http://www.elinfonet.com/starticles/33 Articles discussing workplace law in New York. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:02:07 EST en-us http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=3896 Article: 3896 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) In June 2011, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Marriage Equality Act into law, making New York the sixth state to permit same-sex couples to marry. The law became effective on July 24, 2011. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=3880 Article: 3880 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Executive Summary: On or before February 1, 2012, New York employers must provide notice to employees as required by the state's Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA). http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=3872 Article: 3872 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Employers with operations and employees in New York State should by now be aware that the first notice to all employees regarding their pay status, required by the N.Y. Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA), must be given by January 31, 2012, and annually from now on. If you have not given these notices by now, you should have plans to do so before the end of the month. Fisher & Phillips described the requirements imposed by the WTPA in an Alert that was distributed in April 2011. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=3860 Article: 3860 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Mandatory wage notice. Before February 1, 2012, all New York employers, for the first time, must provide all their employees with written wage notices required under the Wage Theft Prevention Act, and annually thereafter. These written notices, in English and the employee's primary language, must contain certain information, including the employee's rate of pay (including overtime rate of pay for non-exempt employees), the basis of the employee's wage payment (e.g. hourly, weekly, salary, commission, etc.), any allowances against the minimum wage, the employer's regular payday and other employer information, such as any "doing business as" names. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=3808 Article: 3808 Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 EST webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Mark your calendars - the New Year brings new employee notification requirements, courtesy of New York's legislature and its former Governor, David Paterson. The dubiously-named "Wage Theft Prevention Act," which became effective April 9, 2011, requires all private sector employers with New York employees (regardless of how many) to provide those employees with a "pay notice" at the time of hire and, subsequently, on a yearly basis. The first "yearly" notice period begins January 1, 2012. Thus, employers have from January 1, 2012 through February 1, 2012 to provide a "pay notice" to employees, which must contain the following: http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=3798 Article: 3798 Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 EST webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) New York’s landmark Wage Theft Prevention Act requires employers to issue to all New York employees an annual notice complying with the requirements of New York Labor Law § 195 (as amended by the Act). The statute became effective in April 2011 and the first annual notice must be provided prior to February 1, 2012. The notice obligations are discussed in our article, New York Wage Theft Prevention Act Update: State DOL Issues Model Forms and Guidance. Notice can be provided electronically as long as certain requirements are met. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=3746 Article: 3746 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EST webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) On August 31, 2011, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed into law the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA). The WRFA defi nes “undue hardship” as that term is used in the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) in the context of an employer’s duty to provide a reasonable accommodation for the religious practices of an employee or job applicant. The new law, which took effect when the Mayor signed it, clarifi es that employers in New York City are more likely to be required to accommodate an employee or job applicant’s religious practices under the NYCHRL than under analogous federal law. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=3744 Article: 3744 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EST webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Recently, new reporting requirements under the Low Income Support Obligation and Performance Improvement Act of 2010 went into effect; they require all New York employers to report whether health insurance benefi ts are available to their employees’ dependents in their quarterly wage reports. Previously, employers had only to disclose employees’ names, social security numbers and gross wages. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=3734 Article: 3734 Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EST webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) This past summer, New York passed its Marriage Equality Act, which generally provides that same-sex couples can legally marry in New York, and that same-sex married couples are to be treated the same as opposite-sex married couples under New York laws. We're reporting on it here because many believe that this law may be a harbinger of what other states may soon consider. Such laws create potential problems for benefits administrators. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=3679 Article: 3679 Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:00:00 EST webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has certified to New York’s highest state court, the New York Court of Appeals, this question of first impression: whether a plaintiff is barred from pursuing federal law discrimination claims under Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act if a New York state court previously dismissed similar state law claims by the same plaintiff as untimely.