234 5th Ave #501, New York, NY 100016
Employee Benefits Broker in Brooklyn Heights
Strategic benefits guidance for Brooklyn Heights employers navigating one of the most complex regulatory environments in the country.
Brooklyn Heights carries a distinct professional character. The neighborhood's tree-lined streets between the Promenade and Cadman Plaza are home to law firms, financial advisory practices, boutique consulting groups, and nonprofits that draw from one of the most educated labor pools in the entire city. Employers here are not competing against the outer boroughs in some abstract sense. They are competing directly with firms in Lower Manhattan, just across the Brooklyn Bridge, for the same candidates. Having the right employee benefits broker serving Brooklyn Heights means having a partner who understands what it takes to put together a package that can hold attention in that environment. Combs & Company, based at 234 5th Ave, Suite 501, has worked with New York businesses ranging from 1 to 500 employees since 2005. With a 95% annual client retention rate and a team of PPACA Certified Advisors, the firm builds benefits strategies grounded in New York State compliance requirements and the particular workforce pressures facing Brooklyn Heights employers today.
Brooklyn Heights Benefits Compliance in 2026
Brooklyn Heights employers face a compliance environment built on two distinct but intersecting layers. Albany sets state-level mandates through the New York State Legislature and the Department of Labor. The city adds its own requirements, enforced by agencies including the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Both carry real enforcement consequences. For businesses operating near Montague Street's commercial corridor, along Court Street, or in the professional office buildings near Cadman Plaza, staying current on both tracks is not optional. Falling behind on either level creates exposure that shows up in audits, civil penalties, or quiet workforce attrition from employees who notice when an employer's obligations are not being met.
Paid Family Leave adjustments
New York's Paid Family Leave program updated its benefit rates for 2026. The maximum weekly benefit now stands at $1,228.53, reflecting a $51.21 increase over 2025 levels. Employee contributions are set at 0.432% of gross wages per pay period, with an annual contribution cap of $411.91. For Brooklyn Heights employers managing payroll across a mix of professional staff and support roles, confirming that payroll systems reflect the updated figures is a compliance baseline. Staff should also understand how PFL coordinates with New York's statutory disability insurance program, particularly for leave situations where both benefits may apply.
Paid Prenatal Leave
New York became the first state in the country to mandate paid prenatal leave, with the requirement taking effect January 1, 2025. Every private-sector employer in the state must provide 20 hours of paid prenatal leave per 52-week period, regardless of company size. This leave is separate from existing sick leave and does not reduce any other entitlement. Brooklyn Heights employers, many of whom operate within the city's additional compliance layer under the amended ESSTA framework, must also maintain a written prenatal leave policy, reflect prenatal leave balances on employee pay stubs, and display an updated Notice of Employee Rights. For professional services firms and nonprofits concentrated in this neighborhood, meeting both the state and city requirements simultaneously requires attention to the details of each.
Expanded Earned Safe and Sick Time
Amendments to the NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time Act became effective February 22, 2026. Under the updated law, Brooklyn Heights employers must make at least 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick time available to employees immediately upon hire, rather than accruing it over time. The qualifying reasons for leave have been expanded to cover public disasters, closures of schools or childcare facilities, workplace violence incidents, and care for minor children or other care recipients. The amendments also absorbed the former Temporary Schedule Change Act, folding that coverage directly into ESSTA rather than maintaining it as a separate obligation. Employers with workers at multiple Brooklyn Heights locations should confirm their policies reflect the consolidated framework.
Minimum wage and salary thresholds
As of January 1, 2026, the minimum wage across New York City, including Brooklyn Heights, is $17.00 per hour. The minimum salary threshold for executive and administrative overtime exemptions has moved to $1,275.00 per week, which annualizes to $66,300. For Brooklyn Heights employers in legal support services, property management, nonprofit administration, and food and beverage, these thresholds affect how roles are classified and how benefits eligibility is structured across different parts of the workforce. Getting the classification right matters for compliance and for how benefit plan costs are distributed.
