New York Employees in Same-Sex Relationships Now Eligible for Same Funeral and Bereavement Leave Afforded to Heterosexual Couples

On August 30, Governor David Paterson signed a bill (A. 2563A) into law that amends the New York state civil rights law by prohibiting employers from discriminating against committed same-sex partners in the granting of funeral or bereavement leave. Under the new law, employers that extend to their employees funeral or bereavement leave for the death of an employee’s spouse, or the child, parent or other relative of the spouse, are prohibited from denying the same leave to an employee for the death of the employee’s same-sex committed partner, or the child, parent or other relative of the committed partner. The law defines same-sex committed partners as “those who are financially and emotionally interdependent in a manner commonly presumed of spouses.” The bill is effective October 29, 2010, and New York employers should revise their bereavement policies accordingly.