To align with the new statewide paid prenatal leave law, the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection has amended its rules related to the NYC Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”) to address the paid prenatal leave...more
6/13/2025
/ Earned Sick and Safe Time Act ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
New Regulations ,
New York ,
Paid Leave ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws
On May 9, 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law numerous provisions under the FY26 New York State Budget that, among other things, increase the civil penalties for employers that violate state child labor laws and...more
New York City employers are reminded that they are now required to physically and electronically post a copy of their written lactation accommodation policy...more
In his inaugural address on Monday, January 20, 2025, President Trump declared, “We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.” In the days that followed, President Trump has proceeded to issue a series of...more
1/23/2025
/ Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compliance ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Race Discrimination ,
Repeal ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Title VII
The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) has issued an opinion letter stating that employers cannot require employees to substitute accrued paid time off during a Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave...more
1/16/2025
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
In a January 2, 2025 decision in CompassCare et al. v. Hochul, a Second Circuit panel vacated a permanent injunction issued in April 2022 that halted the requirement that New York State employers include a notice in their...more
Effective May 11, 2025, New York City employers will be required to physically and electronically post a copy of their written lactation room accommodation policy.
Recently enacted Local Law 109 amends existing language...more
The New York State Department of Labor (NYDOL) has issued informal guidance regarding the Paid Prenatal Leave benefit that will be available to New York employees beginning January 1, 2025. The guidance includes general...more
New York State employers are reminded that, under an expansion of the law that took effect in late 2023, they are required to provide all separating employees with an updated Record of Employment (Form IA 12.3) for purposes...more
1/11/2024
/ Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Employment Policies ,
Employment Records ,
New York ,
NYDOL ,
Performance Standards ,
Separation Agreement ,
Temporary Layoffs ,
Termination ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unemployment Insurance
Beginning in July 2024, New York City employers will be required to distribute information regarding a “workers’ bill of rights” that will be created via collaboration across a number of City agencies....more
On July 26, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a technical assistance document titled “Visual Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act.” This guidance explains...more
On May 11, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a “medical freedom” bill (SB 252), which amends and expands the existing Florida statute Section 381.00316, prohibiting businesses from requiring their customers and...more
As we have reported previously, on April 10, 2023 President Biden signed legislation ending the COVID-19 National Emergency. However, the rollback of COVID-19 requirements was already underway in many state and municipal...more
5/9/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Public Health ,
Sick Leave ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The New York State Department of Labor (“DOL”) has released its long-awaited updated model sexual harassment prevention policy that addresses issues such as gender identity, remote work, and bystander intervention. As we...more
On January 12, 2023 the New York State Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued an updated Proposed Sexual Harassment Prevention Model Policy which, among other things, addresses remote work, gender identity and bystander...more
With the arrival of the new year comes the effective date of many new leave laws (and expansion of existing leave laws) across the United States. Below we summarize family and sick leave laws that will take effect across...more
12/26/2022
/ California ,
Colorado ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Leave of Absence ,
New York ,
Oregon ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law an amendment to the NY State Labor Law that will expand workplace protections for nursing employees, effective May 31, 2023. The new law builds upon already-existing requirements...more
On July 6, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced it has entered into a conciliation agreement with a Florida-based medical practice for violations of the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act...more
7/7/2022
/ Conciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family Members ,
GINA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Sanctions ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The New York State Department of Labor (“NYDOL”) has issued FAQ guidance addressing common questions regarding recreational cannabis use by employees in and outside of the workplace in light of the enactment earlier this year...more
10/27/2021
/ Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA) ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Recreational Use ,
State Labor Laws
With Election Day just around the corner, we are highlighting some of the issues facing employers in a series of posts on election-related issues. In our first installment, we looked at employee protections around political...more
With Election Day just around the corner, we’ll be highlighting some of the issues facing employers in a two-part series on elections and the workplace. In this first installment, we’ll look at employee protections around...more
10/5/2020
/ 501(c)(3) ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Free Speech ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Political Speech ,
Presidential Elections ,
Social Media ,
State Labor Laws
To assist you in preparing for potential impact to your workplace and employees from the Coronavirus or other infectious diseases, we have put together the following list of action steps...more
Effective January 11, 2020, the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) has been amended to expand protections under the law to freelancers and independent contractors. Significantly, this includes the requirement that...more
1/15/2020
/ Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
NYCHRL ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Harassment
As we previously reported, effective October 30, 2019, Westchester County, NY employers are required to provide paid leave to employees who are victims of domestic violence or human trafficking (“safe time”). Leave under the...more
As we previously reported, on August 12, 2019, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law significant legislation to expand workplace anti-discrimination protections. The State has now updated its FAQs to provide...more