New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in federal court (State of New York v. Wolf et al, 1:20-cv-01127) over its new policy prohibiting New Yorkers from registering or re-registering for various Trusted Traveler Programs.
Articles Discussing General Topics In New York Labor & Employment Law.
NYS DOH Responds In Q&A to Joint Employer Questions and Reveals the Challenge A Fiscal Intermediary Faces in Obtaining an Offer For A Contract in the State’s CDPAP
Executive Summary. In our December 23, 2019 Legal Alert we reported that the NYS Department of Health’s (“DOH”) Request for Offers (“RFO”) required a “Joint Employment Attestation” in any offer to continue or first become a Fiscal Intermediary (“FIs”) under NYS’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (“CDPAP”). We suggested the DOH be asked six questions, each of which has been answered, to some degree, in the Q&A the DOH issued on January 31, 2020. Below are our observations and opinion on the path forward and the DOH’s key answers on Joint Employer status in a chart accessible as a PDF from this Legal Alert.
New York Releases FAQs on Statewide Salary History Ban
Changes to New York state law that prohibit employer inquiries into the salary history of applicants and employees took effect on January 6, 2020. Recently, the New York Department of Labor released a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to further clarify this law. The FAQs provide insight on which employers and workers are covered, employers’ responsibilities under the law, and how employees or applicants can address potential violations.
New York City Set to Require Stores to Accept Cash
The New York City Council has approved, by a vote of 43-3, a bill that would make it unlawful for most businesses to refuse to accept payments in cash, with limited exceptions. The legislation aims to eliminate what supporters say is discrimination against low-income New Yorkers who lack bank accounts and credit cards. Many businesses, on the other hand, cited a variety of reasons for opposing the legislation, including a desire to appeal to card-toting consumers, speed up service, increase employee safety by reducing the chance of robbery, and eliminate the need to count cash or arrange for armored car pickups. The new law will take effect 270 days after Mayor de Blasio—who has expressed support for the bill—signs it into law.
New York Joins Other States in Banning Salary History Questions
Executive Summary: As of January 6, 2020, New York employers are prohibited from inquiring about an applicant’s prior salary. The ban, codified as N.Y. Lab. Law § 194-a, was signed into law by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 10, 2019, but did not go into effect until this past Monday, January 6, 2020. The law applies to all public and private employers within New York state and covers applicants and employees who have taken an affirmative step to seek full-time, part-time, or temporary/seasonal employment with an employer. The law does not apply to independent contractors, freelance workers, or other contract workers unless they are to work through an employment agency.
Guidance on New York’s Ban on Salary Inquiries Issued
New York state has issued guidance on its new law barring employers’ direct and indirect inquiries about an employee’s salary history that became effective on January 6, 2020. For New York City employers, the law must be read in conjunction with similar legislation already in effect.
Will Your Fiscal Intermediary Be Chosen to Participate in New York’s CDPAP?
Executive Summary. The New York State Department of Health (DOH) recently issued a Request for Offers (RFO) from eligible entities who want to continue or first commence participating as Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs) under the New York Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP). Because offers are due no later than February 18, 2020, the required format for offers is highly detailed and technical, and the RFO states that it is the DOH’s intent “to award the fewest number of contracts that preserve statewide access and consumer choice,” you will have to distinguish yourself from others in order to be selected. If you would like our assistance, based on our 25 years’ experience in educating, training and representing FIs, please give us a call.
Federal Court Taps Brakes on New York’s Sweeping New Farmworker Labor Law
New York’s Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act went into effect on January 1, 2020. Two days earlier, two agricultural business associations filed a challenge to the law in federal court requesting a temporary restraining order (TRO).
New Year, New Shields: How Can You Prepare for the New York SHIELD Act?
As we’ve previously reported, the New York Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (the “SHIELD Act”) goes into effect on March 21, 2020. The SHIELD Act, which amends the State’s current data breach notification law, imposes more expansive data security and data breach notification requirements on companies, in the hope of ensuring better protection for New York residents from data breaches of their private information.
New York Mandates That Fiscal Intermediaries Be Joint Employers to Continue in Consumer Directed Personal Assistant Program
Executive Summary. On December 18, 2019 New York State’s Department of Health (DOH) issued a Request for Offers (RFO) from those who wish to continue or first become Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs) under the State’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP). Every offer responding to this RFO must sign a “Joint Employment Attestation” expressly acknowledging the offeror’s status as a joint employer for a consumer-directed personal assistants (PAs). This mandate shifts substantial risk of loss and liability to an FI and raises many questions. Any written questions concerning the RFO must be submitted to DOH by January 3, 2019. Our suggested questions, which you are free to pose to DOH are listed in the “Policy Questions DOH Should be Asked,” section below. In the meantime, every existing FI should perform a self-audit of all the potential liabilities it is being asked to assume. Based on our firm’s 25 years’ experience in representing FIs, we can assist you, if desired.
2019 Recap: New York Leads the Nation in Expanding Work Harassment Protections
Executive Summary. New York has become the most progressive State in the nation when it comes to protecting workers against harassment, discrimination and retaliation on the job. In the last two years, New York has made it much easier for any worker, whether an employee, independent contractor, or other non-employee, to claim harassment based on any protected category against any private employer, even an employer with only one employee or independent contractor. Also, legal fees, by law, must be awarded to a prevailing plaintiff and, beginning August 12, 2020, the time limit for bringing a harassment claim is extended to three years.
End of Year Developments for New York Employers
As 2019 comes to a close, legislative and administrative actions in New York require consideration by employers in the state.
New York State Bans Discrimination Based on Reproductive Health Decision Making
As of November 8, 2019, New York State prohibits employment discrimination based on an employee’s or a dependent’s “reproductive health decision making.” The New York State Legislature passed the bill in January 2019, and Governor Cuomo signed it into law this month. This move comes less than one year after the New York City Council added “sexual and other reproductive health decisions” to the list of protected categories under the New York City Human Rights Law. This statewide measure is likely a response to the federal government’s efforts to increasingly regulate this area.
Westchester County, NY Publishes Paid Safe Leave Guidance as Law Takes Effect
The Westchester County Human Rights Commission, the agency responsible for conducting public outreach for the Westchester County Safe Time Leave Law, published a host of information, including a copy of the law, a Notice of Employee Rights (the “Notice”), Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”), and the mandatory poster in time for the law’s October 30, 2019 effective date. Under the law, all private employers must provide up to 40 hours of paid leave for victims of domestic violence and human trafficking.
Westchester Safe Time Leave Has Arrived
The Westchester County Safe Time Leave Law takes effect today October 30, 2019. Starting on January 28, 2020, employers must begin providing eligible new hires with a copy of the law and written notice, which is intended to explain how the law applies to them.