Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.
State introduces regs on insurance for mental health and substance-use disorders
“This regulation provides important protections so that New Yorkers receive the coverage and benefits they need. It is particularly critical now as more people experience increased stress from the three simultaneous crises in public health, the economy, and civil rights,” Linda Lacewell, New York State Superintendent of Financial Services, said in a statement. “DFS is […]
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
“This regulation provides important protections so that New Yorkers receive the coverage and benefits they need. It is particularly critical now as more people experience increased stress from the three simultaneous crises in public health, the economy, and civil rights,” Linda Lacewell, New York State Superintendent of Financial Services, said in a statement. “DFS is proud to stand with Gov. Cuomo in supporting New Yorkers with a mental-health condition or substance-use disorder by requiring that insurers have robust programs in place to meet their statutory mental health and substance-use disorder parity compliance obligations.”
Designating experienced person
The regulations require insurers to designate an “appropriately experienced” individual who will be responsible for assessing, monitoring, and managing parity compliance. That person shall also report directly to the insurer’s CEO or other senior manager.
In addition, the individual will report at least once a year to the insurer’s board of directors or other governing body, or an appropriate committee, on the activities of the compliance program.
Additional requirements
The compliance program must also include written policies and procedures that implement the compliance program, and describe how the insurer’s parity compliance is assessed, monitored, and managed.
It must also include methodologies for the identification and remediation of improper practices, along with a process for the actuarial certification of the analyses of the financial requirements and quantitative treatment limitations.
In addition, the compliance program must also include training and education for employees and directors; the methods by which employees and directors may report parity compliance issues; and a policy of non-intimidation and non-retaliation for good-faith participation in the compliance program.
Prohibited practices
The regulations also outline practices that are prohibited and must be remediated within 60 days of discovery.
They include a utilization-review policy that uses standards to determine the level of documentation required for mental health or substance-use disorder benefits that are not comparable to or are “more stringently applied” than the standards used for medical or surgical benefits.
The practices also include requiring preauthorization, concurrent, or retrospective utilization review for a higher percentage of mental health or substance-use disorder benefits in the “absence of defined clinical or quality triggers.”
They also include implementing a methodology for developing and applying provider reimbursement rates for mental health or substance-use disorder benefits that is not comparable to or is more stringently applied than the methodology for developing and applying provider reimbursement rates for medical or surgical benefits.
In addition, they include implementing claim edits or system configurations that provide for higher rates of approval through auto-adjudication of claims for inpatient medical or surgical benefits than for inpatient mental health or substance-use disorder benefits, per the state’s release.
Savitch Agency of Binghamton partners with Michigan firm
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Savitch Agency, an independent insurance-brokerage firm in Binghamton, has partnered with Acrisure, LLC a Caledonia, Michigan–based insurance-brokerage firm. The deal closed a few months ago, says Jamey Savitch, agency principal, VP of the Savitch Agency. The partnership discussions began in 2019, he told CNYBJ on Oct. 30. “They were looking for a
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Savitch Agency, an independent insurance-brokerage firm in Binghamton, has partnered with Acrisure, LLC a Caledonia, Michigan–based insurance-brokerage firm.
The deal closed a few months ago, says Jamey Savitch, agency principal, VP of the Savitch Agency. The partnership discussions began in 2019, he told CNYBJ on Oct. 30.
“They were looking for a new agency partner in this area and they approached us,” says Savitch.
The Savitch Agency has 11 employees and services more than 1,500 clients in 28 states.
“It’s a true partnership where we are now shareholders … they own the assets but on the other side of the fence, we are shareholders of Acrisure,” says Savitch.
Under its deal with Acrisure, the Savitch Agency continues operating under the same name and with the same employees, according to Savitch. It allows the business to go “next level” by expanding its resources with “enhanced” access to the insurance marketplace, per the agency.
“When we’re servicing clients in Utah or California or Georgia, it just really allows us to go next level with the services and support for all our clients, including [those] in the Southern Tier but also outside the Southern Tier,” Savitch says.
By partnering with Acrisure, Savitch Agency will now have access to a “deep bench” of technological, administrative, and operational support specialists and increased purchasing power in the global insurance marketplace, “while keeping business as usual on a local level,” the Savitch Agency contends.
“We do very little construction business. Now, we’re able to do a lot of construction business,” Savitch explains.
On its website, Acrisure describes itself as a “community of agencies — united by our shared passion for growth and excellence. Our entrepreneurial partners maintain local autonomy while having access to best-in-class resources from our Home Office teams. This unique approach makes us an attractive home for entrepreneurs planning their long-term perpetuation and for clients seeking high levels of service.”
