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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 care

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…

New York City’s Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) is one of the broadest anti-discrimination statutes in the country. But does it apply to all Big Apple employers, regardless of size? A recent amendment passed by the City Council clarifies precisely which entities are considered “employers” for purposes of the NYCHRL.

In its current incarnation, the NYCHRL simply states that it does not apply to any employer with fewer than four persons in its employ. This definition has been subject to debate, however, due to the statute’s broad definition of employee, which currently encompasses employees that are full- or part-time, permanent or temporary, paid on or off the books, or are paid or unpaid interns. However, the amended law expands these protections to (1) independent contractors, (2) freelancers and (3) an employer’s parent, spouse, domestic partner or child, if employed by the employer.Continue Reading NYC Council amends the New York City Human Rights Law definition of covered employer

On April 9, 2019, New York City Council passed a bill amending the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), to bar NYC employers from testing prospective employees for marijuana use. The Bill comes in the wake of the City’s efforts to reduce the legal consequences of marijuana use, including reducing arrests and prosecutions for low-level marijuana-related crimes.

The text of the Bill declares it to be “an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer … to require a prospective employee to submit to testing for the presence of any tetrahydrocannabinols or marijuana in such prospective employee’s system as a condition of employment.” However, the Bill excludes the following jobs from the ban:

  • Police officers
  • Peace officers
  • Positions with a law enforcement or investigative function at the New York City Department of Investigations
  • Workers on construction sites
  • Positions requiring a commercial driver’s license
  • Positions requiring the supervision or care of children, medical patients, or vulnerable persons
  • Positions with the potential to significantly impact the health or safety of employees or members of the public

Continue Reading New York City Council gives the green light to a ban on marijuana testing for job applicants

A New York City Council member recently proposed an amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) that would restrict fast food establishments from firing employees without “just cause.” The purported reason for this amendment is to provide more job security to fast food workers.

The bill defines “just cause” as an “employee’s failure to satisfactorily perform job duties or misconduct that is demonstrably and materially harmful” to the business. If enacted, the proposed bill would require that a termination for just cause be the result of the fast food establishment’s use of “progressive discipline” within a one-year window from the date of the employee’s termination. “Progressive discipline” refers to “a disciplinary system that provides a graduated range of reasonable responses” to an employee’s failure to perform their job satisfactorily. Any discipline issued to the employee outside of the one-year timeframe would not be considered a part of the progressive discipline supporting a just cause termination. The bill would also require employers to provide the employee with a final, written explanation of the specific reasons for their termination. However, these protections would not extend to any fast food employee (1) covered by a collective bargaining agreement or (2) within their probationary period (30 days from date of hire).Continue Reading Not so fast … New York City Council proposes ban on no-cause firings