David Lombardo is reporting for the Times Union more than 128,000 workers in New York used paid family leave during the first year of the state program, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office said August 13. According to Cuomo, compared to other states, New York had the highest overall participation rate, highest percentage of men using the leave and the highest percentage of workers who took the leave to care for a relative with a serious health condition. In 2018, the program provided more than eight million workers access to job-protected, paid time off, and of those, more than two million had no previous coverage or protection under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Most workers who took the leave earned less than $60,000 a year. Workers in New York are now eligible to take up to 10 weeks of the leave at 55 percent of their average weekly wage. Read the full story in the Times Union.