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Mayor-elect Adams announces transition team
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | NOV. 19 - NOV. 25, 2021 15
BY KAYLA WONG
A bill sponsored by state
Senator Joseph Addabbo allowing
family members to
care for a sibling under Paid
Family Leave (PFL) was
signed into law this month.
Under the current law, employees
cannot take leave to
care for a sibling with a serious
health condition.
“If this past year has taught
us anything, it is that we must
recognize the needs of all individuals,
especially during
life’s most challenging periods,”
Addabbo said. “Many
siblings share a strong bond,
and for some single individuals,
a sibling may be the only
surviving family member that
they have. Adding ‘sibling’ to
the definition of ‘family member’
for the purpose of Paid
Family Leave is simply common
sense.”
The new bill (S.2928-A)
builds upon the PFL legislation
enacted in 2016, which
created one of the most comprehensive
paid family leave
programs in the nation.
Currently, New York’s PFL
defines family members more
broadly than the federal Family
Medical Leave Act and
allows employees to take jobprotected,
paid leave to care
for family members with serious
health conditions, among
other things.
The 2016 proposal initially
included siblings, but they
were cut out in the final enacted
deal.
A family member is defined
as a spouse, child,
parent, domestic partner,
parent-in-law, grandparent
or grandchild — but siblings
were not included in the definition.
That meant that an
employee couldn’t take paid
leave to care for a sibling; it
didn’t matter if the sibling
were terminally ill and without
a spouse, child, parent or
someone else to provide care.
The only exception to rule
excluding siblings is if the
sibling had been acting as a
parent to the employee, or the
employee had been acting as a
parent to the sibling.
The new legislation expands
the definition of “family
members” to include siblings.
This includes biological
siblings, adopted siblings,
step-siblings and half-siblings.
These family members
can live outside of New York
state, and even outside of the
country.
“Since the initial PFL bill
was signed into law back in
2016, it has given single mothers,
working parents and
military personnel financial
security and job protection
dealing with a serious personal
matter, while minimizing
the negative effect on small
businesses. Now siblings will
be afforded the same benefit,”
Addabbo said.
Employee contributions
made through paycheck deductions
cover the entire cost
of PFL. Every year, the employee
contribution rate is set
according to the cost of insurance
coverage, and employers
use the employee contributions
to pay the insurance premiums.
The law will go into effect
on Jan. 1, 2023.
BY MORGAN C. MULLINGS
Before Brooklyn Borough
President Eric Adams is
sworn in as mayor on Jan. 1,
his new team of executives,
labor and organizational
leaders will lead the vital
transition process.
The full list of transition
team members hasn’t been
released, but Adams’ team announced
the co-chairs, such as
Goldman Sachs CFO Stephen
Scherr, on Nov. 10.
Prospective administration
employees and those wanting
to get involved in the transition
can do so on Adams transition
website, adamstransition2021.
com.
“I am excited to get started
and to help Eric make New
York a safer, fairer, more prosperous
city for all New Yorkers,”
said Kyle Bragg, president
of 32BJ SEIU and co-chair
of the transition team. Bragg
leads a union of about 35,000
members in New York City.
The team of 10 co-chairs is
led by Sheena Wright, president
and CEO of United Way
of New York City. Originally
from the Bronx, Wright is the
first woman to lead United
Way of NYC. She is a force in
the nonprofit sector and will
likely be in charge of reviewing
the slew of applications
for Adams’ transition team
that will arrive in the coming
weeks. Wright also began
Together we Thrive, a Black
business network that provided
technical support to small
businesses in the wake of
COVID-19.
“Over the next seven weeks,
we will task a dozen committees
and dozens of committed
experts and advocates with the
essential work of preparing
the Adams administration to
deliver for New Yorkers,” the
transition chair said.
Adams’ team did not respond
immediately to requests
for comment on what these
committees will be.
Back in 2013, Mayor Bill de
Blasio’s transition team was
led by Jennifer Jones Austin
and Carl Weisbro, the latter
of whom had a history in multiple
mayoral administrations
before joining de Blasio’s team.
Austin had a similar background
to Adams’ chair — a
history in nonprofit work with
low-income New Yorkers.
The other co-chairs of Adams’
transition team are Rich
Maroko, president of the New
York Hotel and Gaming Trades
Council; Sharon Greenberger,
president and CEO of YMCA
of Greater New York; Steven
Choi, executive director of
One for Democracy; David
Lee, chair of the League of
Asian Americans of New York;
Charles Phillips, Infor CEO;
Felix V. Matos Rodriguez,
chancellor of The City University
of New York; and Darren
Walker, president of the Ford
Foundation. Together, they
cover diverse communities of
residents, the education community,
labor stakeholders
and much more.
Mayoral candidate Eric Adams at a rally with union members
before election day on Nov. 1. Photo by Morgan C. Mullings
State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.
File photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Addabbo-sponsored bill to include siblings
under paid family leave signed into law
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