New York’s two-year 2025-2026 legislative session hit its midpoint in June, with lawmakers wrapping up the first year by passing a slew of workplace-related bills that now await action from Governor Hochul. As federal labor...more
7/3/2025
/ Age Discrimination ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Construction Workers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Credit History ,
Disability Benefits ,
Disparate Impact ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Jury Awards ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Relations ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Mental Health ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Severance Agreements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statutory Damages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Waiver of Rights ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence ,
Workplace Violence Prevention Programs
A federal appeals court recently clarified that an employee may qualify for a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) even if they can perform essential job functions without such an...more
Employers in New York State and New York City face unique challenges given all the new workplace laws that are passed each year – and 2024 was no different. Indeed, multiple bills were enacted in the past year that will raise...more
1/31/2025
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Paid Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
AI is reshaping the workplace, and two of the nation’s most influential states – California and New York – are making sure businesses take accountability. California’s Attorney General issued sweeping advisories on Monday...more
1/20/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Bias ,
California ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Layoffs ,
New York ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Labor Laws ,
Transparency
A new study reveals that popular AI-based resume screening tools often favor White and male candidates, showing that resumes tied to White-associated names were preferred 85% of the time. The University of Washington...more
11/12/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Practices ,
Bias ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Popular ,
Race Discrimination ,
Resume ,
Sex Discrimination
The legal landscape for “frequency of pay” claims involving manual workers in New York has recently been bubbling with activity. The state law at issue regulates the frequency in which “manual workers” must receive their...more
At least two proposed bills pending before the New York State Legislature would force employers to conduct bias audits and provide high levels of transparency if they use AI-fueled automated employment decision tools for...more
3/18/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Audits ,
Bias ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New York ,
Notice Requirements ,
Private Right of Action ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vendors
If you’ve been tracking litigation related to New York’s “frequency of pay” requirement for manual workers, last week’s highly anticipated decision Grant v. Global Aircraft Dispatch brings welcome news to employers. The state...more
Continuing a years’ long trend of extensive alterations to workplace laws, New York State and New York City continued to enact new workplace legislation impacting employers. A substantial number of enacted bills in the past...more
1/11/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Freelance Workers ,
Minimum Wage ,
New York ,
Pay Transparency ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft ,
Workplace Safety
Businesses that use artificial intelligence tools to hire and promote employees in the Big Apple are navigating uncharted waters as they grapple with significant compliance obligations. New York City’s first-of-its-kind law...more
New York state lawmakers passed a flurry of employment-related bills in the final weeks of the legislative session. The bills – which now head to Governor Hochul’s desk for consideration – aim to provide workers in the state...more
6/27/2023
/ Assignment of Inventions ,
Emergency Alerts ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New York ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft
The movement to expand legal protections against forms of appearance-based discrimination could soon gain a formidable ally. The New York City Council passed a bill on May 11 that would prohibit employers from discriminating...more
After a few years of rapid and expansive change to New York’s workplace laws, involving adjustments to workplace safety, employee pay, benefits, and privacy, there was a noticeable slowdown for the state legislature this past...more
1/5/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Breastfeeding ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Leave of Absence ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Nurses ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pay Transparency ,
Posting Requirements ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Salaried Employees ,
Sexual Abuse ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Warehouses ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Safety
New York City employers should breathe a sigh of relief as the City recently issued rules to clarify a groundbreaking law about to go into effect aimed at protecting employees from unlawful discrimination when artificial...more
It is looking increasingly likely that fast food employers in New York City will have to deal with troubling new workplace regulations in the near future, including the prospect of increased penalties for violations,...more
New York City workplace regulators just finalized rules for New York City’s Fair Workweek and just cause laws for fast food workers – and there are some changes from the initial proposals that may come as a surprise to...more
New York City regulators recently proposed new rules that will further burden fast food employers, revealing a mixed bag of employer-unfriendly interpretations of existing city law while introducing potentially immense...more
2/2/2022
/ Consent ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Workweek ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Just Cause ,
Layoffs ,
Notice Requirements ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Public Hearing ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
Year two of the COVID-19 pandemic brought many new legislative changes for New York employers, altering the landscape around workplace safety, employee pay, leave benefits, protected classes and activity, and privacy. Now...more
12/29/2021
/ Amended Legislation ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Electronic Monitoring ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Just Cause ,
Marijuana ,
Masks ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Quarantine ,
Recreational Use ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Salaried Employees ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Safety
New York employees will soon have greater rights to assert claims of wrongdoing by their employers without retaliatory action. State lawmakers recently amended New York’s whistleblower law protections for private sector...more
New York City employers who use artificial intelligence technologies to recruit and hire candidates and promote employees will soon face significant compliance obligations aimed at preventing bias when using such technology....more
A former employee of a prominent midtown Manhattan boutique hotel filed a class-action age discrimination lawsuit against her former employer, alleging the hotel failed to rehire her or other older employees after reopening...more
New York employers must take immediate steps to comply with statutory requirements aimed at preventing the spread of infectious disease in the workplace. As previously reported, in May New York State passed the NY HERO Act,...more
7/20/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statutory Requirements ,
Workplace Safety
Following an eleventh-hour agreement to make “technical changes” to the version of the bill passed by the New York State legislature, Governor Cuomo signed into law the New York Health and Essential Rights Act – also known as...more
The federal appeals court that has jurisdiction over New York employers recently issued a decision holding that a plaintiff must plausibly allege “willfulness” to secure the benefit of the longer three-year limitations period...more
Recreational use of cannabis or marijuana is now legal in New York State. On March 31, Governor Cuomo signed into law the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act. The legalization of cannabis will have significant short and...more
4/8/2021
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Cannabis Products ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Recreational Use