Transcript: Mayor Adams Announces New Suite of Benefits to Help Make it Easier for New York City Employees to Build a Family

October 28, 2024

Allison Stoddart, Chief Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall: Good morning. My name is Allison Stoddart and I serve as chief counsel here at City Hall. I'm happy to be here today to make an announcement that is personal for me, both as a city employee and as a mom who has built a family here in New York City. Mayor Adams has a clear agenda to make our city more affordable and easier for the working families who live here, and I am proud to join him and our colleagues in that mission.

We are joined today by members of the Adams administration, Office of Labor Relations Commissioner Renee Campion, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Acting Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse, Councilmember Lynn Schulman and Carmen De La Rosa, and advocates from the LGBTQ community. Without further ado, I'll turn it over to Mayor Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thanks so much, Allison, and really thank both our councilpersons who are here. This is an important piece of legislation, or initiative I should say, and Councilwoman Schulman did not allow us to rest. Every time I saw her, she would bring this up, and really, a real advocacy on her part. I want to thank her for this important initiative that we're announcing today.

Listen, we're going to be the greatest city. We have to attract talent and retain talent, and that attraction and retention is more than just in salaries. It is in what benefits are we offering, and how we become a fairer city. We were clear on that as we looked through this important initiative, and as Renee Campion, the commissioner, when she settled over, I think we're up to 98 percent of our union contracts, 97 percent of our union contracts, she knew we had to take a different look at how we're treating our employees.

In this administration, I say it over and over again, we put working people first. That is extremely important for me as a working class mayor. I know what it means to do that, and to ensure they have the benefits for their families, and the definition of families. We must define families in all the different ways we have families in this city.

And so today, I'm proud to announce a new suite of employee benefits that will provide approximately 27,000 non-union city employees and retirees up to $10,000 in reimbursement for costs associated with adoption, surrogacy, and egg or sperm donations. This marks the first time a major city in the United States has provided these benefits to city employees, and is similar to benefits provided by many private sector companies and universities. We are keeping up and keeping pace to continue to retain and to attract talent, and these benefits are part of that package.

Our city's health benefits program currently provides coverage for fertility treatments. Services like surrogacy are not covered by employees' health insurance, nor are the costs associated with adoption. This new benefit helps employees across city government, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, build the families they want. And it is yet another example of how this administration in our city supports working people.

Earlier this year, we double-paid parental leave for non-union employees and provided up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for those caring for seriously ill family members. These types of emergencies and situations can impact families in a real way, and we wanted to let New Yorkers know that we are here for our employees in every aspect.

That's what it means to make a city more livable. That is what it means to support our employees in putting and placing working families front and center, and by acknowledging that different families have different needs, we are making New York City a national leader on gender equity and making this city a better place to live, work, and raise healthy families.

I want to thank everyone involved, in general the entire team that came together to make this happen, but specifically, I want to really thank Councilwoman Schulman for understanding the seriousness of this initiative and just getting it done in a real way. Our Council partners were here to make it happen, and we're going to make it happen for our families. Thank you.

Stoddart: Thank you, Mayor Adams. Next, I will turn it over to our colleague who oversees the Management Benefits Fund, Commissioner Renee Campion of the Office of Labor Relations.

Commissioner Renee Campion, Office of Labor Relations: Thanks, Allison, and thanks to Mayor Adams for his support of this initiative, and of course thank you to Councilmember Lynn Schulman for her advocacy on this issue and for working with us on this new benefit.

The Management Benefits Fund provides supplemental benefits for non-union employees in areas that our standard medical health insurance does not provide. Those benefits include dental, vision, life insurance, long-term disability, health fund reimbursement, and other benefits. The Management Benefits Fund provides these benefits in the same way that the union's welfare funds also provide those benefits. It's funded in the same way. So the Management Benefits Fund has 15,000 active non-union city employees in it and 12,000 non-union retirees.

As Labor Commissioner, I'm usually up here speaking about contract agreements that affect unionized employees, but the benefits we're providing to this group of employees today, not represented by a union, are equally as important. We're very proud of the health insurance benefits we provide to all city employees, including fertility benefits. But by its nature, general health insurance may not be enough for those having difficulty starting a family.

The benefit announced today will allow for expenses incurred on or after November 1, 2024, and provide monetary assistance to non-union employees, providing up to $10,000 in reimbursement for adoption, surrogacy, and egg or sperm donor costs. This new benefit for non-union workers will especially have an impact on the LGBTQ+ community and employees who often need to utilize these services to start a family.

Eligible expenses will include legal fees, adoption or surrogate agency fees, cost of donor material, preparation of donor material for use, and transferring of an embryo to a surrogate and others. These specific expenses are not covered under the current medical health plan. Those who have had to adopt or use a surrogate to have a family face numerous hurdles. We hope this benefit helps our employees pursuing this path with some of the financial hurdles involved. Thank you.

