On September 20, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that New York City’s private-sector vaccine mandate would become optional for businesses, beginning on November 1, 2022. The first-in-the-nation COVID-19 vaccination mandate for private-sector workers enacted by former mayor Bill de Blasio took effect on December 27, 2021.
On July 19, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the launch of a statewide confidential hotline for complaints of workplace sexual harassment. The hotline was provided under Senate Bill No. S812B, which Governor Hochul signed into law on March 16, 2022, as part of a legislative package enacted to address sexual harassment in the workplace.
On June 1, 2022, the New York State Legislature passed Senate Bill S9427A, which would amend the New York Labor Law (NYLL) by requiring that employers disclose compensation ranges in job, promotion, and transfer advertisements. This bill comes on the heels of New York City’s recent enactment of a similar law.
It feels like a lifetime has passed since the #MeToo movement gained significant traction in October 2017 and began reshaping the workplace. The movement helped sexual harassment victims speak out and be heard and resulted in a marked uptick in filed sexual harassment claims.
On May 12, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed Introduction Number (Int. No.) 134-A into law, just days before the current salary disclosure law was set to take effect. New York City’s salary disclosure law will now take effect on November 1, 2022.
On May 12, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams will hold a hearing on New York City’s salary disclosure bill, Introduction Number 134-A. The bill, which the New York City Council passed on April 28, 2022, would revise Local Law 32, New York City’s previously enacted salary disclosure law.
On April 28, 2022, the New York City Council passed Int. No. 134-A, which revises Local Law 32, New York City’s previously enacted salary disclosure law. In order to become law, the bill must be signed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams. While the mayor has thirty days to consider the bill, timing is key as the current salary disclosure law is set to take effect on May 15, 2022.
On March 24, 2022, the New York City Council took up a new bill, Int. No. 134, which proposes changes to the local law enacted on January 15, 2022, regarding transparent pay practices. The local law, which is currently set to go into effect on May 15, 2022, makes it an “unlawful discriminatory practice” for employers with four or more employees to post job advertisements, internal promotions, or transfer opportunities without setting forth the anticipated salary ranges.
On March 22, 2022, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) published long-awaited guidance regarding New York City’s salary disclosure law, which requires employers to post the anticipated “minimum and maximum salary” in job advertisements. The law, which was passed on December 15, 2021, and takes effect on May 15, 2022, requires employers to include a “good faith” salary range in any external or internal job posting, as well as promotion or transfer opportunity.
On March 24, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed Emergency Executive Order No. 62, which expands an exemption to New York’s vaccination order for private-sector workers to include athletes and performing artists who reside in New York City. The executive order takes effect immediately.
On March 16, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a series of bills into law designed at combatting harassment and discrimination in the workplace. The governor has made addressing sexual harassment in the workplace part of her “Equity Agenda,” (which is part of the 2022 State of the State) and a number of other bills aimed at strengthening New York’s discrimination laws are already in motion.
On February 27, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that if COVID-19 indicators continue to display low risk levels, the “Key to NYC” will be lifted, effective March 7, 2022. Individuals will no longer be required to show proof of vaccination to enter certain covered establishments, such as indoor dining, entertainment, and fitness establishments. Former New York City mayor Bill De Blasio implemented the Key to NYC through Emergency Executive Order 225 on August 17, 2021.
On January 25, 2022, the New York Appellate Division, Second Department granted a stay of a Nassau County trial court’s injunction of the enforcement of the state’s mask mandate, which went into effect on December 13, 2021. The mandate, which was announced by Governor Kathy Hochul on December 10, 2021, required that masks be worn in indoor public spaces, unless a covered businesses had implemented a mandatory vaccination requirement.
On December 13, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul instituted a mandate requiring that masks be worn in indoor public spaces, unless a covered business has implemented a mandatory vaccination requirement. The mandate was set to be reevaluated on January 15, 2022. However, as part of her “Winter Surge Plan 2.0,” and before the mandate’s original expiration date, Governor Hochul extended the mask-or-vaccine requirement for an additional two weeks, until at least February 1, 2022. As part of the announcement, the governor indicated that the state would reassess masking requirements in February 2022.
On December 24, 2021, New York City enacted a law (Introduction No. 2448-2021) permitting employees who are parents to take paid time off to accompany their children when they receive COVID-19 vaccinations. In addition, the law allows these employees to take paid time off to care for their children if they experience side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine.
