New York State Governor Kathy Hochul continues to sign legislation emanating from a busy legislative session, including legislation rendering contractual assignment-of-inventions provisions unenforceable, prohibiting...more
9/25/2023
/ Assignment of Inventions ,
Business Property ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Separation ,
Social Media ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Written Notice
During a busy term at the New York Legislature, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation prohibiting captive audience meetings, categorizing wage theft as larceny, and expanding protection of “gender identity or expression”...more
The National Labor Relations Board has again revised its standard for assessing whether an employer’s facially neutral work rules (rules that do not explicitly restrict Section 7 activities) unlawfully restrict employee...more
Minnesota will soon prohibit employers from requiring employees to attend political or religious meetings, including talks about labor unions. Additionally, similar legislation passed by the New York legislature will likely...more
As the final tally of ballots comes in for many electoral races across the country, the outcomes of the various state ballot measures that were also part of the Nov. 8 midterm elections could require changes to employers’...more
Effective November 1, 2022, covered New York City employers will need to comply with the New York City pay transparency law. This legislation requires disclosure of salary ranges in advertisements, rather than offer letters...more
1. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel’s office issued a memorandum reiterating the rights of immigrant workers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Continuing its aggressive approach to...more
6/16/2022
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Decertification ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Twitter ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
On May 12th, New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed legislation which requires certain employers in New York City to include a salary range in all job postings....more
1. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) filed a brief seeking to expand unions’ right to obtain recognition from employers based on signed authorization cards alone, without the need for a Board...more
5/10/2022
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
GAO ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Opt-Outs ,
Secret Ballot ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
1. Major League Baseball and the players’ union reached agreement on a collective bargaining agreement, ending the lockout. After a nearly 100-day lockout, MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association reached a deal...more
4/12/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
NPRM ,
Reimbursements ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Dues ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
A federal court must have an independent jurisdictional basis to confirm or vacate an arbitration award and cannot “look through” to the underlying dispute to establish jurisdiction, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a case...more
1. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel directed NLRB regions to seek preemptive injunctions for alleged unlawful threats during union campaigns. NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memorandum...more
3/11/2022
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
As Election Day approaches, employers should ensure they are in compliance with state law requirements related to employee voting rights. While not all states impose requirements on employers, some impose time off obligations...more
1. Democrats now hold a majority of seats on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The new Democratic majority on the NLRB became official on Saturday, August 28, when President Joe Biden’s nominee David Prouty was sworn...more
1. On March 31, 2021, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel Peter Sung Ohr issued a memorandum stating his office will return to “vigorous enforcement” of employee rights under Section 7 rights of the...more
Changes to Philadelphia law will further restrict employers’ use and reliance on applicant, current employee, and independent contractor background information and affect the employee application and employee management...more
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation legalizing recreational marijuana on March 31, 2021. The legalized use of marijuana is effective immediately, even though retail sales of marijuana are not expected to begin...more
4/2/2021
/ Cannabis Products ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Testing ,
DUI ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA) ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Recreational Use
Effective immediately, New York State employers must provide employees with up to four hours of paid time off per COVID-19 vaccination. The new law sunsets on December 31, 2022...more
3/15/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
New York ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
State and Local Government ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
1. On February 4, House and Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The sponsors described the bill as comprehensive labor legislation aimed at bolstering workers’ collective bargaining...more
3/11/2021
/ Appellate Courts ,
Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Disputes ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Right to Strike ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Following Mayor Bill de Blasio’s non-action on the bill passed by the New York City Council in December expanding the scope of New York City’s Fair Chance Act (FCA), the amendments have become law. The amendments, which go...more
The New York State Paid Sick Leave Law and the amendments to the New York City Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law expanding employees’ paid sick leave entitlements will go into full effect on January 1, 2021.
The state law went...more
As Election Day approaches and despite the anticipated uptick in absentee ballots, employers should ensure they are in compliance with state law requirements related to employee voting rights. While not all states impose...more
The “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” (H.R. 6201) has passed the Senate and been signed by President Donald Trump.
This article discusses the paid Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and paid sick leave provisions...more
The Families First Coronavirus Act (H.R. 6201) was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in the early hours of March 14, 2020. The bipartisan legislation would extend employee sick leave benefits, expand access to free...more
In 2019, as in previous years, most of the new labor and employment law legislation was enacted at the state and local level.
Paid Family Leave-
Paid family leave statutes gained momentum:
As of July 1, 2019, the...more
1/20/2020
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Local Ordinance ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour