On April 20, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law New York State’s Budget for fiscal year 2025. The new Budget includes a few key bills impacting New York employers and employees alike, as stated in depth...more
On September 20, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that New York City will end the vaccine mandate for the private sector, which has been in effect since December 27, 2021. ...more
On March 14, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a new technical assistance document (the “Guidance”) addressing the interplay between existing federal employment discrimination principles...more
On March 28, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed A-4134, the New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Program Act, also called the NJ Auto-IRA Act (the “Act”), “for the purpose of promoting greater retirement savings for...more
On December 22, 2021, the New York State Department of Labor (“NYDOL”) issued long-awaited proposed rules regarding the establishment and administration of workplace safety committees under the New York State Health and...more
On December 17, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an Order that dissolved the stay issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s...more
On December 15, 2021, New York City issued guidance regarding the private employer COVID-19 vaccine mandate that will become effective on December 27, 2021 (the “Guidance”). As we previously reported, Mayor Bill de Blasio...more
On December 10, 2021, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced (the “Announcement”) that, effective December 13, 2021, masks will be required to be worn in all indoor public places unless businesses or venues require:...more
On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order staying the implementation and enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) Emergency Temporary Standard...more
In yet another round of legislation and administrative decision-making, New York State recently expanded its paid vaccination leave requirements, whistleblower protection laws, and paid family leave requirements. New York...more
11/15/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Independent Contractors ,
Injunctive Relief ,
New Guidance ,
New York ,
NYDOL ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Protected Activity ,
State and Local Government ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Vaccinations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
On November 5, 2021, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) published its Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), 86 CFR 61402, which requires employers with a total of more than 100 employees, federal...more
11/8/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Covered Employer ,
Documentation ,
Employer Mandates ,
Immunization Records ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On September 23, 2021, New York State issued Information and FAQs (the “FAQs”) regarding the New York State Health and Essential Rights Act (“HERO Act”), as well as updated model workplace exposure prevention plans. As we...more
On September 9, 2021, President Biden released a new six-pronged national plan, the Path Out of the Pandemic (the “Plan”), to try and curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.The Plan includes the following measures:...more
9/14/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Employees ,
Joe Biden ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On September 6, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the New York Commissioner of Health designated COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents serious risk of harm to the public health” under...more
As the Delta variant of COVID-19 rapidly spreads across the country and offices continue to reopen with the close of summer, questions around mandatory vaccination policies are on the rise. On the heels of federal and local...more
8/19/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GINA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On August 16, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio executed Emergency Executive Order 225 (“EO 225”) effectuating the recently announced “Key to NYC” vaccination requirement for indoor entertainment, recreation, dining, and fitness...more
8/17/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Documentation ,
Executive Orders ,
Masks ,
New York ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports
As we recently blogged, New York recently enacted the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (“HERO Act”), which imposes new health and safety standards and obligations on employers throughout the State. On June 11, 2021,...more
New York continues to move forward rapidly into a post-COVID world. First, on June 11, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation to amend the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (“HERO Act”) to clarify certain...more
On May 28, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued updated guidance regarding workplace COVID-19 vaccination policies and employee accommodations (the “Updated Guidance”). Among other issues, the...more
6/4/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GINA ,
Guidance Update ,
Incentives ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Termination
Yet again, the New York State Department of Health updated its COVID-19 Travel Advisory (the “Advisory”) for domestic and international travel on April 10, 2021. As we recently reported, as of April 1, 2021, New York State...more
New York state recently enacted legislation granting employees paid leave in order to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Now, both private and public employees are entitled to up to four (4) hours of paid leave per injection. The New...more
On March 12, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed legislation (S2588A/A3354B) granting public and private employees paid leave in order to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The new law, which went into effect immediately, gives employees up to...more
3/22/2021
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Cuomo ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Paid Leave ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Quarantine ,
Retaliation ,
State and Local Government ,
Travelers ,
Vaccinations
After more than ten (10) months since going into effect, on January 20, 2021, the New York Department of Labor (“NYDOL”) issued new guidance (the “Guidance”) regarding the New York COVID-19 Sick Leave Law (the “Law”). As we...more
Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued guidance clarifying that, in certain circumstances, employers will have the ability to require that employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine (the...more
12/22/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Required Documentation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On October 28, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued Executive Order Number 192, which mandates that every employer that “requires or permits its workforce, whether in part or as a whole, to be physically present at a...more