NYC Creates Workplace Bill of Rights Poster to Be Distributed by July 1

New York City employers must post and distribute to employees in New York City a new “Know Your Rights at Work” notice created by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) by July 1. The notice is essentially limited to a QR code that links to the City’s Workers’ Bill of Rights webpage. The DCWP can assess steep penalties for failing to comply.

Pursuant to the law, employers must

• post the notice in a conspicuous area in the workplace;
• distribute to each current employee a copy of the notice either electronically or using a physical copy;
• provide all new employees with a copy of the notice on or before their first day of work; and
• make the notice available to employees “online or on its mobile application … if such means are regularly used to communicate with [ ] employees.”

Separately, on March 4, 2024, an amendment to the New York City Temporary Schedule Changes Law went into effect that requires employers to distribute information about that law to current employees and new hires. The DCWP recently updated its guidance website about this law to explain that “[e]mployers may comply with this requirement by providing each employee a printed copy of the multilingual ‘Know Your Rights at Work’ poster and sending each employee a link to the Workers’ Bill of Rights webpage by text or email.” This notice, which must be distributed in both electronic and print format, is the exact same poster as the Know Your Rights at Work poster that must be distributed by July 1, 2024.

Employers must still post the “You Have a Right to Temporary Changes to Your Work Schedule” notice, which is a different poster than the “Know Your Rights At Work” notice, in a conspicuous area in the workplace. This poster must be displayed in English and in any language considered a primary language of at least 5% of the workers at a workplace, if the DCWP has made available a notice in that language. Currently, only English and Spanish are available.

There is no private right of action for failure to comply with either of the above requirements. However, the DCWP can assess penalties of $500 for a first violation, up to $750 for a second violation within a two-year period, and up to $1,000 for subsequent violations within a two-year period; order compensatory damages and other relief required to make the employee or former employee “whole;” and issue an order directing compliance with the notice/posting requirements.

BEST PRACTICES AND NEXT STEPS

To comply these laws, employers should consider the following:

• Posting the “You Have a Right to Temporary Changes to Your Work Schedule” and “Workers’ Bill of Rights” notice wherever other required notices are posted
• Providing the “Workers’ Bill of Rights” notice to current employees in New York City
• Adding the “Workers’ Bill of Rights” notice to onboarding packets for new hires in New York City
• Retaining documentation showing the date the company distributed the “Workers’ Bill of Rights” notice to current employees
• Monitoring for additional guidance from DCWP

Employers should consider making a plan to distribute the “Workers’ Bill of Rights” notice to current employees and new hires in New York City by July 1, 2024, and confirm that they have posted a copy of the “You Have a Right to Temporary Changes to Your Work Schedule” and “Workers’ Bill of Rights” posters in their New York City workplaces.