Executive Summary: This month both the New York State (NYS) Senate and the NYS Assembly passed identical bills that effectively ban all noncompete agreements in the state of New York. If signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, the...more
6/26/2023
/ Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New York ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
In our December 23, 2019 Legal Alert we reported that the NYS Department of Health’s (“DOH”) Request for Offers (“RFO”) required a “Joint Employment Attestation” in any offer to continue or first become a Fiscal Intermediary...more
The New York State Department of Health (DOH) recently issued a Request for Offers (RFO) from eligible entities who want to continue or first commence participating as Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs) under the New York Consumer...more
On December 18, 2019 New York State’s Department of Health (DOH) issued a Request for Offers (RFO) from those who wish to continue or first become Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs) under the State’s Consumer Directed Personal...more
12/24/2019
/ Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Home Health Care ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Intermediaries ,
Job Applicants ,
Joint Employers ,
Personal Assistants ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Request for Offers ,
State and Local Government ,
State Health Departments
New York has become the most progressive State in the nation when it comes to protecting workers against harassment, discrimination and retaliation on the job. In the last two years, New York has made it much easier for any...more
12/18/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Employees ,
Punitive Damages ,
Risk Management ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
On August 12, 2019, New York State (NYS) amended its Human Rights Law to make it easier to prove discriminatory harassment for members of all protected classes, including age, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, sexual...more
8/15/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Burden of Proof ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
New Legislation ,
NYSHRL ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Yesterday the New York Court of Appeals issued its long-awaited decision on 24-hour shift home health aides who work as “sleep-in” workers....more
3/27/2019
/ Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Domestic Workers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Home Health Agencies ,
Home Health Care ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
Until last week, no New York court had ruled on the question whether a fiscal intermediary (FI) participating in New York’s consumer directed personal assistant program (CDPAP) was a joint employer of a consumer’s personal...more
In groundbreaking legislation last year, New York State amended its Human Rights Law ("NYSHRL") to prohibit sexual harassment against non-employees of all types, including models, stylists, and artists in the fashion industry...more
1/15/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fashion Industry ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Independent Contractors ,
NYCHRL ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Over the past several years, both New York State and New York City have enacted significant new employment and labor laws. This Update summarizes the key laws you should be following and the penalties for violations.
...more
12/17/2018
/ Cooperative Dialogue ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Freelance Isn't Free Act (FIFA) ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Safe Leave ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Temporary Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft Prevention Act ,
Work Schedules
Class action attorneys recently filed a first-of-its-kind class action against Edison Home Health Care (“Edison”) and Preferred Home Care of New York (“Preferred”) alleging that the home care agencies used a “captive”...more
12/12/2018
/ Breach of Duty ,
Captive Insurance Company ,
Class Action ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health Insurance ,
Home Health Agencies ,
Home Health Care ,
Personal Liability ,
Risk Management ,
Wage and Hour
In New York State, the State Human Rights Law ("HRL") was recently amended to prohibit sexual harassment against independent contractors. This is a major extension of sexual harassment protection with significant liability...more
Audits of compliance with the Wage Parity Act ("WPA") are on the rise. The NYS Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Unit, Medicaid Inspector General ("OMIG"), and Department of Labor ("DOL") are all auditing home care agencies....more
Notice of Extension. The New York State Department of Health (DOH) has extended the deadline from November 30 to close of business on December 15, 2017 for currently operating Fiscal Intermediaries under the Consumer Directed...more
On November 1, 2017, the NYS DOH issued its "Application for Fiscal Intermediary Authorization" and implementation guidelines. Significantly, DOH imposed a very short timeframe, stating: "As of November 1, 2017, all existing...more
HOW you do things, it is said, is as important as WHAT you do. Operating a Fiscal Intermediary ("FI") under New York's Consumer Directed Personal Assistant Program ("CDPAP") epitomizes this. Do you know the difference between...more
Last week, in two long-awaited decisions, the New York State Appellate Division, Second Department ruled that home care workers who worked 24-hour shifts, commonly referred to as “live-in” shifts, were required to be paid for...more
By Decision dated July 19, 2017 (the “Decision”), the Appellate Division, First Department (the “First Department”) (which has jurisdiction over Manhattan and Bronx) held that arbitration agreements obligating employees to...more
Tuesday, April 11, 2017, the First Department, Appellate Division of the NYS Supreme Court held that 24-hour case home care workers must be paid for all 24 hours if they are “nonresidential,” that is, they do not exclusively...more
Radio, newspaper, and subway ads are driving Medicaid home care clients and home care workers to abandon traditional home care agency programs for the greater flexibility and freedom of choice of New York’s Consumer Directed...more
In a case with far reaching implications, Cowell v. Utopia Home Care, Inc., 2:14-cv-00736-LDW-SIL, Magistrate Judge Steven Locke of the Eastern District of New York (covering Brooklyn, Queens and Long island) ruled that...more
8/23/2016
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Collective Actions ,
Conditional Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Domestic Workers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Home Health Care ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
Claims by home care workers for unpaid overtime have risen steadily since the U.S. Department of Labor, in 2015, eliminated the federal overtime exemptions that allowed agency employers essentially to pay no overtime wage...more
8/4/2016
/ Companionship Exemptions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Domestic Workers ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Healthcare ,
Home Health Care ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
As most home care agencies know, the United States Department of Labor ("USDOL") eliminated the companionship exemption for home care agency workers on October 13, 2015 in its Final Rule on the Application of the FLSA to...more
On November 2, 2015, the NYS Department of Health ("DOH") issued important notices affecting the wage and overtime obligations of New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester County home care agencies....more
Last week, a Manhattan Supreme Court Justice denied a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit against Chinese–American Planning Council Home Attendant Program, Inc., brought for unpaid wages, overtime, and failing to pay...more
9/22/2015
/ Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Domestic Workers ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Home Health Care ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
NY Supreme Court ,
Rate Parity Agreement ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour