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
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New York employers will see three significant workplace laws come into effect in June, and retail, warehouse, and fashion industry employers throughout the state need to take notice. You’ll face new requirements for workplace...more
5/30/2025
/ Employee Rights ,
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Fashion Industry ,
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As retail employers in New York prepare for new workplace violence prevention requirements to take effect, you’ll want to be aware of key changes state lawmakers passed last week. Specifically, amendments to the Retail Worker...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
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Voters decided more than just who would be the next President and who would be in Congress this Election Day – they also voted on a slew of state ballot measures that aimed to change your workplace. Here’s a recap of the most...more
11/8/2024
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Medical Marijuana ,
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Nursing employees now have the right to paid break time to express breast milk during the workday under a New York State law that took effect June 19. This move underscores Governor Hochul’s push for legislation supporting...more
7/15/2024
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Employers should get ready to comply with key workplace changes since New York lawmakers just finalized the state budget. The 2024-2025 budget – which was approved on April 20 – ushers in three significant updates impacting...more
4/23/2024
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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
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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
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Salaried Employees ,
Sexual Abuse ,
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Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Warehouses ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Safety
New York employers who maintain no-fault attendance policies will soon need to change their practices to ensure employees are not penalized in any way for any absence legally protected under federal, state or local law. New...more
As the New York State legislative session came to a close, state lawmakers passed a flurry of laws providing protections to workers, ranging from wage protections for freelance workers, prohibitions against absence control...more
6/10/2022
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Recordkeeping Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft ,
Warehouses ,
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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
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Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
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New York employers have been anxiously awaiting additional information about how the legalization of recreational marijuana will impact the workplace – and they finally have some. The state’s Office of Cannabis Management...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 ,
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New York employees are likely to soon receive paid leave to take their COVID-19 vaccination. One month after the New York State Assembly passed the bill, the New York State Senate unanimously voted 62-0 on March 1 to grant...more
With January 1, 2021 quickly approaching, it’s crunch time for New York employers to prepare to comply with the new statewide sick leave law. New York employers have been grappling with questions surrounding the New York Paid...more
New York is reverting to its pre-2019 voting leave law, as employers will now only need to provide their workers with two hours of paid voting time rather than three. This change is effectively immediately, so New York...more
Following in the footsteps of New York City, which earlier this year prohibited employers from discriminating against applicants or employees based on their sexual and reproductive health decisions, New York State has...more
12/12/2019
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Employer Liability Issues ,
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Governor Cuomo ,
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Governor Andrew Cuomo just signed into effect an amendment to New York law expanding the protections employers must provide to employees who are victims of domestic violence. In addition to expanded protections against...more
New York Governor Cuomo just signed into effect an amendment to state law which expressly prohibits discrimination against employees based on clothing or facial hair worn in accordance with the employee’s religion. The...more
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed legislation amending state law to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on hair texture or protective hairstyles as race-based discrimination. The new law took effect...more
8/9/2019
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Westchester County employers will soon need to provide paid safe time leave to employees who are the victims of domestic violence or human trafficking. Earlier this year, county lawmakers passed the Safe Time Leave for...more
Still grappling with the expansive sexual harassment reforms passed last year, New York businesses and employers will soon need to manage through yet another expansive suite of amendments that will continue the state’s...more
6/21/2019
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The New York City Council just passed legislation which will prohibit employers from requiring a prospective employee to submit to drug testing for the presence of tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), the active ingredient in...more
New York City employers will almost certainly need to provide lactation rooms to breastfeeding employees in the near future thanks to a slate of new laws passed by city lawmakers. On October 17, 2018, the City Council passed...more
10/22/2018
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