Majority-owned by the operating partners and management team, Acrisure says it has 200 agency partners with more than 200 locations in 37 states, 14 international locations, and more than 6,000 employees.
Savitch tells CNYBJ that his agency represents insurance carriers that include the Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV), Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG), Chubb Limited, Ace American Insurance Company, the Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE: THG), and American International Group, which is also known as AIG (NYSE: AIG).
The agency offers personal lines of insurance, including home and auto. It also has a life and health division that handles employee benefits and a commercial unit that works with the agency’s commercial clients.
NO NONSENSE MARKETING: Checking out the CEO before taking a job
It’s all about the culture Arguably, the biggest mistake many job applicants make is focusing on possible advancement, benefits, working conditions, and pay. Obviously, each one plays a role in making a job decision. But taken together, they pale in comparison to scrutinizing the one person perched on the top rung of the ladder, the one
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
It’s all about the culture
Arguably, the biggest mistake many job applicants make is focusing on possible advancement, benefits, working conditions, and pay. Obviously, each one plays a role in making a job decision. But taken together, they pale in comparison to scrutinizing the one person perched on the top rung of the ladder, the one called CEO, president, or owner.
No matter how near or far you may wind up from the corner office, the decision maker, the one who calls the shots, affects your destiny.
This could seem like a questionable exercise when millions of workers are unemployed or underemployed. At a time like this, checking out the person at the top may seem absurd when all they need is a job.
However, it’s worth bearing in mind that the culture fostered by a leader can make a difference when it comes to your future, no matter where you are on the company hierarchy. If you understand the dynamics of the corner office, you’re better prepared to manage your future in the job.
To see where this is going, here are eight CEO scenarios to help get a reading on those at the top (there are more but eight makes the point):
1. Rearview-mirror thinker
Looking to the past as the guide to the future may seem incomprehensible given where life and the economy are today. Yet, there are those who view their role from a rearview mirror, clinging to past successes when challenges were more manageable.
2. Talks one way, acts another
There are those who use all the right words, the ones you want to hear when you’re looking for a job. This makes it easy to be tripped up since the individual’s actions go in another direction, telling a totally different story.
3. Always suspicious
You are left walking on egg shells, fearful, stressed, and worried you will say or do something that will set off the executive’s paranoia. Such conditions stifle creativity, restrain open and honest discussion, and inhibit a collegial environment.
4. Stubbornly confident
Organizations, including businesses, are often attracted to a confident leader. But some exude too much confidence. In times of crisis, that doesn’t work. What can keep overconfidence under control, suggests Leon Eisenstaedt in a Financial Poise blog, is repeatedly asking the question, “What do you think?”
5. All-knowing guide
Then, there are those at the top who act as if having all the answers is the way to demonstrate their competence. When making appropriate decisions depends on data-support, they lean on “going with their gut,” which Annie Duke, a former professional poker player, says in a Knowledge@Wharton conversation, “Your gut is not a decision tool. It’s not reliable, no matter how reliable you think it is.”
6. Indecisive decision maker
This executive’s indecisiveness drives everyone nuts. As plans are left up in the air, the pressure builds. It isn’t until circumstances force the issue that decisions are made, leaving everyone scrambling to get the job done. The pattern is permanent and people eventually leave.
7. Phony optimism
There are two options when something goes wrong: be transparent or cover it up. The former works, while the latter doesn’t. Even so, some chief executives put a happy face on anything they perceive to be negative or troublesome. They do it for one reason; they don’t believe people can pull together and solve problems in crises. Rather than allaying fears, fake optimism only creates distrust, confusion, and low morale.
8. Self-serving self-view
There are top executives whose picture of what it means to be in their position requires exaggerating their expertise, knowledge, and skills, while undervaluing those same assets in those around them. It should also be pointed out that they have difficulty retaining talented employees.
The 9th CEO scenario
All this may come across as overly critical. If your goal is landing a job, it’s easy to justify or ignore a top person’s “limitations.” Even so, the eight “CEO Scenarios” come with a warning: “Be careful. May be harmful to your career.”
