Back in 2015, New York City joined the “Ban the Box” bandwagon and passed a law that delays when criminal background checks can be run on most Big Apple job applicants. Specifically, the Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits NYC employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal conviction history until after a conditional offer of … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, New York lawmakers passed a novel, sweeping overhaul of the State’s workplace health and safety laws. Known as the HERO Act, the law is intended to “to protect employees against exposure and disease during a future airborne infectious disease outbreak.” Among other things, the HERO Act requires that the New York State … Continue Reading
Last month, we reported on New York’s passage of the so-called HERO Act, a landmark law that imposes a novel, sweeping overhaul of the State’s workplace health and safety laws. Although the HERO Act was set to take effect on June 4, the State on June 11 amended the law, including to delay its effective … Continue Reading
Last summer, as New York began the process of non-essential business reopenings, the State issued a series of industry-specific workplace health and safety guidelines with which all businesses were and have continued to be required to adhere. On the heels of recent CDC guidance loosening workplace-related restrictions for vaccinated employees, New York has updated these … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, over the past year, New York State has adopted a statewide sick leave law, paid leave for COVID-19 vaccination, and paid quarantine leave. Last week, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) issued guidance on the use of New York State Sick Leave (NYSSL) as it pertains to employees receiving … Continue Reading
As most of our readers likely know by now, on May 13, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that, “[i]f you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.” The CDC went on the state that “[f]ully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a … Continue Reading
Well, that was fast! As we reported on Tuesday, the New York State legislature passed a sweeping bill in late April known as the HERO Act. The HERO Act represents a massive change to the Empire State’s workplace health and safety protocols. At the time of our initial post, the HERO Act was awaiting Governor … Continue Reading
In late April, New York State legislators passed a bill that can best be described as a “game changer.” Known as the Health and Essential Rights – or HERO – Act, the bill proposes a novel, sweeping overhaul of the Empire State’s workplace health and safety laws. Among other things, the HERO Act directs New … Continue Reading
New York is doing away with its quarantine requirement for out-of-state travelers. By way of background, in June 2020, New York issued a COVID-19 Travel Advisory requiring certain travelers to quarantine upon entry to New York. In November 2020, New York modified its travel advisory to permit out-of-state travelers to test out of its mandatory quarantine. In … Continue Reading
On March 12, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill requiring that all public and private employers in New York State provide their workforces with up to four hours of paid time off to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. More particularly, the law requires that Empire State employers provide their employees with “a sufficient period … Continue Reading
As we approach the one-year anniversary of COVID-19’s upheaval of “business as usual,” we continue to field inquiries from Empire State employers regarding their pandemic-related workplace obligations. Given that many of the pandemic-related regulations remain fully in effect, we have summarized in this blog post the primary employer obligations that remain in-effect in New York: … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, on March 18, 2020, New York State passed a law providing job protection and benefits to certain employees quarantined or isolated due to exposure to and/or infection with COVID-19. On January 20, the New York State Department of Labor issued supplemental guidance clarifying some important points for employers about complying with … Continue Reading
In September 2020, the New York Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) issued guidance related to COVID-19 claims and their compensability under the State’s workers’ compensation laws. This guidance is especially noteworthy because workers’ compensation claims are expected to increase substantially as a result of COVID-19. By way of background, New York is one of the few … Continue Reading
With two COVID-19 vaccines pending approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), employer-mandated COVID-19 vaccination policies are a hot topic at the employment law water cooler these days. While there is currently no concrete guidance on this issue at the federal, state, or city level, on December 4, New York State lawmakers introduced … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, on June 24, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order requiring that individuals returning to New York State from so-called restricted states – i.e., states that met certain COVID-19 transmission levels – quarantine for a period of 14 days upon return. As we also reported, effective November 4, New York adopted … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, on June 24, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order requiring that individuals returning to New York State from so-called restricted states – i.e., states that met certain COVID-19 transmission levels – quarantine for a period of 14 days upon return. Effective November 4, however, New York has adopted new protocols … Continue Reading
New York City first adopted a local paid sick leave law in 2014. Over the ensuing six years, the City legislature amended the law several times, including in 2018 to add “safe leave” as a form of paid time off. Late last month, the City amended the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) yet … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a rule updating its interpretation of the “joint employer” doctrine under federal wage and hour law. Yesterday, however, a New York federal judge struck down a significant portion of the rule. Judge Gregory H. Woods’ 62-page decision delivers a significant blow to businesses that had … Continue Reading
Airport workers at John F. Kennedy (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA), and New York Stewart International Airport (SWF-Stewart Intl.) may soon be receiving increased wages and benefits under the Healthy Terminals Act (the “Act”) (Senate Bill S6266D). Spurred by the COVID-19 related death of a JFK airport worker, the Act recently passed both the New York State … Continue Reading
The enactment of paid sick leave laws began as a state and local employment law trend roughly a decade ago, gaining substantial momentum in the mid-2010’s. Amidst this wave, New York City adopted a paid sick leave law in April 2014. The City Council later amended the law – in May 2018 – to provide … Continue Reading
Please see an updated version of our FAQs as of July 25, 2020. We have compiled FAQs concerning New York’s COVID-19-related health and safety protocols for businesses across the state. These protocols apply to all New York businesses – regardless of size, location, whether the business has physically reopened, or whether it was deemed “essential” – … Continue Reading
Since early May, New York State has published – across multiple platforms – a slew of materials related to business reopenings and workplace-related health and safety. We developed a FAQs based on some of the more common New York-specific questions that clients have posed to us since May. The FAQs touch on a host of issues, … Continue Reading
As we previously detailed here and here, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo recently outlined guidelines for when Empire State businesses can reopen and return to “in-person” operations. Under the Governor’s plan, reopenings are being determined, first, on a region-by-region basis and then, once a region is eligible to reopen, on a phased industry-by-industry basis. Since the Governor … Continue Reading
As we have reported, since March, New York State has implemented a variety of measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 and to protect workers during the pandemic. These measures include essential business designations, limiting in-person work, paid leave for certain employees impacted by COVID-19, phased reopening of nonessential businesses, mandatory health and safety protocols, … Continue Reading
