new york

New York lawmakers have been busy enacting a number of laws and regulations in 2023 that impose new requirements on employers, several of which have recently taken effect.  New York employers may need to update their policies, agreements, and practices to comply with the new laws, as summarized below.Continue Reading New York Employers Beware:  New Employment Laws Are In Effect And On The Horizon

To promote pay transparency and equity, an increasing number of states and localities are requiring employers to disclose salary data in job advertisements or postings.  The trend started in Colorado in 2021, and now a number of other jurisdictions have followed suit, including New York City and the states of California and Washington.  The New York City law took effect on November 1, 2022, and the California and Washington laws go into effect on January 1, 2023.  Similar laws have recently been enacted in other areas as well, including Jersey City, New Jersey (effective June 15, 2022), the City of Ithaca, New York (effective September 1, 2022), and Westchester County, New York (effective November 6, 2022).

This post will provide an overview of the New York City, California, and Washington laws, and discuss steps that employers can take to comply with the new requirements.Continue Reading New Pay Transparency Laws Taking Effect

Effective March 12, 2021, all public and private employers in New York must provide each employee with up to four hours of paid leave to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine injection.  The new law, which took effect immediately after being signed by Governor Cuomo, adds a new Section 196-c to the New York Labor Law and Section 159-c to the New York Civil Service Law.

Employees are entitled to paid leave, at their regular rate of pay, for a “sufficient period of time, not to exceed four hours per vaccine injection,” unless the employee is entitled to receive a greater number of hours under an existing employer policy or collective bargaining agreement.  Accordingly, employees who must take two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine are entitled to take up to eight hours (i.e., four hours per injection) of leave.  The paid leave provision expires on December 31, 2022.Continue Reading New York Employers Now Required to Provide Paid Leave to Take COVID-19 Vaccine

New York State’s new paid sick leave law (“NYSSL”) took effect on September 30, 2020, requiring employers to allow employees to begin accruing paid sick leave benefits immediately.  Employees may use their accrued leave under the NYSSL starting January 1, 2021.  In response to its state law counterpart, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has signed into law certain amendments to the existing NYC Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law (“NYCPSL”), also known as the Earned Sick and Safe Time Act, to align the NYCPSL with the NYSSL.

As discussed below, the NYSSL and NYCPSL impose similar paid sick leave requirements on employers, though the amendments to the NYCPSL expand employers’ obligations and strengthen New York City’s enforcement mechanisms.Continue Reading New York Employees May Begin Using New Paid Sick Leave Benefits on January 1, 2021