New York City Amends Safe and Sick Time Regulations

On September 15, 2023, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection issued amended rules relating to the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”). The amendments codified the New York City Council statutory amendments to the ESSTA in 2020, which was designed to align the ESSTA with the New York State Paid Sick Leave Law. The amended rules went into effect on October 15, 2023. More ›

Hinshaw Insights for Employers Alert: Chicago Adopts Significant New Paid Leave Requirements

Chicago employers are facing significant new mandatory paid leave requirements following action by the Chicago City Council late last week. The new ordinance requires both paid leave and paid sick leave accruals, effectively doubling the minimum number of paid leave days from five to ten days annually. 

On our main website, read our Q&A to get all your employer compliance questions answered about the new ordinance.

New York Limits Employee Invention Assignment Provisions

Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law last month that amended the New York State Labor Law by adding a new section (203-f). The law prohibits any clause in an employment agreement that requires employees to assign their inventions to their employer if the employee created them on their own time and without using the employer’s resources or trade secrets. More ›

New York Prohibits Employers From Requiring Access To Employee's Social Media Account Information

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law last month that amended New York State Labor Law, prohibiting employers from requesting or requiring employees and job applicants to disclose their social media account information. The law also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees or job applicants who refuse to disclose their social media account information.  More ›

Governor Hochul Signs a Series of Bills Amending New York Labor and Employment Law

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill last month that amended the New York State's Human Rights Law to state that interns are protected from unlawful discrimination based on gender identity or expression. Since 2014, the New York State Human Rights Law has protected interns from unlawful discrimination based on their protected class status. In 2019, gender identity or expression was added as a protected class throughout the Human Rights Law, except in the intern provision. The newly enacted law appears purposed to correct an unintended oversight and to underscore that gender identity or expression is a protected class for interns. More ›

OSHA Announces Proposed Rule Change Expanding Authorized Employee Representation During Workplace Inspection to Include Union Officials and Other Non-Employees

On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend its regulations regarding who employees may authorize to act as their representative and accompany the Compliance Safety and Health Officer (CSHO) during physical workplace inspections. Under the NPRM, the employees may designate an employee of the employer or a non-employee third party whose relevant experience with particular hazards or conditions or language skills are deemed reasonably necessary to conduct an effective and thorough inspection by the CSHO. Specifically, the NPRM clarifies that these non-employees may include interpreters, officials with advocacy groups or local safety counsels, and union representatives. More ›

DOL Proposes Increases in Exempt Employee Salary and Annual Compensation Requirements

On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update and revise the salary requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for exemptions from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for employees subject to the executive, administrative, or professional exemptions, otherwise known as the "white collar" exemptions. This change would also affect computer employees classified as exempt and who receive a salary. More ›

NLRB Reverses 50-Year Precedent and Lessens Standard for a Bargaining Order Without a Secret Ballot Election

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reversed over fifty years of established precedent on August 25, 2023, when it decided to overrule its 1971 decision in Linden Lumber and reinstate a modified version of its 1949 Joy Silk doctrine. The practical impact of the NLRB's decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC is that recourse to a private ballot election to test a union's claim of majority support may decline. This decision also likely will limit the right of employees to a private ballot election free of coercion as they decide whether to support a union as their exclusive bargaining representative. More ›

EEOC Announces Proposed Regulations to Enforce the Pregnancy Workers Fairness Act

On August 11, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to issue regulations that would support the implementation and enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).^[1] Enacted in 2022, the PWFA requires covered entities (i.e., private and public sector employees with at least fifteen employees, Congress, federal agencies, employment agencies, and labor organizations)^[2] to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees or applicants with known limitations relating to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the covered entities' business operations. The PFWA became effective on June 27, 2023. More ›

New York City Prohibits Discrimination Based on Height or Weight

Earlier this year, Mayor Eric Adams signed a bill amending the New York City Human Rights Law, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of an individual's height or weight. Set to go into effect on November 22, 2023, the bill does permit an employer to consider height or weight under the following limited situations: More ›