What benefits can servers get in New York?
The short answer
The rule in New York
| Paid Family Leave | Up to 12 weeks of job-protected, paid leave to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or help when a family member is deployed abroad. |
|---|---|
| Paid Family Leave pay, 2026 | 67% of your average weekly wage (generally your last eight weeks of wages), up to $1,228.53 a week. You pay 0.432% of gross wages, up to $411.91 for the year. |
| Who qualifies for Paid Family Leave | At 20 or more regular hours a week, after 26 consecutive weeks with your employer. Under 20 hours, after 175 days worked, which don’t need to be consecutive. |
| How to request it | Fill out Form PFL-1 with your employer, which must return it within three business days, and send the package to your employer’s insurance carrier within 30 days of starting leave. |
| Disability benefits (off-the-job illness or injury) | Half your average weekly wage over your last eight weeks, up to $170 a week, for up to 26 weeks in a year, after a 7-day wait. File Form DB-450 within 30 days. Your share is 0.5% of wages, no more than 60 cents a week. |
| Paid sick leave | Up to 56 paid hours a year at employers with 100 or more employees, 40 at 5 to 99, earned at 1 hour per 30 worked. Pregnant workers get 20 more paid hours for prenatal care. |
| New York earned income credit | Generally 30% of your federal EITC, reduced by any household credit. Refundable for full-year residents. Claim it on Form IT-215. |
| Empire State child credit | For full-year residents with a child under 17: for 2026, $1,000 per child under 4 and $500 per child aged 4 to 16. Claim it on Form IT-213. |
| Essential Plan | $0 monthly premiums for residents aged 19 to 64 who don’t qualify for Medicaid or job coverage, with 2026 income up to $31,920 for one person. Apply through NY State of Health. |
“New York State Paid Family Leave provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of job protected, paid time off to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or to assist loved ones when a family member is deployed abroad on active military service.” (New York Paid Family Leave: updates for 2026)
What’s different in New York
New York splits leave into two programs, and they’re easy to mix up. If your mother has surgery, that’s Paid Family Leave, paid up to $1,228.53 a week in 2026. If you break your own wrist skiing, that’s disability, capped at $170 a week. The part-time rule matters on a restaurant schedule: under 20 hours a week, you qualify after 175 days on the job, counted even if they’re spread out.
Health coverage shifted this year. From July 1, 2026, the Essential Plan dropped enrollees between 200% and 250% of the poverty level because of federal funding changes; people in that band may qualify for a marketplace plan with financial help instead. Below 200%, the $0-premium plan continues. Plus the federal programs.
Official sources
- New York Paid Family Leave: updates for 2026
- New York Paid Family Leave: eligibility
- New York Paid Family Leave: benefits
- New York Paid Family Leave: how to request family care leave
- New York Workers’ Compensation Board: disability benefits for employees
- New York Workers’ Compensation Board: disability benefits eligibility and amounts
- New York State: paid sick leave
- New York State: paid prenatal leave
- New York State Department of Taxation and Finance: earned income credit
- New York State Department of Taxation and Finance: Empire State child credit
- NY State of Health: Essential Plan
- NY State of Health: Essential Plan changes due to federal rules
Last verified
. Checked the agency pages linked above.
Still open: The Paid Family Leave benefits page counts bonuses and commissions in your average weekly wage but doesn’t mention tips. Ask your employer’s carrier how your reported tips are counted.