All of this begs the question, “What should you be looking for in a CEO?” If you’re diligent or lucky, you may find a number one whose attitudes and ideas will advance and grow your career. That is to say, someone who really “sees” you. While no profile of such a CEO is ever final or complete, here are some attributes to look for:
• Has a nurturing and forward-thinking attitude
• Takes others and their ideas seriously
• Views employees, customers, suppliers, the larger community, and not just investors, among the company’s stakeholders
• Possesses an inquiring mind, asks questions, and listens intently
• Values diverse views and understands improvement comes from dialogue
In a Harvard Business Review article, Walt Rakowich tells of meeting with his team at the company he had founded four years earlier. In the depths of the Great Recession, they faced bankruptcy, and everyone there looked to him for an answer. With head spinning, he left the room, and sat down alone to get his bearings.
Going back to the meeting, he didn’t know what to say, except this: “I don’t know what to do,” and “I need your help.” What happened next, he says, was amazing. His colleagues gave him a remarkable response. In effect, they let him know they were with him — “We’ll figure it out.” And, as you might guess, they did.
Walt may be the type of CEO worth looking for. If you find one who comes close, take the job.
John Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales-strategy consultant and business writer. He is the creator of “Magnet Marketing,” and publishes a free monthly eBulletin, “No Nonsense Marketing & Sales Ideas.” Contact him at jgraham@grahamcomm.com, (617) 774-9759, or johnrgraham.com
Excellus says new programs will help members deal with diabetic-medication costs
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Central New York’s largest health insurer, announced it is introducing three new programs to reduce the out-of-pocket cost of diabetic medications for members in 2021. One in 10 adults has diabetes and the cost of medications such as insulin “continues to dramatically increase,” the health insurer said in an Oct. 20 news
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Central New York’s largest health insurer, announced it is introducing three new programs to reduce the out-of-pocket cost of diabetic medications for members in 2021.
One in 10 adults has diabetes and the cost of medications such as insulin “continues to dramatically increase,” the health insurer said in an Oct. 20 news release.
More than $1 billion a year is spent on drugs to treat diabetes in upstate New York alone.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2021, some Excellus programs will offer “significant savings” on insulin and certain diabetic medications for members enrolled in select commercial and Medicare health plans, the insurer said.
Commercial insurance and individual exchange programs
The New York State $100 insulin max program limits the out-of-pocket expense for prescription insulin medications. Members will pay no more than $100 for a 30-day supply of a covered insulin. This applies to all out-of-pocket expenses, including copayments, deductibles, and coinsurance.
Under the patient-assurance program, members will pay no more than $25 for a 30-day supply of eligible Tier 2 diabetic drugs.
Medicare Advantage direct pay
Nationally, about one in every three Medicare beneficiaries has diabetes and more than 3.3 million Medicare beneficiaries use one or more of the common forms of insulin, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Under the Part D senior savings model, to keep out-of-pocket costs “low, consistent, and predictable,” Excellus says it will lower the cost of select insulin products to a maximum copay of $30 through the deductible, initial, and coverage-gap phases on select Medicare Advantage direct-pay plans.
CMS says this program will save Medicare beneficiaries an average of $446 in annual out-of-pocket costs for select insulins, or more than 66 percent, relative to their average cost-sharing today.
“Out-of-pocket costs can fluctuate one month to the next because of the different phases in the Part D prescription drug benefit. This program provides Medicare members with a set copay for their insulin from the beginning of the plan year through the coverage gap,” Mona Chitre, chief pharmacy officer and VP of integrated clinical strategy at Excellus, said in the release.
“Ensuring a consistent co-pay for members can lead to better adherence, and taking medication as directed can result in better health outcomes.”
Bassett Healthcare Network appoints additional members of executive leadership group
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Bassett Healthcare Network has appointed three additional members of its executive leadership team. Bassett on Nov. 3 announced the appointments of Dr. Reginald Knight as chief physician executive and Denise Robinson as chief nurse executive. Bassett also announced the appointment of Corey Heller as its senior VP and chief people and diversity
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Bassett Healthcare Network has appointed three additional members of its executive leadership team.
Bassett on Nov. 3 announced the appointments of Dr. Reginald Knight as chief physician executive and Denise Robinson as chief nurse executive. Bassett also announced the appointment of Corey Heller as its senior VP and chief people and diversity officer in an Oct. 20 news release.
Dr. Tommy Ibrahim, who took over as president and CEO of Bassett Healthcare Network in July of this year, has been undertaking a “systematic restructuring of the organization as he works toward the implementation of a new network operating model and system-wide transformation,” Bassett said.
