Category: Labor Law

January 27, 2021

What the 2020 Election Results Mean for New York Employers (Webinar Recap)

On January 26, 2021, I presented a complimentary webinar called “What the 2020 Election Results Mean for New York Employers”. For those who couldn’t attend the live webinar, I’m happy to make it available for you to watch at your convenience.

In the webinar, I discuss:

Still Coping with COVID
Biden Administration Priorities
Anticipated New York Legislation
Unemployment
Union Activity

Without making concrete predictions, we can anticipate what the general tone of new administrative and legislative priorities will look like. Under Democratic-led executive and legislative branches, both the New York State and federal governments are likely to expand worker protections, and hence employer obligations, in 2021.

The groundwork is already in place for further developments related to the coronavirus pandemic. But the initiatives won’t end there. We expect the long-term impact on the workplace of the 2020 elections to be significant.

Don’t have time to watch the whole webinar right now? Click here to download the slides from the webinar.

Why You Should Watch “What the 2020 Election Results Mean for New York Employers”

New York employers have already been facing ever-increasing legal obligations regarding the workforce. This trend will continue in 2021 and may go much further than before. Beyond Albany, the federal government is now also poised to shift rights to employees. This will further establish the critical function of maintaining human resources compliance for all New York employers.

Among the administrative and legislative priorities in Washington will be renewed support for the labor movement. The 2020 election results will inevitably revitalize union organizing efforts as well as empower unions in collective bargaining. Any private-sector employers with unions or at any risk of unionization should be aware of this shift and prepare now to best position the company in its labor relations.

Other areas of focus will include leave laws, minimum wage, and worker health and safety. Staying on top of these changes will be a huge task for employers in 2021. Watch this webinar to prepare yourself for what’s to come.

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December 21, 2020

Top Posts of 2020

As 2020 (finally?) comes to an end, we again look at the most viewed New York Management Law Blog posts from this year. Did you miss any of the top posts of 2020?

These posts reflect some topics that most interested New York employers in 2020. Do they also suggest what will be top of mind in 2021?

Curious about last year? Click to see what posts made the list in 2019.

Coronavirus

We never saw this coming, but most of 2020 was spent addressing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This generated numerous posts on closing and reopening requirements specific to various industries. But the most viewed were those that applied across the board.

Both the federal government and New York State implemented COVID-19 related leave laws in March. We discussed them here:

Congress: Some Employers Must Give Paid COVID-19 Leave

New York State Creates COVID-19 Quarantine Leave for Employees

Once non-essential businesses were able to reopen in New York, they had to have a COVID-19 safety plan. This requirement remains in place as of year-end. Here’s our popular Closer Look at the COVID-19 New York Safety Plan Template.

2021 New York Minimum Wage

Our annual post reminding employers of increases to both minimum wage and the salary threshold for overtime exemptions under state law remained a must-read.

Remember, these changes take effect on December 31, 2020, not January 1st. If you haven’t adjusted accordingly yet, now’s the time!

Some required pay levels will continue to rise in the coming years. This post includes charts showing those planned increases.

New York Paid Sick Leave

Perhaps spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, New York passed a universal sick leave law affecting all private-sector workplaces in the state. The law grants all non-government employees sick leave starting January 1, 2021. Many will be eligible to receive paid leave of up to 40 or 56 hours based on company size.

This post provides the basics of the new leave obligations.

The New York State Department of Labor provided initial guidance on the law through FAQs, discussed here. The DOL recently proposed regulations that are subject to a 60-day comment period. We plan a follow-up post when the regulations become final.

We also presented a webinar for employers on the New York Paid Sick Leave law. You can watch the recording here:

Other New York Developments

Our readers were also interested in more targeted New York employment law changes.

In 2019, the State expanded its paid voting leave requirements. Apparently perceiving the shift as too burdensome on employers, the law was amended back in 2020.

The NYS DOL also took action to reduce and eventually eliminate tip credits toward minimum wage outside of the hospitality industry. The phaseout will be complete as of the end of 2020. Read more here.

How Far Will New York Go?

In the 2019 top posts article, I predicted that New York would continue to regulate the workplace more in 2020. I couldn’t have predicted the COVID-19 outbreak and related restrictions, but the paid sick leave law alone was a gamechanger.

Two items I mentioned a year ago that didn’t get enacted in 2020 may be back on the table sometime in 2021.

In 2019, the Legislature passed a bereavement leave bill that Governor Cuomo vetoed. The Legislature now has enough Democratic votes to override a veto if they want to,

And after previous close calls, might workplace bullying get over the hump next year?

Plus, New York City is eliminating at-will employment for fast-food workers. Could that development spread statewide? Beyond the fast-food industry?

Don’t Stop at the Top Posts of 2020!

I hope you find it helpful to look back at what happened last year, but you should also look forward. For some of the reasons stated above, and others, 2021 could be another big year in employment law. Please continue to follow the New York Management Law Blog for updates.

One great way to keep up with emerging topics in New York labor and employment law is to subscribe to our monthly email newsletter. If you want more frequent news and insights, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn!

See you in 2021!

August 21, 2020

NLRB Proposes Reduced Disclosure of Employee Contact Information in Union Elections

On July 28, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proposed additional amendments to its current rules and regulations governing election procedures. One of the proposals would modify what employee contact information employers must provide to unions before the election. Specifically, employers would no longer be required to disclose employees’ personal email addresses and home and cellular telephone numbers.

History of Employee Voter Lists

In a 1966 case involving Excelsior Underwear, Inc., the NLRB established a requirement that employers provide unions petitioning to represent employers with a list of eligible voters before the election. Employers originally had to include only the employees’ home addresses:

“[The access of all employees to such communications can be insured only if all parties have the names and addresses of all the voters. In other words, by providing all parties with employees’ names and addresses, we maximize the likelihood that all the voters will be exposed to the arguments for, as well as against, union representation.”

In 2014, an Obama-era NLRB majority revised its election rules and regulations. These amendments included new employee contact information requirements for the voter lists. Employers had to disclose all “available” personal email addresses and home and personal cellular telephone numbers of all eligible voters. According to the NLRB in 2014, this addition addressed the dramatic change in electronic communications. Reasons provided in support of this greater disclosure included:

The prevalence of telephones as compared to 1966;
The ability to leave voicemails if someone doesn’t answer the original phone call;
The emergence of cellular and smartphones as a universal point of contact combining telephone, email, and text messaging;
The need to reach persons who rely on their phone, rather than email for communication; and
The fact that some employers may not bother to update physical addresses and may contact their employees exclusively via phone.

Proposed Change Regarding Employee Contact Information

The 2014 rule imposed new administrative burdens on employers and raised privacy concerns from employees.

Now the NLRB seeks to undo much of the 2014 expansion of the voter lists. The proposed rule would eliminate the additional employee contact information, specifically the personal email addresses and home and cellular telephone numbers.

A press release announced, “The Board believes, subject to comments, that elimination of this requirement will advance important employee privacy interests that the current rules do not sufficiently protect.”

Public Comment Period

The public has until September 28, 2020, to submit initial comments. There is then another opportunity to submit replying comments (to comments submitted by others) by October 12, 2020.

Assuming the proposed rule takes effect, it will only affect employers involved in an NLRB election. These most often consist of situations where a union is seeking to represent a group of employees in a company.

For more on significant labor law developments, please follow Horton Law on LinkedIn or subscribe to receive our email newsletter.