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Areas of Interest
September 8th, 2021
Employers Must Implement NY HERO Act Safety Plans Now
On May 6, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed the Health and Essential Rights Act (“HERO Act”) into law as a response to COVID-19 safety concerns as New Yorkers return to in-person work. Notably, the HERO Act required all covered New York employers to establish written safety plans complying with certain minimum standards, and to implement those plans if the New York State Commissioner of Health designates an airborne infectious disease. On September 6, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul designated COVID-19 as an airborne infectious disease under the HERO Act. This designation requires all employers to implement workplace safety plans that are in compliance with HERO Act standards.
Employers who fail to adopt a plan will be subject to a penalty of $50 per day until a plan is implemented, and employers who fail to comply with their adopted plans face fines ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.The HERO Act also provides employees with a private right of action, including the ability to seek injunctive relief, against their employer. Courts may award up to $20,000 in liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
If you have questions about how to comply with the New York HERO Act, please contact, Wendy Stryker at (212) 705-4838 or wstryker@fkks.com, Tricia Legittino at (310) 579-9632 or tlegittino@fkks.com, or any other member of the Frankfurt Kurnit Employment Compliance, Training & Litigation Group.
Other Employment Law Alerts
FTC Bans Certain Non-Compete Agreements
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a new Rule which bans for-profit employers from entering into post-employment, non-compete agreements with employees. By a vote of 3 to 2 the FTC determined that these non-compete agreements constitute “unfair competition” under the FTC Act. The Rule is effective 120 days after it is published in the Federal Register. Here’s what employers and executives need to know. Read more.
April 26 2024
New Ruling from the National Labor Relations Board May Require Significant Handbook Revisions
On August 2, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision, Stericycle Inc. and Teamsters Local 628, that creates a new legal standard for how the NLRB will evaluate workplace rules and policies to determine if such rules interfere with employees’ protected rights to engage in concerted workplace activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. Read more.
August 8 2023
New York Releases New Changes to its Model Sexual Harassment Policy and Training Video
On April 11, 2023, the New York State Department of Labor released updated versions of its sexual harassment model policy and training materials. Read more.
April 17 2023
