Since the announcement of the end of the federal Public Health Emergency, many clients have inquired as to the status of New York’s COVID-19 Paid Leave Law....more
The third vesting period for the Healthcare Worker Bonus (HWB) Program closed on March 31, 2023. Employers of eligible workers should now submit claims for the third vesting period through the HWB portal by May 1, 2023. This...more
On Nov. 21, 2022 New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a Bill A8092-B/S1958 into law that expands retaliatory workplace protections for employees. The newly signed law amends New York Labor Law (NYLL) Section 215 to prohibit...more
On Oct. 11, 2022, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) announced that the Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus program (HWB) now is open to educational institutions....more
Signed into law in 2021, the HERO Act requires private employers to adopt certain measures to protect employees during future airborne infectious disease outbreaks. In this video, Stephanie Fedorka discusses four recent...more
On June 3, 2022, the New York State Legislature passed Senate Bill S9427/Assembly Bill A10477 (the Bill)—a new wage transparency law that would amend the New York Labor Law to add new Section 194-b. If enacted, the new law...more
On March 18, 2022, the NYS Department of Labor updated its NY HERO Act website to confirm that the NYS Commissioner of Health’s designation of COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk...more
On Feb. 15, 2022, the NYS Commissioner of Health extended the NY HERO Act designation for a fifth time through March 17, 2022. The Commissioner will review the CDC’s level of transmission of COVID-19 at that time and...more
On the evening of Feb. 9, 2022, the NYS Department of Labor updated its Model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plans again. Earlier on the same day, New York Gov. Hochul announced an end to the statewide mask...more
In this 45 minute video, our attorneys discuss topics of interest including: COVID Update & Key Developments; 2022 NYS Budget Bill Update for Employers; Hughes v. Northwestern University & ERISA Fiduciaries; Updated (Feb 4...more
On Dec. 22, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) published long-awaited proposed regulations relating to the second half of the NY HERO Act relating to workplace safety committees. ...more
On Dec. 15, 2021, the Acting NYS Commissioner of Health, Mary T. Bassett, M.D., M.P.H., announced the third extension of the designation of COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of...more
On Oct. 31, 2021, the NYS Commissioner of Health announced the further extension of the designation of COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health” through...more
On Sept. 24, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force published guidance related to President Biden’s Executive Order 14042 “Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors.” ...more
It is official–the NYS Commissioner of Health officially posted the extension of the designation of COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health” through...more
The NYS Department of Labor has updated their model airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plans. Notably, the updated plans reflects two key changes.
First, the updated model plan revises the section on “face...more
New York employers are presently “activating” their HERO Act plans, after the New York State Department of Health (DOH) officially designated COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that poses risk to the public...more
On Sept. 6, 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul directed the NYS Commissioner of Health to designate COVID-19 as a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health. The designation is...more
On the evening of July 6, 2021, the NYS Department of Labor (DOL) published the long awaited “Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Standard” (Standard), a general “Model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure...more
As previously reported, the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act) was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on May 5, 2021. The governor announced that his approval was based on his having secured an “agreement”...more
On May 5, 2021, Governor Cuomo officially signed the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act) into law. The HERO Act effectively imposes significant obligations on covered employers to provide and maintain a safe...more
On April 20, 2021, the New York Legislature passed the “New York Health and Essential Rights Act” or “HERO Act.” To date, the bill has not been signed by the Governor, but we expect it to be executed in the near future. The...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) into law. Notably, the law did not create a new mandate of paid sick and family leave. Instead, the ARPA simply extended and expanded the...more
The first few weeks in the Biden administration have been nothing short of busy. At the National Labor Relations Board (Board), it seems like there has been no time to waste in prioritizing items on the administration’s...more
The long-awaited stimulus relief bill has officially been enacted. On Dec. 21, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Bill), several months after aid had lapsed for many individuals and businesses...more