On July 6, the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL) published the Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Standard (“Prevention Standard”), a model airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plan (“Model...more
As reported in a previous Alert, on May 5, 2021, New York State passed the Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act), requiring, among other things, that New York employers adopt airborne infectious disease exposure...more
As employers continue to hone their reopening plans, it is important not to lose sight of ongoing workforce training obligations applicable to in-office and remote employees alike. This includes mandatory New York State and...more
On June 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its long-awaited COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), establishing new COVID-19-related mandatory...more
On May 5, Governor Cuomo signed into law the New York Health and Essential Rights Act, or NY HERO Act, which will require all workplaces to implement safety standards to prevent the further spread of coronavirus and other...more
The COVID-driven prevalence of remote work arrangements and the expected, widespread post-COVID continuation of this trend raise a major compliance issue for companies: With employees now based in states beyond a company’s...more
An ongoing question amid the pandemic is whether and under what circumstances employees may receive multiple rounds of paid leave under New York’s COVID-19 leave law (the COVID Law). On January 20, 2021, the New York State...more
The New York Paid Family Leave (PFL) program took effect in January 2018 and featured annual increases to its benefit entitlements through 2021. Effective January 1, 2021, the PFL maximum duration to which an employee may be...more
With the impending installment of a new presidential administration, employers can expect a potential wave of newly-proposed, employment-related federal legislation. For example, President-elect Biden has already announced or...more
As a COVID-19 vaccine nears reality, employers may naturally ask whether they can require their employees to get vaccinated. While there may, indeed, be circumstances where employers can require employee vaccinations, the...more
Coming on the heels of New York state’s newly-enacted Paid Sick Leave Law (“PSLL”), on September 29, 2020, New York City significantly amended its Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”). Among the amendments are provisions...more
Earlier this year, New York State enacted a paid sick leave requirement for employers statewide. All employers are required, as of September 30, 2020, to begin recording accruals for paid sick leave for every employee....more
On September 22, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a long-awaited proposed rule for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Now subject to a 30-day...more
Pursuant to New York state’s inaugural Sick Leave Law, effective September 30, 2020, employees of all New York employers may begin accruing sick leave. In turn, employees may begin using such accrued sick leave, effective...more
On April 12, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.16, requiring employees of essential businesses who come into close contact with customers and/or the public to wear face coverings. New York joins a growing...more
With presidential primaries under way and New York’s own primary vote scheduled for April 28, employers should be cognizant of last year’s amendments to New York’s Election Law, which increased the paid time off that...more
On January 13, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced its final rule interpreting joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule, which becomes effective March 16, 2020, features a...more
With the New Year approaching, so too are a legion of enhanced workplace protections. For example, beginning in January 2020, employers will be bound by the following:
..New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) Expands to...more
As “whistleblower” issues pervade national headlines, lawmakers in some jurisdictions, including New York, have recently sought to expand existing whistleblower protections. The New York Labor Law, for example, currently...more
Effective November 18, 2019, amendments to the New York State Human Rights Law will provide enhanced protections to employees who are victims of domestic violence. In particular, unless an employee’s absence would create an...more
On March 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Proposed Rule”) which sought to increase the minimum salary thresholds for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s “white collar” and “highly...more
On August 12, Governor Cuomo signed sweeping new legislation toughening and substantially broadening New York’s sexual harassment protections. Critically, the updated law is no longer limited to “sexual harassment,” but...more
The New York State Legislature has passed a bill that, if signed into law, would allow current and former employees to obtain a lien against an employer’s real or personal property based merely on an allegation of...more
The New York City Council’s Committee on Civil Service and Labor has proposed a bill that would require New York City employers with five (5) or more employees to provide paid vacation time to their employees. Indeed, if...more
The New York City Human Rights Law now prohibits employment-related discrimination and retaliation on the basis of an employee’s “sexual and reproductive health decisions.” Specifically, effective May 20, 2019, the law...more