As employees are increasingly absent from work during the COVID-19 situation, employers in New York City and Westchester County should be aware of paid time off provisions under the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA, New...more
New York businesses, especially in the retail and hospitality sectors, have seen a precipitous decline in business due to coronavirus over the past few weeks. The immediate outlook is grim and many anticipate that the local...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently rejected an assertion by employees that they were entitled to the proceeds of the delivery fee charged by their grocery store employer. In its March 5 ruling...more
The recent outbreak of respiratory disease (COVID-19) caused by the novel coronavirus presents many issues for employers. Businesses should be vigilant and plan for a potential outbreak, as the United States Centers for...more
3/4/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Leave of Absence ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Workplace Safety
The recent outbreak of respiratory disease (COVID-19) caused by the novel coronavirus presents many issues for hospitality establishments. Employers should be vigilant and plan for a potential outbreak, as the United States...more
New York City’s Fair Workweek Law survived a challenge on Feb. 13 when Justice Arthur Engoron of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County rejected a suit brought by a coalition of industry groups.
While...more
The New York Department of Labor recently issued guidance to clarify the parameters of its prohibition on employers (or their agents) asking for any information about a job applicant’s salary history.
The ban on salary...more
A recent New York appellate ruling validates the New York Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulations limiting the use of pay cards to pay employees their wages. Unless this decision is appealed to the New York Court of Appeals,...more
New York rang in the new year with a pair of significant labor law developments. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on December 31 that the Department of Labor would end the tip credit for “miscellaneous” industries by the end...more
The New York City Council may soon make co-working spaces potentially liable for sexual harassment between their tenants. Recently introduced legislation would make it an unlawful discriminatory practice under the New York...more
As we approach the end of the year, it is critical to remember and implement some of the new legal requirements that go into effect in New York on December 31, 2019. Failure to comply with these requirements could subject an...more
Effective immediately, the New York Labor Law includes a section banning discrimination based on an employee’s “reproductive health decision making.” Prior to Governor Andrew Cuomo signing this bill into law, New York City...more
As detailed in a prior Alert, the Westchester County Board of Legislators passed a stand-alone safe leave law in May 2019 that provides employees who are victims of domestic violence or human trafficking with 40 hours of paid...more
Employee emails referencing an employer’s unfair labor practices may be protected under the federal National Labor Relations Act, even if such speech may seem inappropriate. An NLRB (Board) ruling on this issue was affirmed...more
The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a new rule to allow employers who do not take a tip credit to establish “nontraditional” tip pools that include back-of-the-house employees and others who are not traditionally...more
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued its Final Overtime Rule (Final Rule) to raise the salary threshold level necessary to exempt certain employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and...more
Chicago’s Fair Workweek Ordinance imposes a sweeping, predictive scheduling obligation on employers to provide employees with advance notice of work schedules and pay employees “predictability pay” for late changes to an...more
8/5/2019
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Workweek ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Local Ordinance ,
Manufacturers ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
A federal court in Manhattan has invalidated New York's statewide prohibition against provisions in employment agreements that require the mandatory arbitration of sexual harassment claims.
In its June 26, 2019 decision in...more
New York State is poised to prohibit employers from relying on or inquiring about an applicant’s or employee’s wage or salary history.
An amendment recently passed by the state legislature would bar employers in New York...more
New York State will vastly expand the scope of its Equal Pay Act to cover all characteristics protected under the New York Human Rights Law, including age, race, creed, national origin, sexual orientation and disability....more
The New York State Assembly and Senate have passed a bill that would allow employees to obtain liens on their employers’ personal and real property when there are allegations that the employees were underpaid, even when the...more
Changes on the horizon will require employers throughout New York State to make significant changes to their workplace discrimination and harassment prevention plans and policies.
A bill passed on June 19 by the State...more
Joining a trend sweeping the country, Connecticut lawmakers passed a bill that introduces a schedule to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by June 2023.
Gov. Ned Lamont signed the bill this morning, and employers...more
Effective since May 20, 2019, the New York City Human Rights Law prohibits discrimination relating to an employee’s “sexual and reproductive health decisions.” As reported in our January 2019 alert, employers may not...more
The Westchester County Board of Legislators has adopted a stand-alone safe leave law that provides victims of domestic violence and human trafficking additional time off for qualifying reasons. The safe leave provided for in...more