On March 31, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), which legalizes the adult recreational use of marijuana and revises Section 201-d of the New York Labor Law....more
On January 5, 2021, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed legislation that effectively ends at-will employment for fast food employees in New York City. The new law takes effect on July 4, 2021, and would make New York...more
1/12/2021
/ American Arbitration Association ,
Arbitration ,
At-Will Employment ,
Fair Workweek ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Preemption
On April 3, 2020, New York State enacted a statewide paid sick leave (PSL) law impacting all private employers in New York. The law requires employers to provide up to 40 or 56 hours of annual sick leave (depending on their...more
On April 14, 2020, the State of New York filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) seeking declaratory and injunctive relief in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In the lawsuit,...more
On March 18, 2020, at Governor Andrew Cuomo’s behest, New York State passed an emergency law that extends paid leave and additional employment protections and benefits immediately to employees involuntarily quarantined in...more
3/20/2020
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Emergency Response ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Governor Cuomo ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Quarantine ,
Sick Leave ,
State of Emergency
As we previously reported, New York State significantly amended its antidiscrimination laws, with many of the changes effective as of October 11, 2019. The state issued updated FAQ guidance regarding these new requirements on...more
11/6/2019
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Foreign Language ,
Harassment ,
National Origin ,
New Guidance ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Notice Requirements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
As we previously reported, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed an omnibus bill that overhauls New York’s antidiscrimination laws and uproot precedent upon which employers have relied for decades in defending...more
8/14/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Harassment ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
NYCHRL ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
On the last day of the 2019–2020 legislative session, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed an omnibus bill. This legislation, once effective, will overhaul New York’s anti-discrimination laws and uproot precedent...more
6/26/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Arbitration ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Faragher/Ellerth defense ,
Human Rights Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Pending Legislation ,
Punitive Damages ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
Title VII
On February 19, 2019, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) issued a sweeping and detailed legal enforcement guidance outlining new protections for New Yorkers who maintain “natural hair or hairstyles most...more
Westchester County, New York, which is located on the outskirts of the New York City metropolitan area, has enacted a ban-the-box law that places limits on an employer’s ability to make preemployment inquiries into and...more
As we previously reported, New York State and New York City has passed sweeping laws aimed at combating sexual harassment in the workplace last year. While many requirements of these laws already went into effect in 2018, the...more
1/17/2019
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Commission on Human Rights ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
NYCHRL ,
Posting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Effective October 9, 2018, New York State requires all employers to (i) establish a sexual harassment prevention policy and (ii) provide all employees with annual sexual harassment prevention training that must initially be...more
The United States is certainly as divided as ever along partisan lines leading up to the November 6, 2018 midterm elections. Many employers across the country are uneasy about managing heated political discussions in their...more
As we previously reported here, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently enacted an aggressive anti-sexual harassment law with stringent requirements for employers’ anti-harassment policies and training. A key component of the...more
As we previously reported, New York State and New York City each recently passed aggressive laws to combat sexual harassment in the workplace. On August 23, 2018, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) released...more
8/30/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
New Guidance ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
NYCHRL ,
Risk Management ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed into law the 2018–2019 New York State budget, which includes components aimed at combating sexual harassment in the workplace that impose significant new obligations on private...more
5/11/2018
/ Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Notice Requirements ,
NYCHRL ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets
Effective July 18, 2018, New York City employers will be required to allow employees who have been employed for at least 120 days and who work at least 80 hours in New York City in a calendar year to make two temporary...more
As we previously reported, the New York State Paid Family Leave Law (PFL) will go into effect on January 1, 2018, requiring virtually all private employers in New York to provide paid family leave benefits to eligible...more
In Chauca v. Abraham, No. 113 (November 20, 2017), the New York State Court of Appeals clarified the standard for awarding punitive damages under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). Unlike Title VII of the Civil...more
The Albany County Legislature recently amended the Human Rights Law for Albany County to join New York City, Philadelphia, Massachusetts, Delaware, Oregon, Puerto Rico, California, and San Francisco in banning inquiries into...more
On November 10, 2017, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) released draft regulations that would amend the rules for scheduling employees covered by the Minimum Wage Order for Miscellaneous Industries and...more
As we previously reported in April of 2017 and May of 2017, New York City employers may want to prepare for the New York City salary history law, which will go into effect on October 31, 2017. With limited exceptions, the law...more
In National Labor Relations Board v. Pier Sixty, LLC, No. 15-1841 (April 21, 2017), the Second Circuit upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) finding that an employee’s Facebook post, although “vulgar and...more
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) recently proposed amended regulations that would significantly alter the salary levels for some executive and administrative exempt employees, as well as alter the permitted tip...more
On the same day that the White House released its “State Call to Action on Non-Compete Agreements,” encouraging states to adopt best practice policies in the enforcement of non-compete agreements, New York State’s Attorney...more