Reginald Knight
Dr. Knight began his new role on Nov. 2. In his role, and in close partnership with the chief nurse executive, Dr. Knight will “drive physician engagement, performance and alignment” with the network as well as service-line development to ensure quality care, reduction in clinical variation, improved access, and an optimal patient experience. Additionally, Knight has been a “driving force” behind Bassett’s current diversity efforts and will be partnering with Heller to “continue to enhance Bassett’s culture around diversity, equity and inclusion,” the organization said.
Knight has served as VP of medical affairs at A.O. Fox Hospital in Oneonta for more than five years and is the director of Bassett’s Spine Care Institute. He holds a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Oneonta, a master’s in health-care administration from Capella University, and received his medical doctorate from SUNY Upstate Medical Center.
Denise Robinson
In her role, Robinson will oversee delivery of nursing and clinical care across the Bassett system, establish a strategy and vision for patient care, advise on all aspects of nursing policy and practice, and pursue Magnet designation, a recognition program operated by the Silver Spring, Maryland–based American Nurses Credentialing Center.
She will work closely with network and physician leaders to drive clinical transformation and develop and implement new patient-care models and best practices, Bassett said.
Most recently, Robinson served as chief nursing officer at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California. She has more than 20 years of experience in nursing management focusing on quality and patient safety initiatives, staff engagement, and patient satisfaction.
Robinson holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University, and is a graduate of the doctor-of-nursing program at Case Western University. She begins her tenure at Bassett on Nov. 16.
Corey Heller
Heller is a human resources (HR) executive with “diverse and extensive leadership experience” within and outside of health care, Bassett said. He began his new role with the organization on Oct.19.
In this newly created role, Heller will have leadership responsibility for the strategic planning and execution of HR activities and initiatives across the Bassett network.
He will lead the development of an integrated HR service-delivery model to drive system-wide efficiency and consistency. Heller will also develop a formal structure for “cultivating a culture” of diversity, health equity and inclusion, and “embedding these principles” in the day-to-day work of caring for each other and the patients and communities served by Bassett Healthcare Network, the organization said.
Prior to joining Bassett, Heller most recently served as senior director of human resources and shared services for United Health Services in Binghamton. He previously held executive-level HR positions as chief human resources officer with Uniform Advantage Brands in Florida; Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, Utah; Florida Blue (BCBS); and Baptist Health South Florida, among others. Heller earned a master’s degree in industrial labor relations from Cornell University and bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College in Clinton.
VIEWPOINT: 6 Signs Your Pandemic Fatigue is Sabotaging Your Executive-Job Search
How to fix it Looking for your next executive job? Today, so many are and oftentimes it just doesn’t seem to be working. It may be time to evaluate and see if perhaps you are not effective in your search because of something that you are doing or not doing. You might discover that your
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
How to fix it
Looking for your next executive job? Today, so many are and oftentimes it just doesn’t seem to be working. It may be time to evaluate and see if perhaps you are not effective in your search because of something that you are doing or not doing. You might discover that your pandemic fatigue is leading to a negative attitude and that is having an adverse consequence on your search. You might not even recognize that it is, so here are six signs of trouble to consider and the solutions to fix them.
You hesitate to reach out to people you know to network and connect. You have solid experience at reputable companies that have strong corporate alumni. Additionally, you graduated from top-tier universities that give you access to incredible college alumni. Yet you don’t call these people you have paid for the opportunity to know and worked so hard to be connected to directly and indirectly. Why? Maybe you worry you won’t measure up to whom you are reaching out. It’s possible you imagine that you are afraid they won’t want to help you because you aren’t worthy of the help. Many times this hesitation is fear and it hinders moving a job search forward.
Solution: Realize no one is immune from a career setback or a career hiccup —particularly in a pandemic. Your network — people you know and people you don’t know — are there to connect you to opportunity. But you must do the work for those connections to happen. And it’s important to also know too that you are worthy of it. So get out there and start reaching out more.
You don’t ask for help. Many of us are competitive people. We believe we have the ability to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and plow through whatever obstacles are in our way all by ourselves. That is until we can’t. And during the pandemic with even more challenges, it can be especially trying. Sometimes we get to a point where we do actually need help, but our upbringing and conditioning subliminally tells us it is weak to ask. We think people will think we are not good at what we do if we ask — and that fear is compounded by the vulnerability of being in a position of looking for a new job.
Solution: Acknowledge that it’s human to not know all of the answers. Look back at your career at all of your wins — you most likely did not accomplish all of those all by yourself and you invoked the help of others in some capacity. We are often better when we pool the brain power of others collaboratively with our own knowledge and abilities.
