STAY INFORMED AND PROACTIVE: NAVIGATING EMPLOYMENT REGULATIONS IN NEW YORK

BUSINESS OWNERS BEWARE – in its ongoing commitment to employee protection, the State of New York consistently introduces new laws that have a significant impact on employers, potentially impeding their companies and exposing them to the risk of fines and penalties for non-compliance.

Minimum Wage Increase

Effective January 1, 2024, the minimum wage payable to employees in New York City, Long Island and Westchester increases to $16/hour, and for the rest of New York State, to $15/hour.

New York City Earned Sick Time Act

New York City has long granted employees paid time off for illness.  New York City has recently clarified what workers are entitled to time off and the threshold for employers as to what their obligations are relative to this law. The law applies to employees:

• Who perform work either physically or remotely within the City of New York, regardless of where the employer is based; and
• That physically work outside New York City, but regularly perform services within the City of New York.

Employers that have 100 or more employees are obligated to pay up to 56 hours of paid safe and sick time per year to their employees.  Smaller employers must generally provide up to 40 hours per year. The threshold for this figure is based on the highest number of employees that the employer had at any one time during the year.  Moreover, the figure is based on the total number of employees of the company, not just its New York City staff.

New York Unemployment Notices

Effect as of November 13, 2023, Section 590 of the New York Labor Law was amended to expand an employer’s obligations to provide employees, upon separation, with notice of their right to file for unemployment benefits with the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL).

Employers were already required to provide a Record of Employment form to employees who quit, are laid off or are discharged. The amendment extends the scope of that obligation by requiring notice upon a “reduction in hours” or “any other interruption in continued employment that results in total or partial unemployment.”

This notice must be “in writing on a form furnished or approved by” NYDOL. The NYDOL has not yet published the required form that employers may use to comply with the law.

New York City Expands the Protective Class for Workers

Generally, under New York State and New York City Law, employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees based on a myriad of factors including age, race, religion and sex.  This class has now been expanded to height and weight.  As such, employers cannot discriminate in considering potential candidates or continuing employment based on height or weight.

Notably, if a person cannot perform the essential functions of a job based on their height and weight, the employer is permitted to make employment decisions based on same.

Restrictions in Release Agreements

Generally, when a settlement is reached in a case involving allegations of employment discrimination or sexual harassment, the parties enter into a settlement agreement that often contains terms that are favorable to the employer, which an employee will reluctantly agree to in order to secure the settlement monies.  New York has now passed a law that restricts the types of provisions that are permitted in said agreements.  Specifically, the law prohibits agreements that contain the following provisions:

• A provision that awards liquidated damages of the employee violates a non-disclosure or non-disparagement agreement;
• A provision in which the Plaintiff forfeits some or all of the settlement if they violate a non-disclosure or non-disparagement agreement. Based on this, the parties would have to agree to a specific monetary figure or actual damages for said breach. It cannot be specifically tied to the settlement amount; and
• A provision where the Plaintiff affirms that they were not actually harassed or discriminated against. A no-admission clause could still be included.

Moreover, any settlement of this nature cannot be confidential unless the Plaintiff, in a separate agreement, states that it is their preference that the terms be kept confidential.