News

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

On April 4, 2016, Governor Cuomo signed legislation as part of the State’s 2016-2017 budget to phase in a plan to require certain employers to provide employees with up to 12 weeks of paid family leave when caring for an employee’s infant, a family member with a serious health condition or to relieve family pressures when a family member (including a spouse, domestic partner, child or parent) is called to military active services. Paid leave to care for a family member includes leave to care for a child, parent, grandchild, grandparent, spouse or domestic partner. Read More

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Public employers should be aware that Governor Cuomo recently signed a bill repealing Section 75-b(2)(b) of the New York State Civil Service Law, which required that a public employee, in order to invoke the anti-retaliation or “whistleblower” protection... Read More

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

On January 20, 2016, Governor Cuomo announced that the New York State Division of Human Rights adopted new regulations that ban discrimination and harassment against transgender people. Read More

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

In early December 2015, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published, “Living with HIV Infection: Your Legal Rights in the Workplace Under the ADA,” available at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/hiv_individual.cfm, which explains, among other things, how employers may be able to provide reasonable accommodations in the workplace and how to avoid workplace discrimination for individuals with HIV infection. Read More

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

As part of a continuing effort to curb worker abuse in New York State, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on October 14, 2015 that anti-retaliation and mediation units will be created within the State Labor Department to support the Task Force to Combat Worker Exploitation, a recently assembled multi-agency task force investigating alleged wage theft, child labor and other unlawful workplace practices by employers in New York State. According to the Governor, the Task Force has already opened 30 joint-agency enforcement cases across the state. Read More

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

The National Public Employer Labor Relations Association (NPELRA) recently published a Legislative Update for its members titled “President Obama Proposes Overtime Protections to Nearly 5 Million Workers”. Read More

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently issued an update that provides general guidance to assist State and local governments in understanding and complying with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Read More

Friday, May 29, 2015

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued updated model Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) notices and medical certification forms for employers. These updated forms are available for immediate use and expire on May 31, 2018. Read More

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Please be advised that certain reimbursements for advance or continued wage payments made by employers to employee-claimants are subject to a recent change under New York’s Workers’ Compensation Law. Read More

Friday, February 27, 2015

On February 23, 2015, the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) issued a Final Rule revising the definition of “spouse” under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in light of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, which struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional. Read More