Secure Choice Savings Program
New York's state-mandated retirement savings program is now in effect. Private employers with 10 or more employees, at least two years of operation, and no existing qualified retirement plan must register or certify an exemption. Deadlines are structured by company size: employers with 30 or more employees faced a March 18, 2026 cutoff; those with 15 to 29 employees have until May 15, 2026; and those with 10 to 14 employees have until July 15, 2026. Brooklyn Heights has a substantial number of small professional service firms and established nonprofits that fall directly in this size range. Employees are auto-enrolled at a 3% contribution rate into a state-administered Roth IRA unless they actively opt out.
Ban on consumer credit history in employment decisions
Effective April 18, 2026, New York State employers may not request or use consumer credit history when making hiring, compensation, or other employment decisions, with narrow exceptions for specific roles. This statewide prohibition expands on a city-level restriction that has been in place since 2015 under the NYC Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act. For Brooklyn Heights employers, particularly law-adjacent firms, financial practices, and professional services companies that have historically relied on credit checks as part of their hiring process, understanding where the defined exceptions apply and where they do not is a necessary step in updating employment policies.
Keeping pace with all of these requirements, and understanding how they interact, is a core function of what an employee benefits broker serving Brooklyn Heights employers must provide. A prenatal leave policy that was not updated after the January 2025 mandate, a Secure Choice registration that was delayed past deadline, or a sick time balance that is not appearing correctly on pay stubs can each generate enforcement exposure. For Brooklyn Heights employers focused on running demanding professional practices, that compliance burden is far more effectively managed through a dedicated advisory relationship than handled ad hoc whenever a deadline surfaces.
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Benefits Services for Brooklyn Heights Employers
- Combs & Company brings a flexible advisory approach to employee benefits for Brooklyn Heights employers, recognizing that a boutique law firm near Montague Street, a nonprofit based near Cadman Plaza, and a financial services practice with views of the Promenade operate under different workforce pressures and have different priorities when it comes to building competitive packages. Medical, dental, and vision coverage form the core of most employer plans, and negotiating New York's carrier market, where premiums consistently outpace national averages, requires ongoing effort and knowledge of which hospital systems and provider networks Brooklyn Heights employees actually use. Disability coverage is built on top of New York's statutory program, with enhancements designed for the professional salary levels common in this neighborhood. Group life insurance, voluntary benefits, and executive benefits fill out packages where the goal is retaining staff who have no shortage of opportunities a short walk across the bridge. Compliance consulting covering ACA reporting, ERISA documentation, and audit support is part of every client engagement from the start. For Brooklyn Heights employers managing prenatal leave obligations, Secure Choice deadlines, and ESSTA amendments in parallel, having integrated compliance support built into the advisory relationship rather than available only on request is where the value becomes most visible.
- Medical, dental, and vision benefits
- Short-term and long-term disability coverage
- Group life insurance
- Voluntary and executive benefits
- ACA reporting and ERISA documentation
- Audit readiness and compliance consulting
Medical, dental, and vision coverage anchor benefits packages for most Brooklyn Heights employers, and assembling those packages in New York's carrier market requires more than selecting a plan at renewal. Combs & Company works across multiple carriers to identify plans that balance premium costs with the coverage quality that employees in a neighborhood like Brooklyn Heights have come to expect. With the downtown Brooklyn hospital system and facilities like New York Presbyterian serving this community, matching plan networks to where employees actually seek care is part of getting the benefits package right.
New York's statutory disability program provides a baseline level of wage replacement, but for many Brooklyn Heights professionals in legal services, finance, consulting, and nonprofit leadership, that baseline falls well short of meaningful income protection. Short-term and long-term disability coverage addresses those gaps. Group life insurance, voluntary benefits, and executive benefits complete packages designed for a workforce that has consistent alternatives and weighs the full value of what an employer offers before making long-term commitments.
Compliance consulting that covers ACA reporting, ERISA plan documentation, and audit readiness is built into how Combs & Company works with clients, not separated out as a premium add-on. For Brooklyn Heights employers dealing simultaneously with updated prenatal leave requirements, Secure Choice registration deadlines, and the ESSTA amendments that took effect in early 2026, having that expertise integrated into the advisory relationship means it is available when questions arise, not just when something has already gone wrong.
