NYS Health Care Workers Received over $2 Billion in Bonuses

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York State has paid over $2 billion in bonuses to more than 800,000 health care workers statewide through the Health Care Worker Bonus Program. The program was launched by Hochul in 2022 and provided bonuses of up to $3,000 for eligible health care workers across New York.

New York’s Health Care Worker Bonus Program issued payments to workers who provide hands-on and patient-facing health care services. Workers receiving payments through this program must have an annualized base salary (excluding any bonuses or overtime pay) of $125,000 or less and can be full-time or part-time.

Bonus payments were determined by specific “vesting periods,” or the number of hours worked during a consecutive six-month period between October 1, 2021, through March 31, 2024. Qualified employees received up to a maximum of $3,000 in total bonus payments over two vesting periods.

Upon employee vesting, qualified employers must provide employees with an Employee Attestation Form and request this be returned to the employer prior to the claims due date of the claim (i.e., 30 days after vesting).

Qualified employers must pay bonuses to eligible employees no later than 30 days after the bonus amount is paid to the qualified employer.

Qualified employers will pay bonus amounts to qualified employees based on the number of hours worked during the vesting period as defined below:

● Qualified employees who work at least 20 hours but no more than 30 hours per week are eligible for a bonus of $500
● Qualified employees who work at least 30 hours but no more than 35 hours per week are eligible for a bonus of $1,000
● Qualified employees who work at least 35 hours per week are eligible for a bonus of $1,500

Employees with certain job titles are eligible. To see if they are eligible, they can click here to see if their job title is listed.

“Health care workers deliver for New Yorkers every day – and that’s why we’re delivering for them,” Hochul said. “Our powerful investments are putting money back in workers’ pockets and helping to grow our health care workforce to provide the highest quality care for New Yorkers.”

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “Health care workers are the backbone of our health care infrastructure, and they are the frontline workers who go above and beyond to provide hands-on care and medical services. Through Gov. Hochul’s Health Care Worker Bonus Program we acknowledge our health care workers’ unwavering dedication to the health and well-being of New Yorkers.”