The past week has brought a variety of compliance updates for New York employers related to the HERO Act and Whistleblower Protection Law.
Read MoreOn January 26, 2022, recent amendments to New York State’s whistleblower statute, New York Labor Law § 740, will go into effect. New York State’s whistleblower protection law was established with the intent of protecting employees from retaliation when they engage in certain protected activity related to a violation of a rule or law that “creates and presents a substantial and specific danger to the public health or safety or constitutes health care fraud.” The amended law broadens the definitions of protected activity and adverse action and provides an expanded set of individuals with wider reaching protections and remedies.
Read MoreOver the weekend, the New York State Commissioner of Health (the “Commissioner”) extended the designation of COVID-19 as a highly contagious communicable disease under the HERO Act until February 15, 2022. The Commissioner will again review the level of transmission of COVID-19 in New York State on approximately February 15th and determine whether to continue this designation.
Read MoreOn January 13, the Supreme Court issued two opinions related to national vaccination mandates: staying enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) and staying the preliminary injunctions which were issued on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) rule requiring vaccination for employees of facilities who receive Medicare and Medicaid funding. While not the final word on these requirements, these rulings demonstrate the likely outcome of these legal challenges. The result of these rulings is that many employers will be left subject to myriad state and local requirements related to vaccination, testing, and masking.
Read MoreEffective January 1, 2023, employers in New York City who use machine learning, data analytics, and other artificial intelligence tools to make employment decisions will be subject to new audit and notice requirements. While Illinois and Maryland have enacted laws requiring applicant consent prior to using facial recognition software and artificial intelligence to analyze video interviews, the New York City law is the first of its kind to require that employers have their artificial intelligence tools audited.
Read MoreOn December 15, 2021, the New York City Council approved a bill that, if enacted, would require New York City employers to include the minimum and maximum salary in job postings. The Mayor has not yet signed the bill. This is the latest attempt by NYC to promote greater pay transparency and is part of a broader trend across the country of salary disclosure laws.
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