Even if you’re not based in New York State or New York City, the new sexual harassment laws now beginning to take effect may apply to your organization. If an employer is located outside of New York and has employees working in New York, the regulation would apply to those employees working in the state of New York. The state and city have different provisions for employee communication and training along with various dates for compliance.
The state law applies to all employers, regardless of size, even if you only have one employee working in New York for one day. This includes remote employees who work from their homes. It also applies to all employees at out-of-state employers with New York State government contracts, even if no one steps foot in the state.
As a client, you have access to the New York Sexual Harassment Prevention Training that satisfies State and City Requirements.
New York’s Compassionate Care Act (N.Y. Pub. Health Law §§ 3360 – 3369-e) permits limited use of medical marijuana by individuals suffering from covered medical conditions. Certified patients permitted to use medical marijuana are considered to be “disabled” under the state’s human rights laws. However, the law does not:
- Prevent employers from enforcing policies that prohibit employees from performing their job duties while impaired by a controlled substance.
- Require employers to take actions that would violate federal law or cause them to lose federal contracts or funding.
- Require health insurance plans to provide coverage for medical marijuana.
- Require employers to accommodate the use of medical marijuana in workplaces.
New York City: Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing Banned
Effective May 10, 2020, a New York City Charter Rule (Int. 1445-2019) prohibits New York City employers from conducting pre-employment drug testing of prospective employees for marijuana. Under the law, it is an unlawful discriminatory practice for a New York City employer, labor organization, employment agency, or agent thereof (employer) to require a prospective employee to submit to testing for the presence of any tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) or marijuana in his or her system as a condition of employment.
However, this prohibition does not apply to those applying to work:
- As police officers or peace officers, or any law enforcement or investigative function.
- As construction or demolition workers.
- As commercial drivers.
- In any position requiring the supervision or care of children, medical patients, or vulnerable persons.
- In any position with the potential to significantly impact the health or safety of employees or members of the public.
Additionally, the law does not apply to drug testing required pursuant to:
- Any regulation promulgated by the federal Department of Transportation that requires testing of a prospective employee.
- Any contract entered into between the federal government and an employer or any grant of financial assistance from the federal government to an employer that requires drug testing of prospective employees as a condition of receiving the contract or grant.
- Any federal or state statute, regulation, or order that requires drug testing of prospective employees for purposes of safety or security.
- Any applicants whose prospective employer is a party to a valid collective bargaining agreement that specifically addresses the pre-employment drug testing of such applicants.
The New York City Human Rights Commission will create the rules for implementation of this law.
(May 29, 2019)
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to provide unpaid, reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for a year after the child’s birth. The frequency of breaks needed to express milk as well as the duration of each break will likely vary. Additionally, although employers are not required under the FLSA to compensate nursing mothers for breaks taken for the purpose of expressing milk, where employers already provide compensated breaks, an employee who uses that break time to express milk must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for break time. The FLSA’s general requirement that the employee must be completely relieved from duty or else the time must be compensated as work time also applies.
Employers are not required to create a permanent, dedicated space for use by nursing mothers. However, employers are required to provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk. A space temporarily created or converted into a space for expressing milk or made available when needed by the nursing mother is sufficient provided that the space follows these guidelines. The location provided must be functional as a space for expressing breast milk. If the space is not dedicated to the nursing mothers’ use, it must be available when needed in order to meet the statutory requirement. Of course, employers may choose to create permanent, dedicated space if they determine that is best to meet their obligations under the law.
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Yes. Nonexempt employees may be paid hourly, salary, commission or fee as long as they are compensated for all hours worked at a rate not less than the state (or local) minimum wage and are compensated at one and one half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked beyond 40 in the work week (or eight hours in a day for some states).
