New NY Laws Affect Unemployment Transparency, Employer Social Media Access

Posted on

There are a number of timely employment law and human resources updates for the last quarter of 2023 which are worth noting but do not necessarily warrant separate, independent posts.  Here is a summary of a couple noteworthy new laws in New York.

Taking effect November 13, 2023, New York law will formally require employers to inform employees of their right to file for unemployment benefits at any time they are subject to a permanent or temporary separation from employment, reduction in hours, or any other interruption of continued employment resulting in total or partial unemployment.  Notice must be provided in a form approved by the New York State Department of Labor.

Governor Kathy Hochul also signed a bill into law prohibiting employers from requesting, requiring, or coercing any employee or job applicant: (i) to disclose his or her user name and password for personal social media accounts; (ii) to access the employee’s or applicant’s personal social media accounts in the presence of an employer; or (iii) to reproduce any photographs, videos or other information within an employee’s or applicant’s personal social media accounts.  Protected social media accounts include any accounts accessible through electronic communications devices including computers, telephones and personal digital assistants.

This new law prohibits employers from retaliating against or refusing to hire any employee or applicant for refusing to give access to his or her personal social media accounts.

There is a significant exception in the law allowing employers to access social media accounts provided by the employer or used for the employer’s business purposes.  An employer can also access an account when that employer pays for the account.  Finally, employers can prohibit employees from using certain websites when accessed on the employer’s network or electronic communications devices.  In all of these instances, the employer can rely upon the exception as long as it gives prior notice of its intention to reserve the right of access.  Significantly, employers still have access to publicly available social media accounts when making hiring or personnel decisions.

This law takes effect in March of 2024.

If you are an employer impacted by either of the above new laws, be sure to consult with your legal counsel and take steps to make sure your company practices and policies are in compliance.

Unionization Efforts and New York Law

Posted on

If you follow the news, you have probably heard about the high profile union strikes involving the screen writers and actors and, even more recently, the strike by the United Auto Workers.  In previous blog posts, we have discussed the unionization efforts in Amazon warehouses and Starbucks locations.

There is no question that unionization and union activity has increased in recent years across the United States.  Cornell University maintains a strike database showing that from September 1 of last year until August 31 of this year, unions initiated 70 strikes with 100 or more workers participating for more than a week.  This statistic represents a 40% increase from the same period the year before.

Strikes are not only about increased wages.  When freight railroad workers went on strike, they were looking, in part, for more paid sick leave.  Healthcare workers have struck for increased staffing.  The screen writers and actors are looking for protections against the use of artificial intelligence in the industry. 

Not all recent strikes have met with success, but a majority have. 

What does this mean for employers?  Pay attention to your workforce because the likelihood of union activity is increasing.  Be aware that benefits such as paid sick leave and working conditions may be as important to workers as the amount of their wages.

Understand the options available to you as an employer when there are unionization stirrings in your workforce.  New York State recently passed a law prohibiting employers from refusing to hire, discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee who refuses to attend an employer-sponsored meeting when the primary purpose of the meeting is to communicate “the employer’s opinion concerning religious or political matters.”  The definition of “religious or political matters” specifically includes labor organizations.  In other words, it is now unlawful for employers in New York to hold mandatory meetings in an effort to dissuade employees from organizing or joining a union.  This prohibition also includes requiring employees to listen to a speech or view communications for the purposes of dissuading them from unionizing.

New York is the fourth state to prohibit such meetings, joining Connecticut, Maine and Minnesota. 

For the text of the New York law, visit https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2023/s4982.  

Business Opportunity with Return and Earn

Posted on

In September of 2021, the Murphy Administration instituted a program called Return and Earn.  The Return and Earn program incentivizes New Jersey employers to hire and train dislocated workers with identifiable skills gaps.  This past spring, presumably due to low employer engagement with the program, the Murphy Administration broadened the population of employers eligible to participate in the program and increased the available incentives. 

Here is how the program works.  Under new, broader eligibility requirements, private and not-for-profit employers with up to 500 full-time employees can participate in the program.  The New Jersey Department of Labor works with interested employers to identify appropriate, eligible job candidates.  Employers provide substantive training either at their worksite, or virtually, resulting in skill badges or industry-recognized credentials for the participating employees.

Candidates for employment must be New Jersey residents working a minimum of 32 hours per week, considered full-time, and the position offered must pay at least $16 per hour.  Seasonal, temporary, part-time, commission-based or 1099 positions are ineligible.

