Employment Law Observer

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 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.

The U.S. Department of Labor issued a Temporary Rule on September 11, 2020, which revises regulations concerning paid sick leave and expanded family medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The rule, which goes into effect on September 16, 2020, was issued in response to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York's decision in State of New York v. Department of Labor on August 3, 2020, which struck down portions of the FFCRA regulations.

On June 10, 2020, in Minnesota Chamber of Commerce v. City of Minneapolis, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the City of Minneapolis' Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Ordinance. The ordinance requires employers to provide sick and safe time to employees who work within the city, and applies to all employees who work in Minneapolis, regardless of whether or not the employer is based in Minneapolis. Employers operating in Minneapolis—or other Minnesota cities with similar ordinances such as Duluth and St. Paul—should review their local ordinances, along with state and federal laws, to ensure compliance.

It's the end of the year and while everyone is busy, employers in California should be aware of new laws and regulations that go into effect on January 1, 2019. In the spirit of the season, we are using the next "12 days of the holidays" to blog about one California law a day and that law's impact on California employers. On the tenth day of Christmas, my Labor and Employment attorney gave to me—ten pipers piping and SB 1123.

Effective October 29, 2018, the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Law will require that all private sector employers, regardless of size, provide forty (40) hours of paid sick leave each benefit year to employees working in New Jersey. If the employer already offers a minimum of 40 hours of paid time off, the employer is in compliance with the law as long as employees can use the time for the purposes stated under the law, e.g., personal days, vacation days, or sick days. If the employer is not currently offering this benefit, here are some of the things the employer needs to know in order to fashion a compliant policy:

Working full-time hours is an essential function of a full-time job, right? Not necessarily, said the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in a Hostettler v. The College of Wooster. When the job can be done on a reduced schedule, at least in the short term, employers have a duty to accommodate.

The New York City Council further solidified its commitment to advancing the work-life balance of New Yorkers by requiring employers to allow employees to take two temporary schedule changes per calendar year. Effective July 18, 2018, New York City employees may request a temporary change to their schedule, up to two times per year, for a “personal event” defined as the need to provide care to a minor child or care recipient; the need to attend a legal proceeding or hearing for subsistence benefits; or any circumstances that would be a basis for permissible use of safe time or sick time as defined by the NYC Earned Sick Time Act. The new law amends New York City’s Fair Workweek Law, which was enacted in November 2017, to require employers to grant a request for a temporary change in work schedule.

It's the end of the year and while everyone is busy, employers in California should be aware of new laws and regulations that go into effect on January 1, 2018. In the spirit of the season, we are using the next "12 days of the holidays" to blog about one California law a day and that law's impact on California employers. On the sixth day of Christmas, my Labor and Employment attorney gave to me – six geese a laying and SB 63.

Employers, another notice provision has taken effect in California. Beginning on July 1, 2017, employers with at least 25 employees must now provide written notice to new employees that explain the rights of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. More specifically, the required notice mandates employers notify new employees of their rights under Labor Code Sections 230 and 230.1. These sections detail the following points:

The sick time ordinances passed by both the Minneapolis and St. Paul City Councils take effect July 1, 2017. The Minneapolis Sick and Safe Time ordinance requires all employers with six or more employees to provide paid sick time; employers with five or less employees are required to provide unpaid sick time. The St. Paul Earned Sick and Safe Time ordinance will apply to all employers, regardless of size, but gives a six-month grace period to employers with 23 or fewer employees. Both cities have also included a deferral provision for new employers.