Reynolds running for Essex County sheriff pg. 13
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Jan. 6, 2018
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• EDITION •
Paid family leave begins in New York New law will allow eight weeks of jobprotected leave at 50 percent average weekly wage By Pete DeMola EDITOR
ELIZABETHTOWN | New Yorkers gained a new safety net on Jan. 1. The state’s new paid family leave law is among the most generous in the nation, allowing jobprotected time off to bond with a new child, care for sick family members or pitch in when a loved one in the military is deployed. Employees may now take up to eight weeks of paid leave at 50 percent of their average weekly wage. When fully phased in over the next four years, state residents will be eligible for up to 12 weeks of paid time off annually at 67 percent. The new program applies to 6.4 million private-sector workers.
Beginning on Jan. 1, state residents may take up to eight weeks of paid leave at 50 percent of their average weekly wage. Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined the new program on Long Island on Dec. 31, 2017. Photo provided/Office of the Governor of the State of New York Full-time employees will be eligible after 26 consecutive weeks on the job, while part-timers working fewer than 20 hours per week will qualify after working 175 days within 52 weeks.
Advocates say the new law will provide critical support to family members caring for older relatives. “No one should ever be forced to choose
READY FOR PYEONGCHANG WINTER GAMES » pg. 2
between caring for a family member and risking their economic security,” said Beth Finkel, state director of AARP New York, in a statement. » Family leave Cont. on pg. 3
Westport resident receives high honors for leading Healthy Schools Network Prominent national organization has its roots in Westport By Kim Dedam STA FF W RITER
Yoo Won-kyun, right, a resident of the central city of Cheonan, alongside Cheonan Mayor Koo Bon-young, carries the torch for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in the city on Dec. 17, 2017. (Yonhap) Photo/International olympic committee, South Korea
WESTPORT| Twenty-five years ago, the Parent and Teacher Organization (PTO) at Westport Central School resolved to foster a healthier, safer school environment, including ensuring schoolchildren access to healthy foods. “Poor nutrition and poor air quality in the learning environment can impair learning and future educational potential,” that short resolution by Westport PTO stated. The brief policy statement — crafted in two paragraphs — summed up what matured over the last two decades to a national movement led by the Healthy Schools Network (HSN). HSN Founder and Executive Director Claire Barnett was an active member of the Westport PTO that year. Now, a quarter-century later, she has been honored with a pair of national awards: » Healthy schools Cont. on pg. 4
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