Workers’ compensation claims are typically an issue about which employers think only in the context of physical workplace injuries. In New York State, however, that may soon be poised to change. On January 1, 2025, the states Workers’ Compensation Law will permit all workers to file claims for mental injury premised upon extraordinary work-related stress. Governor Hochul signed the amendment under A5745 (the Amendment) reiterating New York state’s ongoing effort to support mental health in the workplace.
Continue Reading New York amends workers’ compensation law to include mental injuryNew York Clean Slate Act and sealed convictions: what employers should know
On November 16, 2024, the New York Clean Slate Act went into effect. The Act provides for the automatic sealing of a broad swath of criminal convictions after a certain period of time and requires employers to comply with new disclosure obligations when obtaining criminal history information in connection with employment actions.
Sealed convictions
The Act requires the New York State Unified Court System to seal certain criminal convictions no later than November 16, 2027. These include misdemeanor and felony convictions under New York penal law (not federal law), which must be sealed three years and eight years, respectively, after a defendant’s release from incarceration or imposition of sentencing, whichever is later.
Automatic sealing does not apply to any convictions for sex offenses or non-drug related Class A felony offenses. In addition, records cannot be sealed where a defendant has a subsequent criminal charge pending in New York or any other jurisdiction (with limited exceptions to out-of-state pending charges), or where the defendant is on parole or probation.
Continue Reading New York Clean Slate Act and sealed convictions: what employers should knowNew York issues FAQ guidance on upcoming paid prenatal leave
By Alexandra Manfredi on
As we previously reported, effective January 1, 2025, New York employers will be required to provide employees with 20 hours of paid prenatal leave. Employees will be able to take such leave for prenatal healthcare service appointments during their pregnancy or related to their pregnancy.
New York State recently issued FAQ guidance explaining certain aspects of the new law. The guidance, among other things, clarifies that:
Continue Reading New York issues FAQ guidance on upcoming paid prenatal leaveCalifornia voters vote no on $18 minimum wage
By Mara Curtis & Andrew Workman on
California voters have rejected a ballot measure that would have increased the state’s minimum wage to $18 on January 1, 2025. Defeated by a narrow margin of 50.82 percent to 49.18 percent, Proposition 32 would have made California the first state in the Union to have an $18 minimum wage. The California Chamber of Commerce and California Restaurant Association praised the outcome as a win for businesses and consumers who have seen costs rise in recent years.
Continue Reading California voters vote no on $18 minimum wageNew Jersey joins the wage transparency trend
By Saranne Weimer & Dylan Lembo on
New Jersey employers will soon have to adjust their recruitment practices with the recent passage and enactment of Senate Bill 2310 (SB2310). On Monday, November 19, 2024, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed the new legislation that will require employers to disclose compensation and benefits information on job postings.
Starting June 1, 2025, the law will require employers with 10 or more employees in the Garden State to do two things:
- First, Employers must disclose “the hourly wage or salary, or range of hourly wage or salary” as well as a “general description of benefits and other compensation programs for which the employee would be eligible” in every job posting. The statute expressly allows employers to increase the wages, benefits, and compensation from what was listed in the posting at the time of an offer. The law is silent on whether the wages and benefits can be adjusted downward, suggesting that only increases from the posted amounts are permissible.
- Second, Employers must “make reasonable efforts” to formally post opportunities for promotion prior to making a decision. Notably, however, any promotions based on “years of experience or performance” are exempted, as well as promotions made on an emergent basis due to an unforeseen event.
Texas District Court vacates DOL rule expanding overtime eligibility
By Paulo McKeeby & Andrew Workman on
On November 15, 2024, a United States Eastern District Court in Texas struck down a 2024 Department of Labor (DOL) rule that would have made four million previously exempt workers eligible for overtime by 2025. In an action brought by the State of Texas and a coalition of business associations, the court held that the DOL exceeded its statutory authority under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) by effectively reclassifying these employees as non-exempt based on their salaries without considering their job duties.
The FLSA requires payment of overtime to employees working more than forty hours in a week but exempts certain executive, administrative, and professional employees. Under the FLSA, the DOL must periodically define and delimit which workers fall under these exemptions. In 1940 the DOL introduced a three-part test, which is still in place today, to determine whether an employee is overtime exempt: (1) the employee must be paid a predetermined, fixed salary; (2) the salary must be at a weekly rate above a minimum threshold set by the DOL; and (3) the employee must have executive, administrative, or professional job duties. The 2024 rule scheduled three increases to the minimum salary threshold, which previously was $684 per week: $844 on July 1, 2024; $1,128 on January 1, 2025; and automatic increases every three years starting in July 2027.
Continue Reading Texas District Court vacates DOL rule expanding overtime eligibilityNew York City considers extending paid sick leave to pet care
By Alexandra Manfredi on
On October 23, 2024, legislation was introduced in the New York City Council that would amend the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) to allow employees to use sick leave to care for pets and service animals.
Currently, ESSTA provides employees with sick leave to care for their own mental or physical health, to care for a family member’s health, and to care for a child whose school or childcare provider has been closed because of a public health emergency.
Continue Reading New York City considers extending paid sick leave to pet careUnionization activity continues to surge in the U.S.
By James A. Holt & Brianna Schmid on
Recent years have shown a continued increase in unionization and organization activities within the American workforce, as measured by union representation petition filings with the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB).
The NLRB confirmed this upward trend at the close of FY 2024, which ended on September 30, 2024. According to the NLRB’s data, union election petitions increased by 27 percent over FY 2023, totaling 3,286 petitions filed. The data also shows that the number of union election petitions more than doubled the 1,638 petitions filed in FY 2021.
Continue Reading Unionization activity continues to surge in the U.S.New York paid prenatal leave to go into effect on January 1, 2025
By Alexandra Manfredi on
On January 1, 2025, an amendment to New York Labor Law section 196-b, the state’s paid sick leave law, will go into effect. The amendment requires New York employers to provide employees with 20 hours of paid prenatal leave during any 52-week period.
The amendment provides that paid prenatal leave may be taken for “health care services received by an employee during their pregnancy or related to such pregnancy, including physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussions with a health care provider related to the pregnancy.”
Continue Reading New York paid prenatal leave to go into effect on January 1, 2025The non-compete agreement showdown: After the FTC’s final rule setback, the NLRB gears up to tackle non-compete agreements
By James A. Holt & Brianna Schmid on
As employers continue to monitor the legal challenges against the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final rule banning most non-compete agreements, they should not overlook similar efforts by other federal agencies and/or state legislatures to limit and/or prohibit the use and enforcement of non-compete agreements between employers and employees.
To that end, the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) has primed itself to take its own swing at non-compete agreements. On October 7, 2024, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a 17-page memo focused on the use of overly broad non-compete agreements. It expands on her May 30, 2023 memo, in which she opined that non-compete agreements tended to chill an employee’s rights to engage in concerted activity protected under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, including advocating for improved working conditions through concerted efforts to obtain employment with other employers or carry out concerted threats of resignation.
Continue Reading The non-compete agreement showdown: After the FTC’s final rule setback, the NLRB gears up to tackle non-compete agreements