On Nov. 8, 2021, Gov. Hochul signed into law an amendment to the New York Civil Rights Law that requires any private individual or entity with a place of business in the state to provide notice to employees of certain electronic monitoring upon upon hiring, with written or electronic employee acknowledgement, and in a “conspicuous place” viewable by all employees of certain types of electronic monitoring. The new law went into effect on May 7, 2022.

On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021. It amends the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) by banning mandatory arbitration in sexual assault and sexual harassment cases and allowing individuals alleging such conduct to bring their dispute in a federal, tribal or state court.  

On Dec. 10 2021, at the direction of Governor Kathy Hochul, New York issued a new mask mandate that applies to several specific public settings, including health care and adult care facilities, K-12 schools, correctional facilities, homeless shelters and public transportation centers and hubs. Importantly, the mask mandate also includes a general provision applicable to “all indoor public places” not otherwise covered by the mandate. This general provision is broadly applicable and impacts businesses across the state.

The New York State minimum wage rates and minimum overtime-exempt salary levels for employees working outside of New York City will increase on December 31, 2021. 

On Nov. 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released an emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) requiring all employers with 100 or more employees, with a few exceptions, to mandate vaccination or test employees weekly for COVID-19. 

On October 1, 2021, the New York State Division of Human Rights (“NYSDHR”), the agency responsible for enforcement of the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”) issued a notice announcing a significant change to the agency’s processes for complaint resolution. Effective October 12, 2021, the NYSDHR will no longer grant requests for discontinuance of complaints due to confidential private settlements.

The sexual harassment allegations brought against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo presents a reminder for employers to reassess workplace practices to minimize the likelihood of similar events occurring in the workplace. Among the many potential action items and considerations, below are tips on training, education, and communication that all employers should abide by:

In response to the modified COVID-19 recommendations published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on July 27, 2021, on Friday, August 13, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updated its Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced on July 27, 2021 that it will adjust its advice to recommend that vaccinated people in substantial or high transmission areas of COVID-19 (defined below) wear masks in indoor public spaces. This guidance will substantially alter the CDC’s May 13 guidance that largely exempted fully vaccinated individuals from the indoor mask requirement. There has been no change in the outdoor masking recommendations at this time. In changing its masking recommendations, the CDC asserts that current scientific information indicates that the delta variant can be spread despite vaccine status, warranting an adjustment to its prior guidance.

Lots of material lately because some of this stuff seems to change almost daily:

As we have previously posted, the New York State Legislature has passed several amendments to the Health and Essential Rights Act (the “HERO Act”), which is intended to reduce the spread of not just COVID-19 but all airborne infectious diseases. The amendments provide New York state employers with additional time and guidance regarding how to comply with the HERO Act. 

On June 11, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation (SB 6768) amending the recently enacted NY HERO Act permitting employers more time to comply.  The Act provides for the following:

When the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rolled out its COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard on June 10, 2021, it also issued its updated Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in non-healthcare workplaces.

We continue to see changing requirements related to COVID-19 workplace protocols. On June 15, 2021, New York State celebrated reaching 70 percent of its adult population having received at least one vaccination dose. As a result, the State lifted most of its New York Forward industry-specific COVID-19 guidelines—including social gathering limits, capacity restrictions, cleaning and disinfection, health screening, and gathering contact information for tracing—making them optional for most employers. The State has archived its industry-specific reopening guidance, which employers may, but are not required to, continue to follow.  However, employers should be aware that, as of this writing, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office had not given any indication that Executive Order 202 (“E.O. 202”), which declared a state of emergency on March 7, 2020, would be lifted before July 5, 2021, which is the date to which the most recent continuation of E.O. 202 extends. The continuation of the state of emergency furthers the governor’s authority to issue directives related to the pandemic.

Every employer has heard of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but those two laws can present a complicated interplay when an employee is injured on the job.  Each stage presented by a workplace injury — from the incident, to the recovery, to the return — requires employers to answer at least one key question, and an incorrect answer could give an employee grounds for a claim, so knowledge of the most common issues that arise is paramount.

It is that time of year when many employers begin to hire or consider hiring student interns for the summer.  Employers can make the mistake of assuming that simply because a person is given the title of “Intern” the individual does not have to be paid. That assumption can be a trap resulting in significant unpaid wage liability for an employer under federal and state law.