New York Employment Attorney Blog
New York State’s Pay Transparency Law is set to take effect on September 17, 2023. The law was amended on March 3, 2023, well in advance of its effective date, to clarify, limit and expand various employer obligations. New York joins New York City, California, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C. in passing pay transparency legislation that requires covered employers to list compensation ranges for all job advertisements and postings. Read about these latest amendments here.
How Employers Can Prepare for the Enactment of New York City’s New Pay Transparency Law
New York City’s Pay Transparency Law became effective on November 1, 2022. The Law amended the New York City Human Rights Law by prohibiting a covered employer from advertising a job, promotion or transfer opportunity without disclosing the job posting’s minimum and maximum salary range. If you have not already prepared for this new requirement, now is absolutely the time to get going. For New York State employers outside of New York City, there’s no time like the present to begin complying with the law’s requirements so that they can hit the ground running once New York State’s similar pay transparency is signed into law (which it will be) by Governor Hochul.
Read our recent Blog Post on Pay Transparency, which explains the City’s law’s requirements.
New York State on the Verge of Passing Pay Transparency Law
This past January, the NYC Council amended the New York City Human Rights Law requiring employers to post salary ranges for open job positions. We wrote about that law here and here. Other New York counties have passed similar legislation. Now, New York State is looking to do the same. If the amendment to the Labor Law is passed, all New York State employers with four or more employees will be required to post a range of compensation for job openings in advertisement. Senate Bill 9427A.
OSHA Seeks Comments on Proposed Final Rule Protecting Healthcare Workers from COVID-19
On March 22, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) partially reopened the comment period to allow for additional public comment on specific topics covered by its proposed final standard to protect healthcare workers from workplace exposure to COVID-19. Read about it here.
Hello Again: OSHA’s COVID 19 Vaccination Mandate for Private Employers is Back, and NYC has Its Own
Several updates related to COVID-19 vaccination mandates occurred this week at the federal and local levels. On December 17, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the stay on the federal government’s mandate that employees of covered employers receive a COVID-19 vaccination or undergo weekly testing. In addition, New York City’s vaccination mandate for private employers takes effect on December 27th. Click here to read on.
New York Significantly Expands Protections For Employees Under Whistleblower Laws
On October 28, 2021, New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, signed legislation protecting employees who report illegal or dangerous business activities from retaliation by their employers. Read all about it here.
Handling COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates: Federal Agencies Continue to Issue Guidance
In response to COVID-19 vaccination mandates and employer-mandated vaccination policies, federal agencies continue to issue guidance. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) have released additional guidance addressing common employer concerns regarding vaccination status, discrimination, and reasonable accommodations. Continue Reading.
New York Federal Courts Rule on Applicability of Religious Exemption to Separate Vaccine Mandates on Same Day
Two decisions issued by different federal courts in New York on the same day. In one, the court found that New York State could not mandate vaccinations for healthcare workers without considering religious objections. In the other, the court rejected the public school teachers’ argument that New York City was hostile to teachers’ religious objections. Click here to read all about it.
What’s a “Vaccination Ambassador”?
The CDC is encouraging employers to appoint “vaccination ambassadors” to motivate employees to get vaccinated. Although I’m sure that the CDC has good intentions, this latest pronouncement is fraught with pitfalls. This is just my opinion, of course, but here are the problems I see:
- Vaccination ambassadors are also employees and are being encouraged by the CDC to share their vaccination experiences with other employees, who are reticent about getting vaccinated. Sounds nice, right? What could possibly go wrong? Well, first of all, you shouldn’t be requiring any employee to disclose anything about their own medical condition, and discussions about vaccines could end up in that territory. It’s one thing to say that the “shot doesn’t hurt,” but the ambassador should not be discussing medical conditions (or religious beliefs).
- Employees may ask the vaccination ambassador about the effect of the vaccine on their own medical conditions or concerns. Unless the ambassador is a physician (and even then, it’s probably not a good idea), the ambassador should not be opining on side-effects or other consequences of taking the vaccine.
OSHA Issues New Guidance on COVID-19
OSHA just recently posted new guidance intended to inform employers and workers in identifying risks of exposure to COVID-19. You shouldn’t miss this one. Click the following link to read all about it. OSHA Issues New Guidance on COVID-19.