One of the many new provisions enacted as part of the 2023-2024 New York State Budget was an increase in the minimum wage for home care workers.

Initially, it is important to note that the $1 hourly increase in the minimum wage for home care workers in New York State, slated to take effect October

Minimum hourly wages for many nonexempt employees and minimum salaries for exempt employees in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are scheduled to increase in 2023. Employers should begin to make plans to ensure that their hourly wages for nonexempt employees, their minimum salaries for exempt employees and their wage hour policies and practices comply

On December 15, New York City issued clarifications to its prior vaccine mandate and those clarifications can be found here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccine-workplace-requirement.page.

As we advised in our prior bulletin, the New York City Commissioner of Health previously ordered that, commencing December 27, 2021, workers must have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to

Minimum hourly wages for nonexempt employees and minimum salaries for exempt employees in New York State are scheduled to increase on January 1, 2022. Employers should begin to make plans to ensure that their hourly wages for nonexempt employees and minimum salaries for exempt employees comply with these new requirements.

On January 1, 2022, the

The New York City Council just passed a new COVID vaccination bill requiring paid leave for parents per child per injection. Additionally, businesses and employees in New York City are subject to new vaccine mandates effective December 27, 2021, based on a recent announcement by outgoing Mayor de Blasio.

The new bill requires New York

On October 25, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a new guidance and questions and answers regarding COVID-19 issues confronting employers and employees. The EEOC’s Technical Assistance is entitled “What You Should Know about COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act and Other EEO Laws.” This Technical Assistance also provides links and references

On September 9, 2021, Governor Hochul signed into law a new wage protection statute which added a new section to the New York Labor Law. Section 198(e) holds construction contractors liable for all claims under Labor Law Section 198 for unpaid wages, benefits and wage supplements of employees of all of their subcontractors. The definitions

On September 6, 2021, New York Governor Hochul announced that the New York Commissioner of Health had designated COVID-19 as a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to public health under the New York HERO Act (the “HERO Act”). This new designation requires all New York employers to implement workplace

The Delta variant, which increased COVID cases and hospitalizations, also prompted new federal and local COVID rules and mandates, and required employers to revisit their existing COVID policies.

OSHA announced a new COVID Emergency Standard for health care employers to take effect in July 2021. This new Emergency Standard requires health care employers to address

The New York Department of Labor finally issued Model Safety Plans and Standards for airborne infectious diseases. All employers, regardless of size and with a worksite in New York, must adopt a safety plan by August 5, 2021, and must post, distribute and include the plan in their handbooks to all employees and new hires

In the past week, there have been several overlapping laws enacted regarding COVID-19. On March 12, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed into law legislation which mandates that all New York employers provide paid leave of up to four hours per injection for employees who receive a Covid-19 vaccination.  Also, on March 11, 2021, President Biden signed

The Biden Administration’s efforts to increase the current federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour have been delayed, but in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and other states and municipalities, most employers in 2021 are already subject to new minimum hourly wage rates and minimum salaries for exempt employees well

As we have previously reported, New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law a new comprehensive sick-leave program for all New York employees. The sick-leave law became effective September 30, 2020, for the purposes of accruing leave, and employees are eligible to take sick leave under the law as early as January 1,

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday, June 15, 2020, that the ban on sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects homosexual and transgender workers. In a 6 to 3 decision with Justice Neil M. Gorsuch writing for the majority, the Court interpreted the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s prohibition

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated its guidance on workplace laws during the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidance, updated on April 17, 2020, assists employers with navigating pandemic-related issues. In a question-and-answer format, the EEOC clarifies topics such as the confidentiality of medical information, inquiries about employee symptoms and providing reasonable accommodations.

The

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) will take effect on April 1, 2020, and will require all private employers with 499 or fewer employees to provide paid sick leave and emergency family leave to qualified employees. The FFCRA will apply to a broader set of individuals than New York’s paid sick leave law passed

As we have previously reported, on March 18, 2020 President Donald J. Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The FFCRA provides for two leave requirements arising in different portions of the Act:

1. The right to Public Health Emergency Leave, which amends the existing statutory text of the Family and Medical Leave

Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.8 directing all non-essential businesses statewide to reduce in-office staff by 100% until further notice.  This includes bars and restaurants that have been directed to close its’ doors and operate on a limited take-out only basis.