In exchange for employers hiring candidates within the program, the State reimburses employers 50 percent of the wages paid for regular hours worked for the first six months of the training period, capped at a maximum of $20,000 in wages per employee.  The program also caps the aggregate amount of wage reimbursement for a participating employer at $200,000 across all employees.  These caps were increased this past spring from the original limits which were $10,000 for each employee and $40,000 in the aggregate per employer.

The Return and Earn program also provides prospective job candidates a $500 incentive to reenter the workforce and participate in the initiative.

For more information about this program and how to participate visit: https://www.nj.gov/labor/lwdhome/press/2023/20230331_updatedreturnandearn.shtml.

New Jersey’s New Temporary Workers Law Now In Effect

Posted on

On August 5, 2023, the majority of the provisions of New Jersey’s “Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights” took effect.  Under the new legislation, both temporary help service firms and their clients have additional mandatory notification, reporting and other requirements.  This article summarizes some of the changes effective as of August 5.

At the onset it is important to note that the Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights applies only to certain categories of employees identified in the law as employees in “designated classification placements”.  The law defines “designated classification placements” as work performed in a list of occupational categories established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics including, but not limited to, protective service workers, food preparation and serving related occupations, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations, personal care and service occupations, construction laborers.

Temporary laborers in these “designated classification placements” are the employees protected by the law.  The requirements under the law apply to temporary help service firms and third party clients with temporary laborers in the “designated classification placements”. 

Temporary help service firms must now provide temporary laborers notices with information about their work assignment at the time they are dispatched to their worksites.  Additional notices must be provided when any information contained in the notices changes.  Temporary help service firms must also provide 48 hours notice, where possible, when work assignments change.

Temporary help service firms must now provide detailed and itemized statements with paystubs.  These statements, either separate or contained within the paystub, must include the hours worked, the rate of pay, and any deductions.

Temporary help service firms must also follow new recordkeeping requirements.

As of August 5, 2023, temporary help service firms may no longer charge their employees for transportation to and from worksites.  This prohibition extends to third party providers referred by the temporary help service firms and third party clients as well.

Clients of temporary help service firms must also comply with new mandatory requirements under the law.  Among other things, third party clients must provide weekly reports to the temporary help service firms with information about temporary employee wages and hours.  Third party clients must also provide notices to temporary employees on single day assignments.

There remains one section of the law that has not yet taken effect.  This section relates to temporary help service firm registrations with the State.  We await further information about this section from the State of New Jersey.

In the meantime, temporary help service firms and their clients are encouraged to research the law and its accompanying regulations and review them with their legal teams to ensure compliance.  The law contains significant penalties for violations of its different sections.  

For further information, please visit https://www.nj.gov/labor/worker-protections/myworkrights/temporaryworkers.shtml.

A Leniency Program for New Jersey Small Businesses

Posted on

It often feels like business owners must contend with a constant stream of new governmental rules and regulations.  However, under A-4753/S-3208, signed into law in March and taking effect just this week, the State of New Jersey is attempting to ease the regulatory burden on small businesses.  Small businesses in New Jersey, defined as businesses having a maximum of 50 full-time employees or the equivalent thereof, now may have a 60 calendar day “cure” period to address and resolve first-time violations in order to avoid paying monetary fines or civil penalties.  In effect, this new legislation grants state agencies the authority to suspend the enforcement of penalties on select first-time violations at their discretion to allow time for the small business to address the source of the penalty.

There are limitations to when the State can offer this “cure” period.  Leniency is not available when a businesses’ violation results in a significant adverse impact on public safety or welfare, poses a risk to the environment, or puts fellow employees’ income or employment benefits in jeopardy.

Further, there are seven exceptions carved into the law where leniency is not available.  These exceptions are: (1) criminal violations; (2) intentional violations; (3) violations that are grounds for the suspension or revocation of the owner’s authority to operate the business; (4) violations that are grounds for the business to be disqualified from bidding for state contracts; (5) violations of any state employment or labor-related law; (6) violations that are grounds for the issuance of a stop-work order; and (7) violations of federal law that require the State to impose a penalty.

Failure to address the violation during the 60 day “cure” period will result in assessment of the applicable fines and penalties available under law.  If you have been notified of a first-time violation, or you believe that a first-time violation may be eligible for a cure, you may contact the agency that issued the violation.

Employers are encouraged to visit https://business.nj.gov/recent/leniency-may-be-available-for-first-time-violators-of-some-rules-regulations for more information concerning this new legislation.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7