional
  4. You will be contacted via phone and also by mail of the claim decision. If a claim is denied, the appeal process is outlined in the
  5. Benefit payments will be made by Northwestern and will offset any Incidental Sick Time (IST)/ Extended Sick Time (EST)
Paid Family Leave

The State’s Paid Family Leave program (PFL) will provide employees with wage replacement to bond with a child (including adopted or foster children), care for a close relative with a serious health condition, or to help relieve the family pressures when someone is called to active military service as out- lined under the military provisions in the federal Family Medical Leave Act.

A “close relative” is defined as a spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild. “Serious health condition” is an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility; or continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider.

Employees who have been employed full-time for 26 weeks or part-time for 175 days are eligible to apply for leave effective January 1, 2018.

Weekly Benefit: The benefit will be each year’s set percentage of average weekly wage, not to exceed 50% of the New York State average weekly wage.

Year Benefit Payable Maximum Duration
2018 50% 8 weeks
2019 55% 10 weeks
2020 60% 10 weeks
2021 67% 12 weeks
2022 67% 12 weeks
2023 67% 12 weeks
2024 67% 12 weeks

Eligibility: Employees with a regular schedule of 20 or more hours per week are eligible after 26 weeks of employment. Employees with a regular schedule of less than 20 hours per week are eligible after 175 days worked.

You must take any IST, vacation, or personal holiday time prior to going unpaid.

For more information, please visit paidfamilyleave.ny.gov.

File a PFL Claim:
  1. Call The Hartford at 888-541-7283 30 days prior to the leave if foreseeable. If your leave was not foreseeable, you must contact The Hartford as soon as possible.
  2. The Hartford, the insurance carrier, reviews the leave
  3. The Hartford will send you any necessary paperwork required to approve your
  4. You will be contacted via mail of the leave
  5. PFL payments will be made by Northwestern. If you wish to supplement your PFL benefits with other accrued time, please contact the Benefits