Law Books

New York finished out 2022 by enacting a number of laws that employers in the state must be aware of and comply with entering 2023. The new laws cover matters such as lactation breaks, employment discrimination, workplace posters, and job advertisements. We have highlighted the requirements and effective dates of the new laws below.

Workplace Posters

As of December 16, 2022, employers in New York are required to make all state and federal workplace notices and posters available to employees electronically in addition to being physically posted at a worksite. Any employers that have not made their workplace posters available electronically to employees should immediately do so.

Discrimination Laws

The New York’s Human Rights Law was amended, effective December 23, 2022, to prohibit employment discrimination against any individual on the basis of “citizenship or immigration status.” The amendment does, however, explicitly provide that it does not preclude verification of citizenship or immigration status (or adverse actions based upon such verification) where required by law. New York employers should, if they have not done so already, update their handbooks and anti-discrimination policies to include this new protected category.

Lactation Breaks

New York has statewide, as New York City did in 2019, expanded employers obligations to provide breaks for nursing mothers to express breast milk. This amendment will become effective on June 7, 2023.

Under the amended law, employers must provide nursing mothers with breaks each time such an employee has a “reasonable need” to express breast milk, for up to three years following childbirth. Employers must also provide the employee with a lactation room in close proximity to the employee’s work area. The lactation room must be well lit, shielded from view, and free from intrusion by other persons. The lactation room cannot be a restroom or toilet stall.

Finally, New York employers will be required to adopt and distribute a lactation accommodation policy to be distributed to each employee upon hire, yearly, and when an employee returns to work following childbirth. The New York Department of Labor will be developing a model written policy.

Pay Transparency

Finally, New York State, like New York City did in 2022, enacted a pay transparency law that requires employers to include the compensation (or range of compensation) in any job advertisement for a position that can or will be performed, at least in part, in New York. In addition to compensation, job advertisements must include a job description, if one exists. The pay transparency law applies to any ad for a job, promotion, or transfer.

Unlike New York City’s law, the state law applies to all employers. Thus, New York City employers that were not subject to New York City’s pay transparency law, will have to comply with the State law when it goes into effect. It remains unclear, given the proliferation of remote work, how New York will interpret whether a job “can” be performed “at least in part” in New York.

The statewide pay transparency law becomes effective September 17, 2023.

If you have questions about these new laws, or your business’s employment practices, please contact us at (201) 345-5412 / (646) 503-5358, or through our online scheduling system, to schedule a complimentary consultation.

Information contained in this blog is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice or opinion. You should consult with an attorney regarding the specifics of your matter or legal issue.