Employment Law Observer

New York employers: read our comprehensive recap of the key regulations taking effect in 2025 that your business should take note of.

On April 20, 2024, New York legislators approved the New York State 2024-2025 Budget. The Budget included three amendments to New York Labor Law affecting all New York employers.

On March 1, 2024, the Second Circuit affirmed the judgment of the Southern District of New York in Brian La Belle v. Barclays Capital Inc, No. 23-448 (2d Cir. 2024).

On November 22, 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the “Freelance Isn’t Free Act” into law. The Act, which is similar to the New York City law containing the same name, is designed to provide protections for freelance workers (i.e., independent contractors). The Act will go into effect on May 20, 2024, and will apply to work contracts entered into on or after that date.

Starting July 1, 2024, New York City employers will be required to distribute a Workers' Bill of Rights to all their current employees and new hires on or before their first day of work.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law, effective on November 11, 2023, amending Section 590 of the New York Labor Law.

New York State recently enacted two new employment law bills. The first law extends the statute of limitations for claims of discriminatory practices under the New York State Human Rights Law. The second law expands restrictions on non-disclosure provisions in settlement agreements for claims of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.

On September 15, 2023, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection issued amended rules relating to the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”). The amendments codified the New York City Council statutory amendments to the ESSTA in 2020, which was designed to align the ESSTA with the New York State Paid Sick Leave Law. The amended rules went into effect on October 15, 2023.

On January 1, 2023, an amendment to the New York State Labor Law went into effect, requiring all employers in the state who have fifty or more full-time employees to display a Veterans Benefits and Services Poster in a conspicuous place accessible to employees in the workplace. The poster include the following information regarding veteran services:

On December 16, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law an amendment to Section 201 of the New York Labor Law. Previously, Section 201 had required that employers post certain rules and orders furnished by the Commissioner of Labor of the State of New York in conspicuous places on each floor of the employer’s premises.

On November 8, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo expanded the list of protected categories under existing New York City Human Rights Law by signing the New York Reproductive Choice Law. Under this provision, employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees or their dependents for their reproductive health decisions. Specifically, the law prohibits employers from accessing personal information about an employee or dependent's "use or access of a particular drug, device or medical service without the employee's prior informed affirmative written consent." Further, employers cannot retaliate against or treat an employee differently because they "use or access a particular drug, device or medical service."

When former District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier stepped into her new role as security chief for the National Football League (“NFL”), she let it be known there was a “new sheriff in town,” a federal lawsuit alleges. About one year later, the NFL fired 9 security representatives accounting for approximately 1/3rd of the league’s staffing for the position and approximately 75% of the security representatives who were of the of age 60 or older. The security personnel promptly filed a federal suit in the Southern District of New York.