Posts tagged New York
Business Owners, Do You Know How Many Employees Trigger Coverage Under New York’s Employment Laws?
Business Owners, Do You Know How Many Employees Trigger Coverage Under New York’s Employment Laws?

In our previous posts, we discussed which major federal and New Jersey employment laws are triggered based upon the number of employees a business has. This post outlines which New York employment laws are triggered as a business grows and hires more employees. To complicate matters, many employers in the New York City metropolitan area have employees working in both New York and New Jersey, so need to comply with the laws of all three jurisdictions, plus potentially New York City’s laws.

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Employment LawMichael MoreaNew York City, New York, New York Family Leave Law, workers compensation, discrimination, employment policies, workplace policies, compliance
New York’s “Freelance Isn’t Free Act” Becomes Effective May 20, 2024, and Brings Significant Changes to Independent Contractor Arrangements
New York’s “Freelance Isn’t Free Act” Becomes Effective May 20, 2024, and Brings Significant Changes to Independent Contractor Arrangements

On November 22, 2023, Governor Hochul signed into law the New York Freelance Isn’t Free Act, which mandates written contract, payment, record keeping, and anti-retaliation requirements on businesses that hire freelance workers. The Act is similar to New York City’s Freelance Isn’t Free law that was enacted in 2017, however, the State version is broader in scope and applies statewide. It becomes effective on May 20, 2024.

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Employment LawMichael Moreafreelancer, independent workers, compliance, New York
New York Extends Statute of Limitations for Discrimination Claims to Three Years
New York Extends Statute of Limitations for Discrimination Claims to Three Years

Effective February 15, 2024, the statute of limitations for unlawful discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) becomes three years. Previously only claims for sexual harassment were subject to a three year statute of limitations under the NYSHRL, with all other claims of discrimination having a one year statute of limitations.

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Employment LawMichael Moreastatute of limitations, NYSHRL, New York, discrimination, personal iiability
Starting March 12th, New York Employers Will Be Prohibited from Requiring Access to Employee Personal Accounts
Starting March 12th, New York Employers Will Be Prohibited from Requiring Access to Employee Personal Accounts

On March 12, 2024, New York Labor Law Section 201-i becomes effective and prohibits employers from requesting or requiring that an applicant or employee disclose a username, password, or other means to access a personal account or service. This will effectively ban New York employers from demanding access to employee (or applicant) personal social media accounts, videos, photographs, blogs, instant messages, or similar electronic content.

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Employment LawMichael MoreaNew York, social media, employee privacy, hiring
New York Employers Must Immediately Start Providing Employees with Unemployment Benefit Information at Separation
New York Employers Must Immediately Start Providing Employees with Unemployment Benefit Information at Separation

As of November 13, 2023, all employers in New York are required to inform each employee of their right to file an application for unemployment benefits at the time of a separation from employment, reduction in hours, or any other interruption of continued employment that results in total or partial unemployment.

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Employment LawMichael MoreaNew York, unemployment, termination, separation, employee notices
New York Department of Labor Issues FAQs and Fact Sheet for its Pay Transparency Law
New York Department of Labor Issues FAQs and Fact Sheet for its Pay Transparency Law

As we discussed in a previous blog post, New York implemented a Pay Transparency law, which went into effect on September 17, 2023. New York’s Pay Transparency law requires employers to, among other things, include the compensation, or compensation range, in any job ad. Employers must also generally include a job description in the ad. The New York Department of Labor recently released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and an Employer Fact Sheet for the Pay Transparency law.

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Employment LawMichael MoreaNew York, pay transparency, job posting, hiring, remote work, hybrid worker
New York Employee Assignment of Rights Agreements – What Employers Need to Know
New York Employee Assignment of Rights Agreements – What Employers Need to Know

On September 15, 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law an amendment to New York’s Labor Law, which makes employee invention assignment of rights agreements unenforceable for inventions developed by an employee on the employee’s own time and without the use of employer resources or trade secret information. This new law become effective immediately and is codified at New York Labor Law § 203-f.

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Employment Law, Business LawMichael Moreaagreements, intellectual property, assignment of rights, inventions, New York
New York Closes Out 2022 with a Slew of Employment Laws
New York Closes Out 2022 with a Slew of Employment Laws

New York finished out 2022 by enacting a number of laws that employers in the state must be aware of and comply with entering 2023. The new laws cover matters such as lactation breaks, employment discrimination, workplace posters, and job advertisements. We have highlighted the requirements and effective dates of the new laws below.

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Employment LawMichael MoreaNew York, discrimination, workplace policies, workplace posters, job posting
New York Opens a Toll-Free Hotline for Workplace Sexual Harassment Complaints
New York Opens a Toll-Free Hotline for Workplace Sexual Harassment Complaints

Earlier this year, New York amended its Human Rights Law to require the New York Division of Human Rights (NYDHR) to establish a toll-free hotline for employees to report workplace sexual harassment complaints. The hotline has now been launched and New York employees may call (800) 427-2773 regarding any complaint of workplace sexual harassment. The hotline is confidential and staffed by pro bono NYDRH attorneys. Callers will receive free legal counseling and may submit a complaint regarding sexual harassment to the NYDHR.

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Employment LawMichael MoreaNew York, sexual harassment, employees, employment policies, workplace policies
New York Employers Must Start Giving Employees Notice of Electronic Monitoring
New York Employers Must Start Giving Employees Notice of Electronic Monitoring

Starting on May 7, 2022, employers in New York must give written notice to employees, and obtain an acknowledgment of the notice, of any electronic monitoring of telephone, email, internet, or computer usage. This requirement was enacted as part of an amendment to New York’s Civil Rights Law and applies to all employers with places of business in New York.

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Employment LawMichael MoreaNew York, employee privacy, employee notices, employment policies
New York Requires all New York Employers to Implement Their HERO Act Plans
New York Requires all New York Employers to Implement Their HERO Act Plans

On September 6, 2021, the New York State Department of Health (NYDOH) designated COVID-19 a highly contagious communicable disease under New York’s HERO Act. The HERO Act was enacted in May 2021 and required all employers in New York to adopt an Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Plan. The HERO required all New York businesses to adopt either the model plan, published by the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL), or an alternate plan by August 5, 2021. The plans needed to be distributed to employees by September 4, 2021. The Model Plan prepared by the NYDOL can be found here.

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Employment LawMichael MoreaNew York, COVID-19, employee safety, employment policies, workplace policies