Stoddart: Thank you, commissioner. Now, we are thrilled to be here today making this announcement with Councilmember Lynn Schulman, who has been a vocal advocate on this issue and has driven action to help get us here today.

City Councilmember Lynn Schulman: Thank you very much. First of all, I want to say the mayor was being very modest. We're making history today, big history. We're making history with today's announcement of family building benefits for city employees. New York is setting a national standard as the first major city to ensure that employees, regardless of their path to parenthood, have the opportunity to build families free from the financial and logistical barriers that too often stand in their way.

Let me tell you a little bit about how we got here. Not long ago, I introduced a bill to guarantee IVF benefits for employees, regardless of their demographic status, based on complaints my office received that this benefit was not being applied consistently across the board. After introducing this bill, the Mayor's Office contacted me to see if we could work together to create a policy that would take into account not only the benefits outlined in the legislation, but go way beyond that, which today's announcement does. Specifically, the initiative goes much beyond just IVF and acknowledges that adoption, surrogacy, and egg or sperm donation are critical family building options for so many, yet they come with significant costs.

Today's announcement of up to $10,000 in support of these family building blocks is not just an investment in our city employees, but also a testament to our city's commitment to equity, compassion, and inclusion. I am very grateful to Mayor Adams and his team for this partnership opportunity, which will result in a significant benefit to a majority of municipal employees.

I also look forward to a future expansion of these benefits to those employees covered by collective bargaining. Today's announcement affirms our commitment to fostering family growth and positions New York City as a pioneer in equitable and inclusive employee benefits. Every individual and couple, including those who are LGBTQ+, deserve the opportunity and resources to build a family.

Thank you again, Mayor Adams, Commissioner Campion, and everyone involved in making today's historic announcement possible. Together, we're leading the way in making New York a place where everyone has the support they need to realize their dreams of parenthood.

Stoddart: Thank you, councilmember. And I'll now turn it over to Councilmember De La Rosa.

City Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa: Thank you. Good morning, everyone. I'm Councilmember De La Rosa, I chair the Civil Service and Labor Committee for the City Council. I want to thank the mayor and Commissioner Campion for all of their efforts in this historic day. My colleague Lynn Schulman, who is tiny but mighty, we are so grateful for her leadership and her ability to always pull us in.

She was right when she said that this is a historic moment. Our city's workers have given their life, and our retirees, to this city. And so as we stand here today helping them to have the resources to expand their family, it is important that we center them, their struggles, their desires to expand their families, and us giving them the opportunity to do just that.

This fight is a personal one. I am an adoptee. I am also a New Yorker and a mom and a city employee, and everyone should have the opportunity to complete and build their families. And so I'm excited to join the mayor. I thank him and this administration and, of course, Lynn Schulman for their powerful advocacy. Thank you so much.

Stoddart: And next we want to recognize the positive impact that today's announcement brings for many members of the LGBTQ+ community. I'd like to call up Melissa D'Andrea Sullivan, Executive Director of PFLAG NYC.

Melissa D'Andrea Sullivan, Executive Director, PFLAG NYC: Good morning everyone. Today we celebrate a historic step in recognizing and supporting the diverse paths New Yorkers take to build our families. As someone who's 33 weeks pregnant with my wife through IVF, I know firsthand how critical these resources are. Our journey was possible thanks to New York's commitment to ensuring that insurance covers IVF for same-sex couples, and it's inspiring to see the city extend support to even more families through adoption, surrogacy, and reproductive services.

At PFLAG NYC, we're dedicated to advocating for LGBTQ+ families and fostering acceptance and support. This new benefit aligns with our mission by breaking down barriers for LGBTQ+ families and anyone facing obstacles for building a family. By providing up to $10,000 in reimbursement for these costs, New York City is not only reducing financial burdens, but is also setting an example of inclusivity for the nation. This is a powerful message to LGBTQ+ families that we are seen, valued, and supported. Thank you to everyone who worked to make this possible.

Question: I'm curious, does this also cover egg freezing for some city employees who are in a union? My understanding is their health insurance only covers them in certain conditions. I don't know if egg freezing is included.

Mayor Adams: Why don't we bring on my expert.

Interim Commissioner Michelle Morse, Department of Mental Health and Hygiene: Hi, I'm Interim Health Commissioner Michelle Morse. We can follow up with the specifics for that question. One of the things that we're looking at right now is really investigating some of the more specific details for that piece. Thanks.

Mayor Adams: Why don't you hang out?

Question: A lot of health insurance covers specific rounds of egg freezing. I know it costs about $10,000 per round and then the subsequent rental to store the eggs, but I don't know what else, what further investigation needs to be done.

Interim Commissioner Morse: What I'm referring to specifically is that some of the negotiations with OLR and benefits are ongoing so those specifics will be shared more directly afterwards.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.