You resist formal and informal instruction that you know will help you. Have you signed up for training or executive-coaching programs, either on your own or through your employer, and not followed the guidance of the coach or consultant brought on for your professional development? This is often a big sign of self-sabotage done by those who don’t believe they are worthy of what they’re receiving or will receive as a benefit of the training. During this crisis, there seems to also be more training required because of the different nature of working remotely and the changes happening in the marketplace. This obviously can cause even more stress.
Solution: Check your ego at the door. Listen to the guidance and advice you are receiving from the person you hired to help you or that your company is funding to assist you. Attempt to put it into practice and try it more than once if it doesn’t go smoothly the first time. Pushing yourself outside your comfort zone will expand the boundaries of your comfort zone, which equals growth.
You look for problems instead of focusing on solutions. Do you feel heavy by everything that is going wrong at work? Are you someone who pokes holes in everything that comes across your laptop? Have you lost the ability to see how something can work because you seem to zero in only on how something can’t work? If these questions resonate with you, you may be resisting success by only pointing out what the problem is, instead of seeking the solution. In a job search, this mental albatross can look like thinking no one wants to hire you since you were rejected by one opportunity. Or another example is assuming that no one will help you since you sent out a few emails that no one replied to (and you won’t acknowledge that you could have written those emails more effectively).
Solution: When faced with a problem, pause and think: “How can I make this work?” This may sound like an oversimplified response, but shifting your mindset regarding how you can make things work versus only focusing on how it can’t work is a small shift that can have massive results in how you tackle setbacks and obstacles. When done consistently, you can even develop a reputation and track record as the person in your network who figures out the solution — and this is a coveted place to be. Be the solution during this pandemic, which allows you to stand out among your peers.
You make small problems into bigger obstacles. Mistakes happen and problems occur. Vendors, clients, employees, and managers all have situations not go smoothly. There are people who make problems go away and then there are those who make problems bigger.
Which person are you? Looking back on some recent obstacles you have experienced — do you make them bigger than what they need to be? Examples of this, which can adversely affect your job search include being extremely hard on yourself for replying in a not-so-perfect way in a job email or making a misstep on an interview.
Solution: Keep your problems right-sized so you can assess them objectively to determine the right course of action for the quickest solution. Frankly, mistakes that happen in the interview process can give you an opportunity to show how you handle problems and think on your feet, which can be a chance to impress a hiring manager. In fact, how you handle the mistake can often speak volumes more to a hiring manager than the perfect answer to a predictable interview question. It allows the interviewer to see what you are made of in your instinctive core.
You don’t have results from your job search and you believe it’s what you deserve. When people have low self-esteem, and they don’t have results they want from their job search, the end result can be a compound of them feeling it’s what they deserve. And then it can spiral from there. This is especially happening more today with the isolation people experience during the virus crisis.
Solution: When this happens, and it can happen to anyone, imagine the dearest people in your life coming to you with this comment about themselves — you would reassure them they are wrong in their assumption of their self-worth and give them examples that counter this self-defeating notion. Speak to yourself the way you would speak to others. And I suggest taking an extra step and setting up a support circle of a few choice people you trust that can give you the concrete examples of your worthiness when you need it most. When you see how you contribute to the lives around you, you will gain your motivation to resurge your job-search effort and get traction.
Now is the time to start taking aggressive action to overcome your pandemic fatigue and negative attitude. These tips and solutions should help.
Lisa Rangel is founder and managing director of Chameleon Resumes LLC (https://chameleonresumes.com/), an executive résumé writing and job-landing consulting firm. A Cornell University graduate, she is a certified professional résumé writer, job landing consultant, and recruiter. Rangel was also a paid moderator for LinkedIn’s premium groups for eight years.
VIEWPOINT: New York Releases Guidance on Paid Sick Leave
On Oct. 20, the New York State Department of Labor released its long-awaited Guidance on Paid Sick Leave (PSL). Although the guidance provides some clarity for employers, it also leaves many questions unanswered. The following is a summary of some the information provided by the guidance. Employee/employer: For purposes of PSL, the guidance defines employee
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
On Oct. 20, the New York State Department of Labor released its long-awaited Guidance on Paid Sick Leave (PSL). Although the guidance provides some clarity for employers, it also leaves many questions unanswered. The following is a summary of some the information provided by the guidance.
Employee/employer: For purposes of PSL, the guidance defines employee as “any person employed for hire by an employer in any employment.” Per the guidance, this includes employees who work less than full-time, and encompasses seasonal and likely temporary and per-diem employees as well. The guidance also clarifies that all employers, including nonprofit entities and employees of domestic workers, must comply with PSL. The only types of employers not required to comply with PSL are federal, state, and local government employers.
