The New York labor law requires every employer, no matter its size (including a family business), to adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy that meets or exceeds the minimum standards set by New York State. Every such policy must include examples of prohibited conduct, a complaint form, procedures for investigation of any complaint, information on
As discussed in my recent blog, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in its McLaren Macomb decision has ruled that confidentiality clauses which prohibit an employee from disclosing the terms of her or his severance agreement and clauses that prohibit an employee from disparaging their employer as conditions to receipt of a severance payment
It has long been common practice for employers to require a terminated employee to sign a separation agreement as a condition to receiving a severance payment. Such agreements usually include, among other things, the amount and timing of such payments, a general release in favor of the employer (including specific age discrimination waivers if the
New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed S.B. 4394, an amendment of Section 740 of the New York Labor Law that amounts to a significant expansion of safeguards for whistleblowers. Effective January 26, 2022, the new law broadens the definition of retaliation, creates new notice and reporting requirements, extends certain protections to former employees and
As we discussed in an earlier related blog post, effective March 31, 2021, the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (“MRTA”) legalized the use of recreational marijuana for adults who are 21 and older and amended New York Labor Law 201(d), among other revisions, to prohibit employers from discriminating against an employee for such employee’s
On October 6, 2021, the New York Workers’ Compensation Board adopted a revised regulation addressing the amount of intermittent Paid Family Leave (“PFL”) that is available to employees who work more than five days per week. The revised regulation becomes effective January 1, 2022, and is not retroactive.
Under existing regulations, employees who are qualified
On Nov. 1, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an amendment to the New York Paid Family Leave Benefits Law (the “PFL”) expanding the definition of “family member” for the purposes of the PFL to include biological or adopted siblings, half-siblings, and step-siblings. The current definition of “family member” covers children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren,
As noted in an earlier blog, on March 12, 2021, New York enacted a new law requiring public and private employers to provide paid leave for any employee receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. Under this law, employers must provide their employees up to four hours (or, if greater, such time as an employee is entitled
As I discussed in recent blog, a new addition to the New York City Administrative Code (2021 NYC Local Law No. 3, NYC Admin. Code Sections 22-1201 – 22-1205)(the “Biometric Privacy Law”) will go into effect on July 9 regulating the use of facial recognition technology. In a move to expand such
As we discussed in our previous blog post, Governor Cuomo recently signed the NY HERO Act, which (i) provides for the creation of joint labor-management committees to address workplace safety (New York Labor Law Section 27-D) and (ii) requires New York employers to have a plan to prevent exposure to airborne infectious