What Sets Combs & Company Apart in the Brooklyn Heights Market
What distinguishes Combs & Company from other firms serving Brooklyn Heights employers is how the advisory team is constructed. Every advisor brought onto the Combs team has professional experience in at least two industries outside of insurance before joining. That background produces a different kind of risk awareness, one shaped by having operated inside the kinds of businesses the firm now advises. For Brooklyn Heights employers that often sit at the crossroads of professional services, legal, nonprofit, and real estate sectors, that cross-industry perspective surfaces exposures that a narrower benefits background tends to miss. The firm maintains a 95% annual client retention rate across a New York City client base, which reflects advisory work that continues to deliver value after the first enrollment is complete. The team includes PPACA Certified Advisors with concentrated expertise in ACA, ERISA, and the full scope of state and city-level requirements that define New York's benefits compliance landscape. Combs & Company serves companies with 1 to 500 employees, the range where benefits strategy has the most direct impact on hiring and retention but where dedicated in-house expertise is typically not a realistic option. Susan L. Combs founded the firm in 2005, and it has grown primarily through referrals and sustained client relationships since then.
A 95% annual client retention rate across New York City industries is not a first-impression metric. It reflects advisory work that continues to hold up through regulatory changes, workforce shifts, and renewal cycles year after year. Brooklyn Heights clients in professional services, nonprofit management, legal support, and property management each bring a distinct compliance footprint and a different kind of workforce. The Combs team has worked through enough of those variations in New York's regulatory environment that the nuances are not a learning curve. They are the starting point.
Combs & Company's PPACA Certified Advisors carry focused expertise in ACA, ERISA, and the state and city-level mandates that govern employee benefits for New York employers, including those managing workforces in Brooklyn Heights. The firm's client range of 1 to 500 employees covers precisely the businesses where benefits strategy has the greatest effect on hiring outcomes and financial performance, and where building an in-house benefits function is rarely practical or cost-justified.
Susan L. Combs built the firm in 2005 around a model centered on long-term advisory relationships rather than high-volume enrollment. Brooklyn Heights employers who work with Combs & Company are not handed off to a service desk after the first plan goes live. The firm's growth comes from referrals and multi-year client engagements, which reflects directly how those relationships are structured from the initial conversation forward.
Who This Serves in Brooklyn Heights
The companies that benefit most from working with an employee benefits broker in Brooklyn Heights
are typically growing firms in the
10–500 employee range
— large enough to face real compliance obligations under programs like Secure Choice and ACA employer mandates, but without the internal HR infrastructure to manage those obligations alone. This includes founders and COOs at Brooklyn Heights-based tech and media companies scaling past their first wave of hires, CFOs at professional services firms managing benefits costs against the city's wage pressures, and HR directors at nonprofits and cultural organizations competing for talent without Fortune 500 budgets.
Start a Conversation with Combs & Company
If your Brooklyn Heights business is putting together a benefits program for the first time, revisiting a plan that may no longer be competitive, or working through a compliance question before a deadline passes, Combs & Company offers a no-obligation discovery call to assess where things currently stand. The advisory team will review your existing benefits structure, identify any compliance gaps specific to New York's requirements, and walk you through what a tailored engagement would involve. Schedule a discovery call to get started.
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Employee Benefits
Comprehensive Employee Benefits for Your Team
Benefit solutions can be as diverse as your workforce. Combs & Company takes a holistic approach to build solutions that meet employee needs, your company's budget, all while meeting federal and state requirements. Offering innovative solutions from trusted providers can help your business attract and retain top talent. From one employee to 1,000, our team supports you to ensure benefits don't become a burden and fall short of expectations.
Medical Benefits
Comprehensive medical coverage from top-rated carriers, with plan designs that account for NYC's provider networks and premium environment.
Dental Benefits
Preventive, restorative, and orthodontic coverage options that meet employee expectations in a competitive hiring market.
Vision Benefits
Vision plans that include routine exams, eyewear allowances, and corrective care for focused productivity.
Short-Term Disability insurance
Income protection that supplements New York's statutory disability program during temporary illness or injury.
Long-Term Disability insurance
Extended income protection for employees facing prolonged health challenges beyond statutory coverage.
