Addabbo announces NYS Senate passage of stillbirth Paid Family Leave legislation

Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. and the New York State Senate advanced legislation (S.2175, Co-Sponsor) to provide paid family leave to individuals following the stillbirth of a child.

“Couples who experience a stillbirth deserve the same time to recover physically and emotionally as parents of a newborn,” Addabbo stated. “This legislation ensures these individuals are guaranteed time to grieve and heal without having to stress about the loss of pay or their job,” Addabbo added.

Parents who suffer a stillbirth are not currently entitled to the 12 weeks of Paid Family Leave that other families receive. A "stillbirth" describes a delivery in which a baby is born dead anywhere from 20 weeks to full term. According to the Center for Disease Control, Stillbirth affects about 1 in 175 births, and each year about 21,000 babies are born still in the U.S. each year. New York loses 1,422 babies a year on average to stillbirth.

“Without this critical legislation, individuals won’t qualify for the state's paid family leave, and the paid time off they had planned for after the birth of their child would no longer apply to them. Stillbirth loss can take a serious mental and physical toll on women and men, so leaving it up to employers to decide whether or not to offer paid time off or forcing individuals to use other leave, is simply unacceptable,” Addabbo concluded.

Now that the bill has passed the Senate, it awaits consideration and action by the Assembly.