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Alert

The Rapidly Evolving Legal Landscape for New York Employers

By Rebecca Carr Rizzo, Kenneth W. Taber, Andrew J. Lauria

Alert

By Rebecca Carr Rizzo, Kenneth W. Taber, Andrew J. Lauria

Takeaways

Employers may begin taking deductions from their employees’ pay on July 1, 2017, to finance paid leave benefits to which employees will be entitled beginning January 1, 2018.
New York employers may not prohibit their employees from discussing their wages.
New York’s minimum wage and salary thresholds to qualify for exemptions from overtime are significantly higher than those required by federal law.

05.24.17

New York employers need to prepare for compliance with the most expansive paid leave law in the country and need to ensure compliance with New York’s wage transparency law and minimum wage and salary thresholds for exemptions from overtime, which are significantly higher than those under federal law.

In 2017, employers in New York State are facing a number of new laws affecting a wide range of employment issues, including:

  • an expansive paid family leave law;
  • a law protecting employees’ right to discuss their wages, and;
  • higher minimum wages and salary thresholds for exemptions from New York’s overtime law throughout the state.

Employers must be aware of these new legal requirements and ensure compliance, including by updating their policies, procedures, and agreements.

THE NEW YORK PAID FAMILY LEAVE LAW

In 2016, Governor Cuomo signed into law the New York Paid Family Leave Law (the PFLL), establishing an employee-funded, partial wage replacement program for employees in New York State. Under the PFLL, eligible employees will be paid benefits from a state fund when taking leave to bond with a child, care for a close relative with a serious health condition, or assist with familial obligations when a family member is called to active military service. Once fully phased in, this law will be the most far-reaching paid leave law in the United States, offering 12 weeks of paid leave in any 52-week period.

Employers are permitted (but are not required) to begin collecting deductions from employees’ wages on July 1, 2017, and on January 1, 2018, eligible employees will be entitled to start taking paid leave. New York employers are, therefore, well advised to act promptly to obtain Paid Family Leave (PFL) coverage under either an existing or new insurance plan (or self-insure) and to revise their existing policies, procedures, and employment agreement provisions regarding employee leave. Employers must provide full PFL benefits directly to their employees, at the employer’s own expense, if the employer (i) does not collect employee contributions to provide family leave coverage, and/or (ii) does not provide coverage by purchase of an insurance policy. The summary of the PFLL set forth below is based on the contents of the law itself, as well as on the proposed regulations issued by the New York Workers’ Compensation Board on February 22, 2017. Final regulations have not yet been issued.

Read more: The Rapidly Evolving Legal Landscape for New York Employers

Tags
Employment Law
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