Effective June 19, 2024, New York State Labor Law Section 206-c requires all private and public employers to provide 30 minutes of paid break time for employees to express breast milk when the employee has a reasonable need to express breast milk. Prior to enactment of this law, New York State employers were only required to provide reasonable unpaid break time for breast milk expression.

The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) has issued guidance FAQs on the amended law. NYSDOL’s guidance provides that paid break time must be permitted as often as an employee reasonably needs to express breast milk. NYSDOL has issued a template Policy on the Rights of Employees to Express Breast Milk in the Workplace which provides:

HOW OFTEN DURING THE WORKDAY CAN I TAKE BREAKS TO PUMP BREAST MILK? The number of paid breaks an employee will need is unique to each employee. Your employer must accommodate you whenever you reasonably need to take a break to express milk.

Employees must also be permitted to use existing paid break or meal time if they need additional time for breast milk expression beyond the paid 30 minutes, and employers may not require employees to make up this missed work time. Employees are entitled to paid breaks for breastmilk expression for up to three years following childbirth.

Employers are required to provide written notice of breast milk expression rights to all employees at the time of hire and then annually thereafter. Additionally, notice must be provided when an employee returns from childbirth leave.

Employees must provide reasonable advance notice of their need for lactation breaks. As a reminder, employers must continue to provide a room or other location to express breast milk once an employee submits a written request to their direct supervisor or an individual designated by the employer to process lactation room requests. Employers must respond to lactation room requests in writing within five days.

Lactation rooms must have the following:

• Be close to an employee’s work area
• Provide good natural or artificial light
• Be private – both shielded from view and free from intrusion 
• Have accessible, clean running water nearby
• Have an electrical outlet (if the workplace is supplied with electricity)
• Include a chair
• Provide a desk, small table, counter or other flat surface
• Ability to store pumped breast milk in a refrigerator if one is available

Employers are prohibited from discriminating in any way against an employee who chooses to express breast milk in the workplace.  

If you have any questions about the information presented in this news alert, please contact Laura Harshbarger, Lance Willoughby-Hudson, any attorney in Bond’s labor and employment practice or the Bond attorney with whom you are regularly in contact.

New York has long protected its residents from discrimination in the job hiring process with the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), which was originally passed in 1945.  New York City also has its own Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) that further covers discrimination in job hiring.

Read More >> Out of State, Keep Them in Mind: New York Anti-Discrimination Laws Extend to Nonresident Job Applicants and Employees

Governor Hochul’s 2025 Executive Budget Proposal released last week includes a number of significant legislative proposals that would directly impact employers in New York state.

Read More >> COVID Paid Leave Repeal, New Paid Prenatal Leave, Paid Breaks for Breastmilk Expression and More: Labor & Employment Law Proposals to Watch in Gov. Hochul’s Executive Budget Proposal

On Nov. 17, 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Senate Bill S.3255, which amends Section 297 of the New York Executive Law by extending the statute of limitations for filing complaints of unlawful discrimination with the Division of Human Rights (DHR) to three years.

Read More >> New York Extends Statute of Limitations for Filing Claims of Unlawful Discrimination with the Division of Human Rights

On Sept. 15, 2023, New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an amendment to a New York Labor Law that would invalidate certain intellectual property provisions in employment agreements, effective immediately. Under this amendment, Section 203-f, any provision in an employment agreement that requires employees to assign the rights to inventions to their employer will now be unenforceable if the invention was developed by the employee using the employee’s own property and time. The introduction of Section 203-f has significant implications for employers wishing to secure patent protection of inventions made by employees while under an employment contract. To obtain the best protection possible, it is recommended that New York employers review their employment agreements with respect to restrictions and assignment clauses to ensure compliance with this new labor law.

Read More >> New NYS Labor Law Shines Light on Employee-Driven Innovation

On Sept. 14, 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed three pieces of legislation into law, all of which are reflective of Gov. Hochul’s ongoing efforts to strengthen workers’ rights in New York State.

Written Notice of Unemployment Benefits

Bill (S. 4878-A/A. 398-A) amends Section 590 of the Labor Law. Under this new legislation, employers must provide written notice of eligibility for unemployment benefits to any employee who has been terminated, temporarily separated, experienced a reduction in hours or any other interruption of continued employment that results in total or partial unemployment. This information must be disclosed on a form furnished or approved by the Department of Labor (DOL).

