New York launches health care worker bonus program

New York State has authorized bonuses for eligible health care and mental hygiene workers. Employer claims for the first wave of eligible employees are due by Sept. 2, 2022.

The Program:

New York State has announced a Health Care Worker Bonus Program (the Program) that will use funds from the state’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget to provide bonuses to qualified workers. The state has also released FAQs on the Program.

Bonuses:

Under the Program, a qualified worker is eligible to receive bonuses of up to $1,500 per vesting period (shown below in the table) per qualified employer, totaling up to $3,000.

The Program has two employee vesting periods in which eligible employees may receive a bonus:

Employer Requirements:

The employer must evaluate and attest that they are a qualified employer and that the employee meets the eligibility criteria.

Additionally, an employer must:

• Track and notify employees of their eligibility;
• Collect, submit and retain the Employee Attestation Form that attests the worker’s salary and is signed by the employee;
• Electronically sign an attestation acknowledging that they understand and determined that the employees included in the claims process are eligible for the bonuses;
• Submit claims for the bonuses to the Portal by the vesting period deadlines; and
• Distribute bonuses to eligible employees within 30-days of receipt of payment on a claim (advanced payments are prohibited).

Employee Eligibility:

To qualify for a bonus, a worker must be a frontline health care or mental hygiene practitioner, technician, assistant or aide that provides hands-on health or care services to people and has an eligible title. The worker must also:

• Be continuously employed by a qualified employer. This includes:
• Work the required hours for the whole vesting period for which the claim is submitted
• Not be excluded or suspended from the Medicaid program during the vesting period
• Earn a maximum annualized base salary (excluding bonuses and overtime pay) of $125,000.

Penalties:

A qualified employer who fails to take certain actions, such as identifying, claiming or paying a bonus to more than 10% of eligible employees, may face penalties.

Next Steps:

Qualifying New York employers should:

• Create an account on the Portal;
• Determine which of their current employees were employed for the entirety of Vesting Period 1 and meet the eligibility criteria for the Program;
• Distribute the Employee Attestation form to eligible workers;
• Prepare to submit the bonus claims for Vesting Period 1 by September 2, 2022; and
• Begin determining which employees may meet the Vesting Period 2 eligibility criteria.