New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont jointly announced on May 3 a significant easing of the remaining capacity restrictions on business operations related to the COVID-19...more
5/7/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Gatherings ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Seating ,
State and Local Government ,
Workplace Safety
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (the HERO Act) into law on May 5, 2021, requiring the New York State Department of Labor and New York State Department of Health to create...more
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont jointly announced on May 3 a significant easing of the remaining capacity restrictions on business operations related to the COVID-19...more
Employers should note several recent legislative and regulatory developments in New York State related to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 12, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation entitling all public- and private-sector...more
3/17/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Powers ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Quarantine ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
New York State and New York City have recently issued guidance and documentation on the New York State Paid Sick Leave Law (the State Sick Leave Law) and amended New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (the NYC Sick Leave...more
11/23/2020
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Guidance ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Safe Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on October 31 that all travelers from out of state must quarantine for 14 days upon entrance and/or return to New York unless they meet specific exemptions....more
Following an increase in documented coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order permitting the state Department of Health to identify geographic areas that require enhanced public...more
10/12/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Contact Tracing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
Public Health Emergency ,
State and Local Government ,
Workplace Safety
A bill passed by the New York City Council amends the New York City Paid Sick and Safe Leave Law to align with state law and adds significant notice and damages provisions. ...more
The US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) ruled that an employer’s mandatory arbitration program was unenforceable because its terms were contained in an employee handbook and did not create a binding...more
9/16/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Policy Drafting ,
Wrongful Termination
Judge Woods of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 8 vacated the US Department of Labor’s new test for joint employment, which focuses only on the putative joint employer’s right to...more
In a joint press conference on June 24, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced a coordinated effort to protect the tristate area from community spread of...more
New York State has continued to issue the state’s phased, regional plan for reopening businesses following the statewide closure of all nonessential businesses due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency, a...more
6/9/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Essential Functions ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Retailers ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Screening Procedures ,
State and Local Government ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Following a recent trend, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has issued two executive orders requiring individuals to wear face coverings when near other people. ...more
Guidance issued by New York state on April 8 clarifies that the state COVID-19 law did not create any new entitlement for employees of large employers to use Paid Family Leave during coronavirus (COVID-19) quarantines....more
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation on April 3 creating a statewide paid sick leave requirement (the Paid Sick Leave Law), which allows employees to use accrued leave beginning January 1, 2021, and will require...more
Guidance issued by New York state clarifies employers’ questions on a recent law that provides sick leave benefits to some employees affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. New York state has released new guidance[1]...more
A constantly evolving framework of laws governing how multinational businesses can contact customers to how nonprofits report business income to how overtime is calculated and paid will influence how companies do business...more
2/3/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Commercial Real Estate Market ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Energy Policy ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FERC ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IRS ,
Japan ,
Long Term Care Insurance ,
NAIC ,
New Legislation ,
Opt-Outs ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Laws ,
Rate of Pay ,
Retirement Plan ,
Russia ,
SECURE Act ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Tax Reform ,
White-Collar Exemptions
In Bigger v. Facebook, Inc., the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that courts should not authorize notice of a pending Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action to individuals who have already entered...more
2/3/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Facebook ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Misclassification ,
Notice Requirements ,
Over-Time ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
A New York State law, effective as of November 8, prohibits employers from discriminating or retaliating against employees based on an “employee’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making,” including, but not...more
New York’s Appellate Division, First Department (Appellate Division) issued a significant wage and hour decision on September 10 that will require employers to reevaluate their frequency of pay practices and policies. In Vega...more
The New York State Senate and Assembly have passed two bills amending the New York Labor Law (NYLL) with significant implications for employers in the state: Bill 6549, which implements a statewide prohibition on salary...more
The New York State Senate and Assembly on June 19 passed Bill 8421 (the Bill), which lowers the standard for an employee to prevail when raising harassment claims, limits a potential employer defense against harassment...more
Effective May 10, 2020, a new law will preclude most New York City employers from requiring job applicants to submit to testing for the presence of marijuana or tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) as a condition of employment....more
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last month unveiled his proposed 2020 New York State Budget, which, similar to last year’s proposed budget that unveiled the state’s new sexual harassment laws, includes several provisions of...more
In Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, the US Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision on May 21 that arbitration agreements with class and collective action waivers required as a condition of employment are enforceable under the...more
5/23/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS