On December 10, 2021, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced a new mandate requiring that masks be worn in indoor public spaces, unless a covered business has implemented a mandatory vaccination requirement. The...more
On December 6, 2021, outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced major expansions to New York’s “Key to NYC” program, which was implemented through Emergency Executive Order 225 and became effective on August 17,...more
On October 28, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill S4394A, which amends section 740 of the New York Labor Law (NYLL) to enhance protections for private-sector employees who allege retaliation for...more
The New York State Division of Human Rights (NYSDHR) recently announced that for complaints filed on or after October 12, 2021, it will no longer discontinue complaints following private settlements. This announcement comes...more
On September 23, 2021, the New York City Council passed six bills - a first-of-its-kind legislative package directed at gig economy workers - that seeks to provide protections to the city’s food delivery workers. The bills,...more
On August 3, 2021, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that proof of vaccination would be required for individuals to enter certain indoor establishments. In a first of its kind mandate, New York City officially...more
8/20/2021
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Response ,
Enforcement ,
Entertainment Venues ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Mayor de Blasio ,
NYCHRL ,
Public Health ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Vaccinations
On June 4, 2021, Governor Ned Lamont signed House Bill No. 5158, modifying Connecticut’s breastfeeding in the workplace law to expand employers’ obligations to provide lactation rooms. The new law requires employers with one...more
On March 31, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), which legalizes the adult recreational use of marijuana and revises Section 201-d of the New York Labor Law....more
On March 12, 2021, New York State enacted a law that requires all employers to provide their New York employees with up to four hours of paid time off per injection to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. At the time of enactment, the...more
4/1/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Governor Cuomo ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
State Labor Departments ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
On March 12, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law legislation requiring all employers, both public and private sector, to provide employees with up to four hours of paid time off per injection to receive the COVID-19...more
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) issued guidance on January 20, 2021, clarifying certain aspects of New York’s COVID-19–related quarantine leave law and expanding certain benefits under the law. Parts of the...more
The year 2020 has certainly come with its share of new challenges. Now, with the presidential election less than a month away, heightened tensions around the country, new remote work environments, videoconferences offering a...more
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law New York City Council Int. No. 2032-A on September 28, 2020, after the city council passed the bill a few days earlier. The legislation, which took effect on September 30,...more
Connecticut employers need to start their preparations for the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA), a law that requires all private employers with Connecticut employees to provide paid leave to eligible employees. The...more
On December 6, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in Yu v. Hasaki Restaurant, Inc., No. 17-3388, that judicial approval is not required to settle Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claims via a Federal...more
12/18/2019
/ Appeals ,
Dismissals ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Judicial Review ,
Ministerial Function ,
Offer of Judgment ,
Reversal ,
Rule 68 ,
Stipulations
As we approach the November 2019 elections, New York employers may want to keep in mind the state’s recently amended Election Law, which entitles employees to time off to vote. Since April 2019, all employers have been...more
Attention, Connecticut employers. October 1, 2019, marks the implementation of two new Connecticut laws. First, Connecticut will begin gradually increasing its minimum wage on October 1, 2019, raising the minimum wage to...more
9/27/2019
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Communication
On June 18, 2019, Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Connecticut’s new sexual harassment prevention legislation, known as the Time’s Up Act. The law significantly broadens sexual harassment training requirements, extending...more
As of January 1, 2019, Connecticut employers are prohibited from inquiring about prospective employees’ wage or salary histories. Connecticut’s new pay equity law is intended to promote equality in pay and close the wage gap....more
1/2/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Application ,
Equal Pay ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
A Connecticut federal court judge provided further clarification for employers concerning Connecticut’s Palliative Use of Marijuana Act (PUMA). In its second decision in Noffsinger v. SSC Niantic Operating Company, LLC...more
9/18/2018
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Punitive Damages
The Supreme Court of Connecticut recently held, by a unanimous decision, that termination was not the only appropriate disciplinary action for a public employee who had been caught smoking marijuana during working hours. In...more
8/30/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
CT Supreme Court ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Public Employees ,
Public Policy ,
Reinstatement ,
Reversal ,
Termination
The minimum salary threshold to qualify for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will more than double on December 1, 2016, from $23,660 per year to $47,476 per...more
6/21/2016
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Ban the Box ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Electronic Reporting ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
LMRDA ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Minimum Salary ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Persuader Rules ,
Preemption ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
On June 1, 2016, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy signed into law a “ban-the-box” statute, which will take effect on January 1, 2017. The law, “An Act Concerning Fair Chance Employment,” Public Act No. 16-83, prohibits...more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has recently held that a human resources manager could be held liable as an employer under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In issuing its decision in Graziadio v. Culinary...more
4/15/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Association Discrimination ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Interference Claims ,
Personal Liability ,
Retaliation ,
Termination
In a recent decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court found that a plumbing foreman was not entitled to compensation for the time he spent commuting to and from job sites and his home at the beginning and end of his workday,...more