The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) recently issued its long-awaited proposed regulations related to workplace safety committees as allowed under the NY HERO Act. New York employers have already been addressing...more
In the City’s latest effort to combat gender and race-based pay inequity, the New York City Council passed a salary transparency bill at the end of last year, and it was enacted on January 15 after Mayor Eric Adams took no...more
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) recently issued its highly anticipated final regulations regarding New York State Paid Sick Leave (PSL), which allowed employees to start using sick leave at the start of 2021....more
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 employers that don’t sponsor their own retirement plans will soon be required to automatically enroll employees in New York’s state-run savings plan. Lawmakers originally created the New York State Secure Choice...more
New York employers who monitor employee’s telephone calls, e-mails, or internet use must soon provide written notice to employees. The change comes during an era where many employees are communicating with each other via...more
New York employers will soon need to provide Paid Family Leave to employees to care for additional family members with a serious health condition: siblings. Governor Kathy Hochul just signed into law an amendment to New...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
New York State recently granted both private and public employees up to four hours of paid leave per injection to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. While the basics of the leave were outlined in newly added New York Labor Law...more
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
Approximately 10 months after New York state enacted a law providing paid leave for New York workers who have been quarantined or isolated as a result of COVID-19 (COVID-19 Sick Leave), the New York State Department of Labor...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 businesses who employ home healthcare workers or employees covered by the state prevailing wage laws must prepare to comply with changes to the state’s wage notice law. As part of the state budget, lawmakers amended...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
Both New York and the federal government passed laws providing leave for employees impacted by COVID-19, leaving employers in New York grappling to understand how the two laws intersect. New York employers are required to...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
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
In anticipation of New York’s 2020 legislative session, state lawmakers are beginning to develop a proposal to regulate the gig economy – and the news isn’t good for businesses. As we discussed in an entry back in September,...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
An agreement to arbitrate sexual harassment claims is enforceable, according to a recent decision handed down by a federal judge in the Southern District of New York, despite a state law purporting to ban mandatory...more
8/2/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws