New York maternity leave in 2026: how much you’re paid, and for how long

Two programs, taken back to back

New York doesn’t have a single “maternity leave” benefit. A birth parent draws on two, in this order — and they can’t overlap.

1. Disability Benefits (DBL) — your recovery

DBL replaces part of your pay while a doctor certifies you’re medically unable to work after delivery. Providers typically certify about 6 weeks for a vaginal birth and 8 weeks for a C-section. It pays 50% of your average weekly wage — but it’s capped at $170/week, with a 7-day unpaid waiting period before the first check. Only the person who gave birth uses DBL.

2. Paid Family Leave (PFL) — your bonding time

When recovery ends, your PFL bonding can begin. You can take up to 12 weeks to bond, paid at 67% of your average weekly wage, up to a 2026 maximum of $1,228.53/week. There’s no waiting period, it protects your job at an employer of any size, and you have 12 months from the birth to use it.

3. FMLA — your federal job protection

FMLA pays nothing, but it guarantees your job for up to 12 weeks and runs concurrently with the two programs above. It applies only if you’ve worked 12+ months and 1,250+ hours for an employer with 50+ employees within 75 miles. If you don’t qualify, PFL still protects your job during the bonding weeks — with no employer-size minimum.

The $170 disability cap shock

This is the number that blindsides people. While PFL bonding tracks 67% of your pay up to $1,228.53/week, the disability benefit that covers your actual recovery is frozen at $170/week — a cap unchanged since 1989. Anyone earning more than $340/week hits it. Budget for a lean few weeks up front, before the far larger PFL benefit kicks in.

How much, and for how long

Say you earn $2,000/week with a vaginal delivery. Your leave runs in two back-to-back blocks:

That $170/week recovery line isn’t a typo — it’s the $170 cap in action against a $2,000/week salary. A C-section shifts the recovery math a little:

See a full sample plan with the timeline and forms →

Estimate your own weeks and dollars with the calculator →

The 2026 numbers at a glance

The forms, and where they go

First, ask HR who your disability and PFL insurance carriers are — in New York you file with the carrier, not a state office. Then:

• Form DB-450 — your disability claim for the recovery period. File it as soon as your leave starts.
• Form PFL-1 + PFL-2 — the bonding request (your employer completes part of PFL-1) plus the certification with your child’s birth documentation. File within 30 days of your bonding start; the carrier pays or denies within 18 days.

Mistakes that cost birth parents money

• Bracing for the wrong number. The $170 disability cap — not your salary — sets your recovery-weeks income. Plan cash flow around it.
• Filing with “the state.” There’s no central state claims office. Forms go to your employer’s carrier; misrouting them is a top cause of denials.
• Forgetting the 26-week ceiling. Disability and PFL together can’t exceed 26 weeks in a 52-week period.
• Assuming recovery is job-protected. DBL replaces income but doesn’t guard your job. If you don’t qualify for FMLA, the recovery weeks may be unprotected — job protection starts with PFL bonding.
• Letting bonding leave expire. Unused PFL is forfeited 12 months after the birth.

Not the birth parent?

Partners and non-birthing parents skip disability entirely and take PFL bonding only — see the New York paternity leave guide. Adoptive and foster parents get the same 12 bonding weeks — see the adoption & foster care leave guide. For the full picture of how all three programs interlock, start with our New York Paid Family Leave guide.