On March 1, 2024, the New York Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) published a comprehensive guide to employee rights in the workplace. New York City employers have until July 1, 2024, to distribute and post the new poster. A copy of the poster is available here.

The updated poster includes a QR code that links to the City’s Workers’ Bill of Rights webpage which includes information concerning the rights of employees and independent contractors under federal, state, and NYC law.

The New York City DCWP developed the poster to further Local Law 161 (codified as N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 32-102), which was passed late last year. The law requires all New York City employers to do the following no later than July 1, 2024:

• Post the Workers’ Rights Poster in a conspicuous location within the workplace.

• Provide each current employee with a copy of the Workers’ Rights Poster.

• Provide all new employees, on or before their first day of work, with a copy of the Workers’ Rights Poster.

• Make the Workers’ Rights Poster available to employees “online or on its mobile application… if such means are regularly used to communicate with employees.”

The Digital Poster Requirement

The requirement to digitally post the Workers’ Bill of Rights is unclear. The statute does not address a number of issues, such as what the term “online” encompasses, what means employers may use to provide the digital version of the poster, and whether employers who license software and/or applications owned by third parties are subject to this requirement – although it’s best to assume they are.

Unless the City provides further guidance or amends the law, these issues will likely remain unanswered until the City begins enforcement efforts. However, employers who use electronic means to communicate with employees should not wait until then and should be prepared to provide employees with a digital copy of this poster by July 1, 2024.

Penalty for Violations

On a first violation of the law, employers essentially get a “warning notice”. The city will notify the employer of the violation and request corrective action be taken to cure it within 30 days.

Thereafter, employers who fail to comply with the new law will be liable for a civil penalty of $500 per violation.

Next Steps

This new posting requirement is an opportune time for all New York City employers to review all federal, state, and local posting requirements to ensure they are in compliance.

As a reminder, existing New York State law now requires all New York employers to provide all federal and state workplace posters in a digital format to their employees and to notify employees in writing that such posters are available digitally.”