Frontloading PSL for part-time employees: The guidance provides that employers may frontload PSL for a part-time employee based on the hours the employee is anticipated to work in the upcoming year at an amount that equals at least the amount the worker would have received if the employee was granted one hour of leave for every 30 hours worked. Importantly, unless an employer frontloads all 40 or 56 hours for a part-time employee, the employer continues to be obligated to track the part-time employee’s hours of work after the leave is frontloaded. Per the guidance, employers must continue to track an employee’s hours so that the employer can allow the worker to accrue leave if the employee works more hours than initially anticipated by the employer. In this scenario, an employee would be able to accrue leave until reaching 40 or 56 total hours.
Accrual: The guidance establishes that employers need only grant their employees up to 40 or 56 hours of sick leave (dependent upon employer size), even if the employee would accrue more than that amount during the course of a year using the one hour granted for every 30 hours worked accrual method set up by the statute.
Carryover: Unfortunately, the guidance does not allow employers to cap the number of unused PSL hours that an employee may carry over between calendar years. Rather, the guidance states that employees may carry over any available, unused PSL between years. However, regardless of the amount of leave carried over, employers may restrict employees from using more than 40 or 56 hours of leave per calendar year. The guidance recognizes that this may result in the employee maintaining a sick-leave balance in excess of the amount the employee is permitted to use in a given calendar year. The guidance does not address whether employers who frontload leave are exempt from the carryover requirement, as is the case under the New York City Earned Sick and Safe Time Act.
Use: The guidance states that employees may use PSL for routine medical, dental, or vision appointments, whether or not a medical condition has been diagnosed. Employers, per the guidance, do not have to allow employees to use PSL for bereavement purposes.
Rate of pay: Per the statute, an employee must be paid at the employee’s “regular rate” for PSL. The guidance does not define this term, but does provide that lost tips/gratuities do not have to be included in the regular-rate calculation as long as employees are paid their normal rate of pay or the applicable minimum wage, whichever is greater.
Other leave laws: The guidance provides that if an employer allows employees to use PSL while using paid family leave (PFL), employees may elect to do so. Electing this option may allow employees to receive full wages during this period, but employees cannot receive more than their full wages while receiving PFL benefits. Moreover, PSL and Westchester County leave for domestic workers will accrue both PSL and the county leave.
Miscellaneous: The guidance also sets forth the following:
• Employers may not impose a waiting period for accrual or use of PSL.
• Seasonal employees who “maintain an ongoing relationship with their employer maintain their leave accruals through such breaks in employment.”
• Employees who telecommute only accrue sick leave for the hours that they physically work in New York state.
• Employers who are physically located outside the state must provide sick leave to employees who telecommute for the hours those employees work in New York.
• Employers may have a policy that allows employees to donate leave to other employees, as long as making the donations is voluntary.
The guidance leaves many questions unanswered. Among them, the guidance does not precisely address how employers are to count their employees for purposes of determining whether they must provide 40 or 56 hours of leave, although it does state that employees at multiple facilities located within New York are to be counted as part of one company. The guidance also does not address whether employers can require documentation from an employee sufficient to justify the employee’s need for the leave. Furthermore, while the guidance does allow employers to require notice prior to the use of PSL, it does not set forth parameters for the notice-time period. The guidance also leaves unanswered questions regarding incorporation of paid sick leave into existing collective-bargaining agreements and existing paid-leave policies.
Theresa E. Rusnak is an associate attorney in the Rochester office of Syracuse–based Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC and Kerry W. Langan is a member (partner) in Bond’s Syracuse office. This viewpoint article is drawn from an Oct. 21 post on the firm’s New York Labor and Employment Law Report blog. Contact Rusnak at trusnak@bsk.com and contact Langan at klangan@bsk.com
Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce announces finalists for 2020 Business of the Year Awards
UTICA, N.Y. — The Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce has selected the finalists for the 2020 Business of the Year Awards. This year’s winners will
Onondaga County warns of potential COVID-19 exposures at bar, restaurant, and two Centro bus routes
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Onondaga County Health Department on Wednesday night announced potential COVID-19 exposures at a bar, restaurant, and two Centro bus routes. A
State Police seek suspect in armed robbery at Phoenix gas station
SCHROEPPEL, N.Y. — New York State Police say they’re seeking a suspect in an armed robbery of the Phoenix Fastrac gas station/convenience store on Wednesday
Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.