On June 22, New York’s Third Department appellate court – which has jurisdiction over all state Unemployment Division appeals – issued a significant decision for “gig” economy companies with operations in New York. In Matter of Vega,1 the court found that a courier who performed delivery services arranged through Postmates’ web-based platform was as an independent contractor, and not an employee, for unemployment insurance purposes.
Articles Discussing General Topics In New York Labor & Employment Law.
NYC May Start Enforcing its Law Requiring Fast Food Employers to Facilitate Payroll Deductions to Fund Contributions to Certain Not-For-Profit Organizations
Last June, New York City passed legislation that significantly reduced fast food and retail employers’ flexibility in crafting schedules to meet their legitimate business needs. This “Fair Workweek” legislative package also included a requirement that fast food employers set up a system allowing employees to request payroll deductions for voluntary contributions to authorized not-for-profit organizations. This “Deductions Law” required fast food employers to remit these contributions directly to the not-for-profit organizations.
https://www.jacksonlewis.com/publication/gig-economy-delivery-couriers-are-not-employees-new-york-court-rules-reverses-unemployment-board
A delivery courier fired by app-based food delivery service Postmates Inc. is an independent contractor, not an employee entitled to unemployment insurance benefits, the Third Judicial Department of the New York Supreme Court has ruled. Matter of the Claim of Luis A. Vega, No. 525233 (June 21, 2018). The case is one of many disputes across the country over the status of workers in the gig economy.
What are WPA Creditable Benefits?
Executive Summary. Home care agencies in New York are still experimenting with different ways to meet the State’s Wage Parity Act (“Act” or “WPA”) requirements. The Act requires a minimum basic wage (cash) of the applicable New York State minimum wage plus additional wages or supplemental wages (i.e., benefits) equal to another $4.09 per hour in NYC or $3.22 per hour in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties (the “WPA Package”).
The Wait is Over for Legalized Sports Gambling in New York
A provision in New York’s 2013 Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law authorizing casinos to take bets on sporting events had been held in suspension because of the federal ban on state-regulated sports wagering. Now, as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s striking down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), which prohibited state-regulated sports wagering, pending licensure by the New York State Gaming Commission, sports gambling in the state will become a reality.
New York State Enacted Budget Includes New Limits, Mandates for Licensed Home Care Services Agencies
The 2018-2019 New York State Budget seeks to advance the state’s strategic policies of encouraging the merger of existing Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs), reducing the number of new LHCSA providers entering the marketplace, and providing more state control over existing LHCSAs. The state has adopted a freeze on new LHCSAs and a registration requirement, among other provisions.
What’s Been Going on in New York Cyber Regulation since New York’s “first-of-their-kind” DFS regulations?
As reported in our blog post from November 6, 2017, the New York State Attorney General announced the release of the proposed Shield Act in early November, 2017. This new legislation (we have some links for you below) would make significant changes to New York’s cybersecurity provisions (primarily under General Business Law §899-aa and its sequential provisions), including the following:
New York State Enacted Budget Includes Opioid Legislation
As part of the 2018-2019 New York State Budget, the Governor and the Legislature have agreed to a package of legislation addressing the opioid crisis in New York that includes requiring opioid manufacturers and distributors to help fund treatment programs.
Localities and the Salary History Ban: Next Stop, Westchester County, New York
New York’s Westchester County is the latest locality to adopt legislation prohibiting employers from asking prior salary histories of a prospective employee.
New York State Budget Includes Optional Employer Payroll Tax as a Potential SALT Cap Work Around
As part of the FY 2019 NY State Budget, lawmakers recently enacted a program to potentially circumvent the recent Federal Tax Law change that imposes a $10,000 cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) for individuals who itemize their deductions. The potential workaround, called the Employer Compensation Expense Program (ECEP), would allow employers to voluntarily opt in to a new ECEP structure that, when fully effective, would impose on employers a five percent payroll tax on all annual payroll expenses in excess of $40,000 per employee. The five percent would be phased in over three years beginning on January 1, 2019, starting at one and a half percent, three percent for Tax Year 2021 and five percent for 2021 and annually thereafter.
NY and NJ Bills Banning Confidential Settlement and Arbitration Agreements Speed Toward Passage
One of the outcomes of the #MeToo movement is that state legislatures are revisiting the use of arbitration agreements, confidential settlement agreements, and jury waivers, as well as the scope of anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws, in the employment setting. Most recently, on March 12, 2018, the New York State Senate passed a bill (Senate Bill S7848A) which includes a ban on confidential settlements and mandatory arbitration clauses of sexual harassment claims. This bill is now headed for the Assembly, and if passed (which appears likely) it will make its way to the desk of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, who is likely to sign it in some form.
Certainty is on the Horizon for the New York Home Care Industry
The home care industry has faced collapse since a series of New York Appellate Division decisions invalidated New York Department of Labor (NY DOL) policy and held that home care attendants working 24-hour shifts who are employed by third-party agencies had to be paid for every hour of the shift and employers could not deduct sleep and meal periods.
New York City Legislation Would Mandate Sexual Harassment Training, Expand Employer Coverage under Human Rights Law
The New York City Council has introduced a package of legislation aimed at preventing sexual harassment in the workplace and strengthening the City’s anti-sexual harassment policies.
New Guidance for the New York Paid Family Leave Payroll Deduction
The ever-moving target that is the New York Paid Family Leave law (“PFL”) has, unsurprisingly, shifted yet again. We recently received confirmation from the New York State regulators that employers do not need to cap the weekly employee payroll deduction for PFL at .126% of the New York State Average Weekly Wage (NYSAWW) (approximately $1.65 per week in 2018).
New York Lawsuit Alleging Corporate Cover-Up at The Weinstein Company is a Lesson in What Not to Do
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a civil rights lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein, his brother Robert Weinstein, and their company, The Weinstein Company (TWC).