The closures and 100% reduction of in-office staff is part of Governor Cuomo’s 10-point

President Trump on March 18, 2020, signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (COVID-19 Bill) to provide emergency relief to businesses and employees in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 Bill will become effective no later than 15 days from March 18, 2020 (or on April 2, 2020). Businesses with fewer than 500 employees

In response to the growing concerns over the coronavirus, (COVID-19) Governor Cuomo issued a temporary mandatory work-force reduction plan (Executive Order) and signed a COVID-19 relief bill (COVID-19 Bill).

COVID-19 Executive Order

The Executive Order mandates that all non-essential businesses implement work from home policies and reduce in-office staff by 50%. In fact, as we

The United States Department of Labor issued a final regulation to take effect January 1, 2020, raising the minimum overtime salary threshold for exempt employees under federal law to $35,568. New York State employers, though, must be mindful that, also as of January 1, 2020, they must pay exempt employees substantially higher minimum salaries, or

As we previously reported in our October 2018 Employment & Labor Bulletin, employers must ensure their anti-harassment policies meet the state minimum requirements and implement the state-required harassment prevention training on or before October 9th. For employers in New York City there are additional requirements under the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act.

In addition

Suffolk County will now join New York City, Albany County and Westchester County, in prohibiting employers from inquiring into the salary and benefits history of job applicants. The intent of the new law is to reduce pay inequality for women and minorities. Effective June 30, 2019, an employer, employment agency, employee or agent in Suffolk

As a reminder, effective October 29, 2018, New Jersey employers – regardless of size – must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave in any consecutive 12-month period designated by the employer as the “Benefit Year” pursuant to the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act (the “Act”). The Act applies to almost all

As we previously reported in June 2018 (see https://www.rivkinradler.com/publications/new-sexual-harassment-legislation-applies-to-almost-all-ny-employers/), New York State lawmakers passed aggressive new legislation designed to stop sexual harassment in the workplace.  The changes included requiring employers to implement sexual harassment prevention policies and training.

In August 2018, New York State drafted a model sexual harassment policy and training requirements.  After the

On Friday, August 24, 2018, the New York State Division of Human Rights and the New York Department of Labor issued their proposed model anti-sexual harassment policy and model anti-sexual harassment training program. Every New York State employer must promptly adopt and distribute an anti-sexual harassment policy to all employees. Every New York State Employer must also

Last week, a Texas federal court issued a preliminary injunction delaying the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) latest rule for overtime exemptions from taking effect. The injunction comes as the result of a lawsuit filed by 21 states and several business organizations that claimed that the DOL exceeded its authority by more than doubling the

In 2014, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a new regulation to be effective January 1, 2015 to modify the minimum wage and overtime requirements of home care workers (including companionship and live-in domestic workers).  Prior to the new regulation being effective, a Federal District Court vacated the regulation finding that the DOL

The United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit issued a significant decision with respect to individual liability of corporate officers and employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).  In Irizarry v. Castimedes, (Torres v. Gristede’s Operating Corp.) the Court found that an individual owner of a corporation may be held to be an employer

On September 7, 2012, Governor Cuomo signed a new law, effective November 6, 2012, which amends Section 193 of the New York State Labor Law (the New York wage deduction statute).  As many of you are aware, over the last few years the New York State Department of Labor has taken the position in cases

The New York State enacted a new law entitled Wage Theft Provention Act (the “Act”) which went into effect in April 2011 for new employees. As outlined in our prior February 2011 Employment Bulletin, the Act requires New York employers to provide written notice of certain wage, payroll and other related information. The required

Construction Industry Fair Play Act

New York Governor David A. Paterson recently signed into law the “Construction Industry Fair Play Act,” a new piece of legislation that will drastically affect employers in the construction industry. Reflecting a continued concern over employer misclassification of independent contractors, the new law, which took effect on October 26,