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 from the first stimulus bill passed early-on in the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress came together to push through a 5,593 page, $900 billion stimulus package intended to help those individuals and businesses who continue to struggle economically as a result of the ongoing pandemic. After expressing bipartisan criticism of its contents, President Trump finally signed the Bill on Dec. 27, 2020. 

Read More >> Long-Awaited Stimulus Relief Bill Has Passed: Key Highlights for Employers

In what will surely be an important decision for “gig” economy businesses, the Third Department recently upheld two decisions of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board finding that Uber is an employer and therefore required to make unemployment insurance contributions.¹ 

Read More >> Third Department Upholds Finding that Uber is an Employer

On Wednesday, December 16, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released new guidance (the Guidance) for employers regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. While the Guidance offers some insight for employers who are considering offering vaccinations to employees or requiring that employees get the COVID-19 vaccination, a number of questions still remain unanswered. The following are some key takeaways from the Guidance.

Read More >> EEOC Issues COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance

Employers in New York will be required to comply with the new state minimum wage rates and the new state salary thresholds to qualify for the executive and administrative exemptions, effective December 31, 2020.

Read More >> Reminder: New York Minimum Wage Rates and Salary Thresholds for the Executive and Administrative Exemptions Will Increase on December 31, 2020

Employers issuing notices pursuant to the New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (NY WARN) are now subject to additional requirements due to a statutory amendment that Gov. Cuomo signed into law on November 11, 2020. This amendment, which is effective immediately, expands the list of entities whom covered employers must notify prior to implementing a plant closing or mass layoff. The list now includes: (1) the chief elected official of the unit(s) of local government and the school district(s) in which the plant closing or mass layoff will occur; and (2) each locality which provides police, firefighting, emergency medical or ambulance services or other emergency services to the site of employment subject to the plant closing or mass layoff.

Read More >> Governor Cuomo Signs Amendment to the New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act

If you are a municipal employer in New York State struggling to find the answer to that question, you are not alone. In the absence of express language in your collective bargaining agreement, a definitive response is elusive. So elusive that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has reached out to New York’s Court of Appeals for guidance. Whatever answer the Court of Appeals returns, if any, the value of a carefully negotiated and precisely drafted collective bargaining agreement cannot be overstated. 

Read More >> How Long Does Your CBA Obligate You to Pay for Retiree Health Insurance Coverage?

On September 30, 2020, New York City’s amendments to the Earned Sick and Safe Time Act (ESSTA) became effective. The revisions changed ESSTA to be consistent with the New York Paid Sick Leave Law, and also added other requirements for employers. More information regarding the scope of these changes and their impact on employers can be found in our prior blog post.

Read More >> Employers with Employees in NYC Must Distribute Updated Earned Sick and Safe Time Notice Today

On October 20, 2020, the New York State Department of Labor released its long-awaited Guidance (the Guidance) on Paid Sick Leave (PSL). Although the Guidance provides some clarity for employers, it also leaves many questions unanswered. The following is a summary of some the information provided by the Guidance. 

Read More >> New York Releases Guidance on Paid Sick Leave

On September 28, 2020, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a bill amending the Earned Sick and Safe Time Act (ESSTA). The amended ESSTA took effect on September 30, 2020. Although the intent of the amended law was to make ESSTA synchronous with the New York State Paid Sick Leave Law (NYSSL), the revisions also made significant changes to the law unrelated to the NYSSL. 

Read More >> NYC Amends Earned Sick and Safe Time Act

This is a brief reminder that private sector employers in New York should take note of a new payroll record-keeping requirement, quietly tucked away in the state’s massive “budget” legislation.

More specifically, Section 195(4) of the New York Labor Law will be amended – effective today, September 30, 2020 – to require that an employer’s weekly “payroll records” must include the “amount of sick leave provided to each employee.” Notably, the amendment does not require employee pay stubs to include this same sick leave information.

Read More >> New Record-Keeping Requirements in New York, Including, Effective Today, Employee Sick Time

On September 22, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) issued proposed regulations regarding the determination of whether an individual is an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or an independent contractor who is not subject to the FLSA's minimum wage and overtime requirements. The proposed regulations are expected to be published in the Federal Register on September 25, and comments can be submitted for 30 days after publication. If the proposed regulations are adopted, it will likely be easier for businesses to classify employees as independent contractors under the FLSA.

Read More >> The U.S. Department of Labor Issues Proposed Regulations to Determine Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed employers in a difficult position when it comes to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act. New protocols for maintaining workplace safety necessitate inquiries about employees’ health that present privacy pitfalls. Moreover, widespread teleworking early in the pandemic has created new questions about reasonable accommodations as workplaces have reopened. On September 8, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) supplemented its existing FAQs to provide additional guidance on some of these issues. The full guidance, including the recent additions, is available here. The most notable points from the September 8 additional guidance are summarized below.

Read More >> The EEOC Supplements Its Guidance on the Application of Disability Discrimination Laws to COVID-19 Issues