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
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, New York State has passed legislation guaranteeing most workers in the state paid sick leave starting next year. This is in addition to the emergency COVID-19 related sick leave enacted by the...more
As part of New York’s continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Cuomo announced during a press conference Friday morning that he will be signing an executive order mandating that 100% of the workforce stay home,...more
In response to the continued surge of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in New York State, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced at a press conference this morning that non-essential businesses must decrease their in-office workforce by...more
As New York continues to be hard hit by the effects of COVID-19, Governor Cuomo announced a three-way agreement on March 17 between his office and both houses of the New York State Legislature on a bill guaranteeing job...more
3/19/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Benefits ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Quarantine ,
Sick Leave ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
New York employers will soon be required to pay an estimated 70,000 tipped workers the full minimum wage, regardless of any tips received. Governor Andrew Cuomo just announced on December 31 that the New York State Department...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
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Decision-Making Process ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor Cuomo ,
New Legislation ,
Reproductive Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws
With another busy year for employment law legislation throughout New York State and New York City coming to a close, New York employers should be aware of new employment laws that will take effect in 2020, as well as laws...more
12/10/2019
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Wage and Hour
“Anything you can do, I can do better.” That’s essentially the sentiment floating around Albany these days as New York lawmakers look enviously towards California and its groundbreaking new law that will soon revolutionize...more
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
/ Amended Legislation ,
Dress Codes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Human Rights ,
NYCHRL ,
NYSHRL ,
Race Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws
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
/ Amended Legislation ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Human Rights ,
Labor Reform ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Punitive Damages ,
Retaliation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
The New Year has brought long-awaited and historic change to the legal rights of the LBGTQ community in the Empire State. On January 15, the State Assembly and State Senate voted to pass the Gender Expression...more
1/17/2019
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Expression ,
Gender Identity ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Human Rights ,
LGBTQ ,
Pending Legislation ,
Protected Class ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Transgender
On the heels of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s call for New York to take additional steps to close the gender wage gap, the New York State Assembly passed a suite of pay equity legislation that would impact both private and public...more
4/24/2018
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pending Legislation ,
Private Right of Action ,
Public Employees ,
Public Employers ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Wage and Hour
On April 10, 2018, Equal Pay Day, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled proposed legislation banning all employers in New York from asking job applicants about their salary history. The legislation is aimed at closing the...more
4/17/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour
Employers operating in New York will soon face a raft of new sexual harassment laws. The state budget bill for the 2019 fiscal year approved by the New York State Legislature on March 31 and signed into law by Governor Andrew...more
4/16/2018
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Employees ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Communication
On March 12, 2018, the New York State Senate passed a bill aimed at strengthening and reforming the state sexual harassment laws. The legislation comes on the heels of the #MeToo movement and mirrors much of what Governor...more
3/20/2018
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Training ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Non-Employees ,
Pending Legislation ,
Public Employers ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Contractors ,
State Labor Laws
Following national attention on the #metoo movement, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans as part of his State of the State address earlier this month to strengthen New York’s laws on sexual harassment in the...more
1/29/2018
/ Annual Reports ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Independent Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Officials ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Small Business ,
State and Local Government ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
New York City’s Fair Workweek Law takes effect on November 26, 2017, thereby limiting the scheduling options and reducing the flexibility of retail and fast food employers. Not to be outdone, New York State is about to add...more
11/14/2017
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Workweek ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Food Service Workers ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
On-Call Employees ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Public Hearing ,
Retail Workers ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
On January 9, 2017, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued two executive orders aimed at addressing the perceived gender, race, and ethnicity-based wage gaps. Noting that the state government must lead by example and ensure...more