Group Life Insurance
Financial protection for employees and their families, structured as a core component of the benefits package.
Group Long-Term Care Insurance
Coverage for extended medical or personal assistance expenses, addressing a growing concern for NYC's aging workforce.
Voluntary Benefits
Accident, critical illness, and supplemental coverage that gives employees flexibility to customize their protection.
Executive Benefits
Customized benefit plans designed to attract, retain, and protect leadership talent in NYC's competitive executive market.
International Travel Insurance
Coverage for employees on global assignments or business travel, addressing medical emergencies and unforeseen risks abroad.
Employee benefits aren’t just perks — they’re a promise. A promise to value, protect, and invest in the people who drive your company’s success every day.
Combs & Company
Empowering Businesses Through Smarter Employee Benefits
Your employees are the foundation of your company’s success. Combs & Company believes investing in their well-being leads to higher retention, better productivity, and stronger company culture. Our customized employee benefits solutions are designed to fit your organization’s goals, budget, and workforce. From startup to mature entity, we’ll help you create a benefits package that attracts and retains top talent — while protecting your bottom line.
Your Questions, Answered
Frequently Asked Questions
How do NYC's prenatal leave and ESSTA requirements affect my company's benefits administration?
If you employ anyone in New York City, your benefits administration now includes multiple leave entitlements that must be tracked separately: 20 hours of paid prenatal leave under state law, 40 or 56 hours of paid safe and sick time under ESSTA (depending on employer size), and as of February 2026, an additional 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick time available immediately upon hire. Each entitlement has distinct policy, notice, and recordkeeping requirements — and NYC's rules layer additional obligations on top of the state mandates. An employee benefits broker in NYC should be helping you maintain compliant written policies, update notices, and ensure your payroll system tracks each leave bank independently.
Does my NYC business need to register for the Secure Choice Savings Program?
If your company has been operating for at least two years, employs 10 or more people in New York, and does not currently offer a qualified retirement plan such as a 401(k) or SIMPLE IRA, you are required to register with the New York Secure Choice Savings Program or certify your exemption. Deadlines in 2026 are staggered by employer size, with the final group — employers with 10–14 employees — facing a July 15, 2026 deadline. Your employee benefits broker in NYC can help you evaluate whether registering for the state program or adopting a private retirement plan is the better strategic move for your company's benefits package and talent competitiveness.
What makes employee benefits more complex for NYC employers than employers in other markets?
New York City employers operate under a dual regulatory framework — state mandates from Albany and city-specific rules enforced locally — that creates compliance obligations most other U.S. markets simply don't have. The city's Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, prenatal leave policy and posting requirements, and the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act all impose requirements beyond what state law mandates. Combined with New York's high premium environment, a minimum wage of $17.00 per hour affecting benefits eligibility classifications, and the competitive pressure of recruiting in a market with over 200,000 tech sector jobs alone, NYC employers need an employee benefits broker with specific experience in this market — not a national firm applying a generic playbook.
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234 5th Ave #501, New York, NY 10001
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Employee Benefits
Empower your workforce with tailored benefits that attract talent, enhance satisfaction, and improve retention — all while keeping your business compliant, competitive, and financially protected.
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Why Choose Combs & Company?
Combs & Company blends decades of experience, with continued industry innovations, and a personal touch to simplify the insurance process. Our expert teams tailor coverages to meet your business needs, ensuring you’re confident in any solution.
Certified Industry Experts
Our team includes PPACA Certified Advisors and licensed professionals with expertise in ACA, ERISA, and complex coverage solutions, providing trusted guidance.
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From personal and business insurance to specialty lines and consulting, we offer full-service solutions that grow with you and evolve to meet your changing needs.
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At Combs & Company, clients aren’t just clients—they’re partners. We’re committed to building trust, loyalty, and long-term relationships that keep you secure for years to come.
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Our Client Reviews
If you're a food entrepreneur or in the restaurant biz, I highly recommend working with Susan and her team. Offers great customer service and she really knows her stuff! I had Susan come lecture at my food law class at New York University a few years ago and the students loved her! I refer clients to her without hesitation
Cari B.
