New York Legislation

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As we discussed in June, the New York State Legislature passed a bill usurping the power of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) to regulate labor disputes in the private sector while the Board lacks a quorum. On September 5, 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the bill into law, which became effective immediately. Unsurprisingly, shortly thereafter, NLRB Acting General Counsel William Cowen announced that the NLRB is preparing to file a lawsuit challenging the new law, which he called an attack on the “core jurisdiction” of the NLRB.Continue Reading The NLRB Announces Its Intention to Sue Just as Governor Hochul Signs Bill Asserting Jurisdiction Over Labor Relations in New York

With mounting uncertainty about the lack of a quorum and near term future of the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB” or the “Board”), New York State legislators are attempting to usurp the powers delegated to the Board by Congress. New York lawmakers have passed legislation that, if signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, would grant state agencies the power to enforce federal labor law. Employers could face significant challenges if this bill becomes law. Most concerning, employers could have a collective bargaining agreement imposed on them by an arbitrator.Continue Reading New York State Looks to Take Over Labor Law Enforcement Amidst Uncertainty at the NLRB

The New York Legislature is set to make another attempt to ban non-competes for all but highly compensated individuals. At the end of the 2023 legislative session, the New York Legislature passed a bill that would have banned non-compete agreements for all employees regardless of wage or income level. Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed this bill while expressing her support for a more limited ban stating that she wanted to “strike a balance” between protecting middle-class and low-wage workers and “allowing New York’s businesses to retain highly compensated talent.”Continue Reading New York Legislature Proposes New Bill Banning Non-Compete Agreements

Beginning on January 1, 2025, all New York employers will be required to provide eligible employees with 20 hours of paid prenatal leave (“Paid Prenatal Leave”) during any 52-week period for health care services during or related to their pregnancy. The law was initially passed in May 2024 by Governor Kathy Hochul, and amends New York Labor Law § 196-b, the state’s Paid Sick and Safe Leave law. On December 2, 2024, the New York Department of Labor (“NYDOL”) released a long-awaited series of FAQs (the “FAQs”) clarifying a number of outstanding questions regarding the law’s application. The law is the first of its kind in the United States, and provides paid, protected leave for pregnant employees separate and apart from other available leave options. Key highlights of the Paid Prenatal Leave law are summarized below.Continue Reading New York Paid Prenatal Leave Begins Next Year – What Employers Need to Know

In an effort to mitigate the risk of violence at work, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the New York Retail Worker Safety Act (RWSA) on September 5, 2024. The law introduces stringent workplace violence prevention measures for retail employers, including the establishment of a workplace violence prevention plan, training program, and the installation of a panic button.Continue Reading Safety First for Retailers — New York Boosts Retail Safety with Mandatory Workplace Violence Prevention Plans, Annual Training Requirements and Panic Buttons

On November 2, 2023, the New York City Council passed a bill[1] requiring the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (“DCWP”), in coordination with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (“MOIA”), the New York City Commission on Human Rights (“NYCCHR”), and community and labor organizations, to create and publish a workers’ bill of rights.Continue Reading New York City Employers Must Display Workers’ Bill of Rights Poster Beginning July 1, 2024

On September 15, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law that made dramatic changes to the enforceability of invention assignment provisions in employment agreements and likely in related agreements including offer letters and Confidentiality, Information and Invention Assignment Agreements (CIIAAs). The law took effect immediately and adds New York to a growing list of states with laws placing limits on invention assignment provisions.Continue Reading Necessity Is the Mother of Invention – But New York Law Says Employers Better Not Take the Credit

On April 6, 2023, the New York City Department of Consumer and Workforce Protection (“DCWP”) promulgated its final regulations (the “Final Regulations”) regarding the New York City Automated Employment Decision Tools Law (“AEDTL”). In connection with the Final Regulations, the DCWP also notified employers that it would further delay enforcement of the AEDTL from April 15, 2023 to July 5, 2023. The Final Regulations, among other things, expand the definition of “machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence” as used in the AEDTL and clarify specifics around the bias audits required by the AEDTL.Continue Reading NYC Issues Final Regulations for Automated Employment Decision Tools Law, Delays Enforcement to July 5, 2023

Since 2017, New York State’s Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act has required New York State employers to provide daily paid or unpaid break time to express milk up to three years following the birth of a child, and to provide a room for expressing milk, in privacy, close to the employee’s work location. On December 9, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation, effective June 7, 2023, to clarify these obligations. New York City employers will be familiar with much of these clarifications, as they generally track requirements established in New York City’s 2018 lactation accommodations law previously reported here. But the New York State law is different in several important respects. Continue Reading New York State Catches up to New York City, Expanding Accommodations for Nursing Mothers in the Workplace