The new law will take effect on Nov. 13, 2023.

Personal Account Information Disclosure

Beginning March 12, 2024, employers are prohibited from requesting, requiring or coercing an employee or job applicant to: (i) disclose a username and password or other login information in order to access a personal account through an electronic communication device; (ii) access a personal account in the employer’s presence; or (iii) reproduce information contained within a personal account through unlawful measures. This new legislation, which amends the Labor Law to add section 201-i, prohibits an employer from discharging or disciplining an employee or refusing to hire an applicant for failure to disclose such information.

This law is also subject to certain exceptions and limitations. For example, an employer may require disclosure of personal information in order to access nonpersonal accounts that allow access to the employer’s internal computer or information systems. Employers may also view, access and rely on information obtained through the public domain. The law also allows an employer to obtain login information for accounts provided by the employer where the account is used for business purposes and the employee was provided prior notice of the employer’s right to inquire about such information.

An employer is also permitted to access an electronic communications device which is paid for in whole or in part by the employer where the provision of or payment for such device was conditioned on the employer’s right to access. However, the employee must have been provided with prior notice of the condition and explicitly agreed to it. Nevertheless, the employer is still prohibited from accessing any personal accounts on the device.

This law excludes law enforcement agencies, fire departments and departments of corrections and community supervision.

DOL Notices to Unemployment Applicants

Under this new legislation, the DOL is now required to provide notice to unemployment applicants of the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) and the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC). This new law takes effect Jan. 12, 2024.

If you have any questions about the information presented in this memo, please contact Kali Schreiner, any attorney in Bond’s labor and employment practice or the attorney at Bond with whom you are regularly in contact.

On October 4, 2023, the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers in New York will officially be repealed. On September 18, 2023, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) submitted a Notice of Adoption to repeal 10 N.Y.C.R.R. 2.61 (the Regulation), which was the emergency regulation requiring covered health care employers to ensure that their personnel were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.  

Read More >> New York State Officially Repeals the COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers

New York State's pay transparency law becomes effective on Sept. 17, 2023. Labor Law § 194-b requires employers to disclose salary and wage ranges for advertised jobs and promotions. 

The law applies to employers with four or more employees and covers jobs that will be physically performed, at least in part, in New York State, as well as remote-work positions that report to a supervisor in New York.

Read More >> Reminder: Pay Transparency Law Takes Effect Sept. 17, 2023

On Aug. 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) issued a proposed rule to increase the minimum weekly salary to qualify for the Fair Labor Standards Act white collar exemptions from $684 per week (the annual equivalent of $35,568) to $1,059 per week (the annual equivalent of $55,068). This new proposed salary level is based on the 35th percentile of earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage Census Region. When the exempt salary level was last raised to $684 effective Jan. 1, 2020, the USDOL set it at the 20th percentile of earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage Census Region.

Read More >> U.S. Department of Labor Proposes to Increase the Salary Level to Qualify for the White Collar Exemptions

Can a New York employer be held liable for economic losses suffered by a party that has no business relationship with the employer based on an employee’s unauthorized fraudulent scheming? This issue was recently presented to the New York Court of Appeals. The Court recognized such liability on a claim of negligent supervision and retention notwithstanding a vigorous dissent.

Read More >> NY Employers Face Expanded Liability for Negligent Supervision

On Aug. 16, 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Roadway Excavation Quality Assurance Act (the Act), S.4887/A.5608, into law. This new legislation guarantees prevailing wages to construction workers on roadway excavation projects. The law takes effect 13 days after its signing, i.e., Aug. 29, 2023.

Read More >> Governor Hochul Signs Roadway Excavation Quality Assurance Act Into Law

Today, an employee shares joyous news and says, “I’m expecting and due in 20 weeks!” You respond with congratulations, but then start thinking about all the new pregnancy-related legal protections you must comply with. Look no further, here are some highlights on what to expect when your employee is expecting…and beyond.

Read More >> What to Expect When Your Employee is Expecting…and Beyond!