New York State has resolved a recent judicial split regarding pay frequency violation remedies by amending the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”) to limit an employee’s ability to recover sizeable liquidated damages. New York...more
The most recent amendment to New York’s Workers’ Compensation Law, which went into effect on January 1, 2025, permits any employee to seek workers’ compensation benefits when they experience a “mental injury premised upon...more
1/23/2025
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Mental Health ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
PTSD ,
State Labor Laws ,
Work-Induced Stress ,
Workers’ Compensation ,
Workplace Safety
New York employers are – once again – required to provide employees with notice regarding New York’s reproductive health decision making protections. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated a lower court’s...more
1/22/2025
/ Compliance ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
First Amendment ,
New York ,
Personal Information ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vacated
A year after announcing its first-in-the-nation effort to increase access to pregnancy-related healthcare, (discussed here), New York’s “paid prenatal leave” law is officially set to take effect on January 1, 2025. Employers...more
New York’s Clean Slate Act is now effective. The Act will lead to the automatic sealing of certain criminal records and will require greater disclosure by employers of the criminal history they can consider in connection...more
11/20/2024
/ Background Checks ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Duty of Care ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
New York ,
Sealed Records
New York employers are now required to provide up to 30 minutes of paid break time each time an employee has a reasonable need to express breast milk. While New York employers have been required to provide breaks to nursing...more
Following the recent failed attempt at broadly banning non-compete agreements in New York statewide (discussed here), three new bills were just introduced to do the same, this time in New York City. The most comprehensive,...more
3/14/2024
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New York ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State and Local Government ,
State Bans ,
State Labor Laws
Hoping to “raise the bar” for the rest of the nation, Governor Hochul announced a first of its kind proposal that would allow qualifying workers in New York up to 40 hours of paid leave to attend prenatal appointments. While...more
1/18/2024
/ Disability Leave ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Medical Leave ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Paid Leave ,
Pregnancy ,
Wage and Hour
Although 2023 perhaps did not see the passage of any laws quite as impactful as 2022—which, as employers will recall, included New York State enacting its own pay transparency law (see here) and novel New York City Council...more
12/15/2023
/ #MeToo ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Earned Sick and Safe Time Act ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Facebook ,
Freelance Isn't Free Act (FIFA) ,
Freelance Workers ,
Harassment ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Minimum Wage ,
New York ,
NYDOL ,
Pay Transparency ,
Remote Working ,
Retaliation ,
Settlement ,
State Labor Laws ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft ,
WARN Act
In an effort to further restrict the use of confidentiality clauses when resolving employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims, New York recently passed S4516, which amends Section 5-336 of the New York...more