On December 15, 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill that would require New York City employers with four or more employees (including independent contractors) to disclose minimum and maximum salary information in job postings. The bill, which has not yet been signed by the mayor, would amend the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) and go into effect 120 days after it is signed into law.
On November 23, 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill (Introduction No. 2448-2021) that, if enacted into law, would allow employees who are parents paid time off to accompany their children to receive COVID-19 vaccinations and to care for their children due to side effects from vaccines.
On December 6, 2021, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a first-in-the-nation vaccination order for private-sector workers in New York City, set to take effect on December 27, 2021. The New York City commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene issued an order, dated December 13, 2021, requiring COVID-19 vaccination in the workplace, and, on December 15, 2021, the city promulgated guidance regarding how employers should implement the order.
On December 10, 2021, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced a new mandate requiring that masks be worn in indoor public spaces, unless a covered business has implemented a mandatory vaccination requirement.
On December 6, 2021, outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced major expansions to New York’s “Key to NYC” program, which was implemented through Emergency Executive Order 225 and became effective on August 17, 2021. The mayor also announced a first-in-the-nation vaccination mandate for private-sector workers in New York City, which is set to take effect on December 27, 2021.
On October 28, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill S4394A, which amends section 740 of the New York Labor Law (NYLL) to enhance protections for private-sector employees who allege retaliation for reporting violations of and “law, rule or regulation.” While cases alleging whistleblowing and the reporting of unsafe working conditions have been on the rise since March 2020, Governor Hochul indicated a need to ensure employees’ ability to speak out, stating that “protecting workers must be part of our overall economic recovery efforts.”
The New York State Division of Human Rights (NYSDHR) recently announced that for complaints filed on or after October 12, 2021, it will no longer discontinue complaints following private settlements. This announcement comes as a significant change in the division’s long-standing practice of allowing parties to privately settle complaints before case closure.
In accordance with the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (NY HERO Act), on July 6, 2021, the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL), in consultation with the New York State Department of Health, published the Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Standard and Model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan. Although the NYS DOL initially published the standard and model plan only in English, the NYS DOL has since furnished the standard and the model plan in Spanish. In addition to the non-industry specific model plan, the NYS DOL has created 11 industry-specific templates, which are available only in English.
On September 23, 2021, the New York City Council passed six bills—a first-of-its-kind legislative package directed at gig economy workers—that seeks to provide protections to the city’s food delivery workers. The bills, each of which amend the administrative code of New York City, have been sent to Mayor Bill De Blasio, who has already voiced his support for the legislation. The legislative package is the culmination of a lengthy controversy in New York City regarding the rights and protections that should be afforded to gig workers. Notably, many states, including New York, have been engaged in prolonged legal battles over the questions relating to the treatment of gig workers.
On August 3, 2021, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that proof of vaccination would be required for individuals to enter certain indoor establishments. In a first of its kind mandate, New York City officially implemented the “Key to NYC” through Emergency Executive Order 225, which became effective on August 17, 2021.
On June 4, 2021, Governor Ned Lamont signed House Bill No. 5158, modifying Connecticut’s breastfeeding in the workplace law to expand employers’ obligations to provide lactation rooms. The new law requires employers with one or more employees, including the state and any political subdivision of the state, “to provide a room or other location, in close proximity to the work area,” where she can express milk in private.
On March 31, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), which legalizes the adult recreational use of marijuana and revises Section 201-d of the New York Labor Law. The MRTA’s antidiscrimination employment provisions took effect immediately.
On March 12, 2021, New York State enacted a law that requires all employers to provide their New York employees with up to four hours of paid time off per injection to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. At the time of enactment, the law did not provide guidance on certain key issues. Recently, the New York State Department of Labor published answers to some questions that many employers have been asking.
On March 12, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law legislation requiring all employers, both public and private sector, to provide employees with up to four hours of paid time off per injection to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The law took effect immediately.
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) issued guidance on January 20, 2021, clarifying certain aspects of New York’s COVID-19–related quarantine leave law and expanding certain benefits under the law. Parts of the guidance came as a surprise to some employers, as they appear to impose additional obligations on employers to pay employees if they require the employees to remain out of work due to potential COVID-19 exposure.
