In early December 2021, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all private sector employers in New York City would need to adopt a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for their workers. This meant that all private sector employees in New York City needed to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to perform in-person services within the
New York implements Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus Program
On August 3, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the implementation of New York’s Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus Program (the Bonus Program). The Bonus Program, passed as part of the State budget, amends New York Social Services Law by requiring qualified employers to pay up to $3,000 in bonuses to certain health care and mental hygiene workers over statutory vesting periods. This post details the eligibility, qualifications, and employer obligations under the Bonus Program.
Which employers and employees are subject to the Bonus Program?
A qualified employer is an employer with at least one employee that either: (i) bills under the state Medicaid plan; (ii) bills under the home or community-based services waiver; or (iii) bills for Medicaid through a managed care organization or managed long term care plan. Providers, facilities, pharmacies, and school-based health centers licensed under the New York Public Health, Mental Hygiene, and Education Laws, as well as certain state agency funded programs, fall within this definition.
“Front-line” health care and mental hygiene workers who “provide hands-on health or care services to individuals” are eligible to receive the bonus. This includes full-time and part-time employees and independent contractors who are physically present in New York. To qualify for a bonus under the program, an employee must also: (i) earn less than $125,000 annually; (ii) remain employed by a qualified employer for the duration of at least one vesting period (which the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has established is six months); (iii) have a title included on the list of Eligible Worker Titles published by the NYSDOH; and (iv) not have been suspended or excluded from the Medicaid program during the vesting period.
The NYSDOH further clarified in a Town hall meeting that employees who work remotely, but serve in patient-facing roles such as telehealth nurses and social workers, are also considered eligible employees, provided that they meet the criteria outlined above.
Continue Reading New York implements Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus Program
What do U.S. employers need to know about Monkeypox?
Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered some of the most significant societal shifts in generations, and the employment law landscape has not been immune to such changes. Employers have had to adjust their workplace practices by incorporating new policies such as remote work, vaccine mandates, paid safe and sick leave, and various other federal, state, and local requirements to accommodate the world’s new normal.
Now, in the third quarter of 2022, the world is seeing a new outbreak: monkeypox. On July 23, 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern – the organization’s highest level warning. Shortly after, on August 4, 2022, the United States declared monkeypox a public health emergency. The arrival of monkeypox is a stark reminder that employers should have general policies in place to address communicable diseases so that work operations are not meaningfully disrupted and employees understand their entitlements and obligations when they are under the weather.
This post will provide employers with pertinent information related to monkeypox, including methods of prevention, handling workplace exposures, administering policies and practices, and how to get ahead of future communicable disease outbreaks as they arise.
Continue Reading What do U.S. employers need to know about Monkeypox?
New York enacts two bills expanding employee protections under the state’s anti-discrimination statute
As we previously reported, the New York State Senate recently passed a handful of significant employment-related bills. On March 16, Governor Kathy Hochul signed several of the bills into law.
Perhaps most notably, Senate Bill S.5870 bars employers from disclosing an employee’s personnel files because the of the employee’s participation in a workplace complaint
Biden signs federal law restricting sexual harassment and assault arbitration
On March 3, President Joe Biden signed into law one of the most significant modifications ever made to federal arbitration law. Known as the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021” (the Act), the new law essentially restricts employers from forcing workplace sexual harassment or assault claims to be resolved
New York legislature proposes sweeping changes to workplace laws
On March 1, 2022, the New York State Senate passed a suite of landmark employment legislation. Though several of the bills still need to be passed by the State Assembly – and, of course, ultimately signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul – Empire State employers should nevertheless review the measures now so they will
New York judge strikes down statewide mask mandate
On December 13, 2021, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the wearing of masks would once again be required in “all indoor public places unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement.” This meant that for any business that did not have a proof of vaccination requirement in place, all of the business’s
NYC wage transparency law to go into effect in May 2022
As we previously reported, the New York City Council passed legislation in December 2021 requiring New York City employers to include a maximum and minimum salary in all job postings (for new jobs as well as internal promotions and transfer opportunities). Mayor Eric Adams returned the bill unsigned to the city council on January
Supreme Court blocks federal vaxx-or-test rule for large employers
The highest court in the land has, at long last, weighed in on the permissibility of the federal government’s November 2021 vaccine-or-test rule for large employers. Specifically, on January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which had required that private employers with 100 or more U.S. employees adopt either (1) a mandatory vaccination policy or (2) a policy that allows employees to choose between vaccination and submission of weekly COVID tests (as we previously discussed here).
As a result, employers previously covered by the ETS will not have to comply – at least for now – with its requirements. Below we will discuss the Court’s ruling and, equally if not more importantly, what this means for U.S. employers.
Continue Reading Supreme Court blocks federal vaxx-or-test rule for large employers
NYC passes landmark wage transparency bill
Even though 2022 is just underway, the NYC employment law landscape is already red hot. In mid-December, the city council passed a first-of-its-kind bill requiring Big Apple employers to include a maximum and minimum salary in all job postings, which includes new jobs as well as internal promotions and transfer opportunities. For employers that are