The recently enacted New York budget for fiscal year 2024-25 includes provisions mandating paid employee prenatal leave and lactation break time, and repealing the state’s COVID-19 sick leave law. The provisions have different effective dates in 2024 and 2025. Paid Prenatal Personal Leave The budget amends the state sick leave law by adding what is being touted as a first-in-the-nation requirement that all employers provide their employees with 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave per 52-week period, starting Jan. 1, 2025. The amendment does not require employees to accrue the new leave ..read more

Businesses, regardless of their size or sector, depend on the collective expertise and skills of their employees to succeed. Therefore, investing in comprehensive employee training isn’t just an option; it’s an essential strategy. From fostering a culture of continuous learning to enhancing productivity and ensuring regulatory compliance, effective training programs can yield numerous benefits for both employees and the organization as a whole. Training is crucial because it: Ensures a competitive edge in the market Promotes safety and health among employees Creates opportunities for career ..read more

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to issue a final rule that would ban noncompete agreements in virtually all employment relationships. The final rule has not yet been filed in the Federal Register but is scheduled to take effect 120 days after such filing. Final Rule to Ban Noncompete Agreements The final rule defines a noncompete clause as a term or condition of employment that prohibits a worker from, penalizes a worker for, or functions to prevent a worker from: Seeking or accepting work in the United States with a different person where such work would begin af ..read more

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule to amend current requirements employees in white-collar occupations must satisfy to qualify for an overtime exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule will take effect on July 1, 2024. NOTE: New York’s Department of Labor (NYDOL) amended its Labor Code last fall to increase the salary threshold executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) employees must meet to qualify for the state’s wage payment exemptions. As of March 13, 2024, EAP employees who earn less than $1,300 per week are subj ..read more

On April 15, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The final rule clarifies definitions and limitations under the PWFA and seeks to help employers understand their duties under the law. The final regulation will be published in the Federal Register on April 19, 2024, and effective June 18, 2024. Background on the PWFA The PWFA requires most employers with 15 or more employees to provide “reasonable accommodations,” or changes at work, for a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, chil ..read more

In the realm of human resources, two terms often intermingle, yet carry distinct significance: onboarding and orientation. While both are vital to integrating new employees into a company’s culture and operations, their purposes, timelines, and methodologies differ significantly. Here is a look at the difference between onboarding and orientation, and why your business needs both. Understanding Onboarding Onboarding is a comprehensive process designed to integrate new hires into their roles, the company culture, and the larger organizational structure. Unlike orientation, which is typically a ..read more

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is a federal law that requires employers to provide 60 days’ prior written notice before conducting a mass layoff or plant closing. Several states, including New York, have enacted similar laws, generally referred to as “mini-WARN Acts.” State mini-WARN Acts generally expand upon or add to the employer obligations under the federal WARN Act. However, the laws vary significantly, so employers should carefully review their obligations on a state-by-state basis. Mini-WARN Acts typically fall into one of the following broad categories ..read more

According to Gallup, the number of days employees worked remotely doubled during the pandemic, leading some companies to make a remote work arrangement permanent. While there are no laws that exclusively apply to remote workplaces, remote work does come with HR topics and questions that may not have been relevant or came up often before the large shift to this type of work environment. Here are four common HR questions regarding remote employees. 1. Remote employees and FMLA Now that we’ve become a “remote first” company with most of our employees working from home, we’ve started hiring remot ..read more

Are you finding it difficult to fill job openings because not enough people are applying? You wouldn’t be alone. One avenue organizations are taking to expand their applicant pool is to forgo the college degree requirement and instead adopt a more inclusive, skills-based approach to hiring. Would such an approach benefit your organization? To help you answer that question, we’ll go over reasons you might want to keep or eliminate the degree requirement and outline what a skills-based alternative could look like. The Upside of the Degree Requirement For employers, a college degree is an early ..read more

Employers of all sizes continue to face attraction and retention challenges. Successful efforts to win over workers can require significant time and carry high costs, but failing to attract talent or losing existing employees is particularly costly for small businesses. Unfortunately, small businesses often lack the resources to invest in attraction and retention efforts in today’s labor market, making it difficult to compete with larger organizations. Along with the costs associated with recruiting, hiring, and training, attraction and retention struggles can significantly impact workplace o ..read more