New York State 2024 Employment Law Legislative Developments

New York enacted a number of laws and rules in 2024 that will impact New York employers in 2025—many of which, including New York’s Paid Prenatal Leave Law, certain wage and hour developments, and changes to New York Paid Family Leave, went into effect on January 1, 2025. This LawFlash summarizes employers’ obligations under these new and existing laws.

LEAVE POLICY UPDATES

New York’s Paid Prenatal Leave Law (Effective January 1, 2025)

As detailed in our prior LawFlash, New York’s amended paid sick leave law, effective January 1, 2025, will require employers to provide an additional 20 hours of job-protected paid prenatal leave during a 52-week calendar period, at the employee’s regular rate of pay. The paid prenatal leave requirement will apply to all employers in New York State, regardless of size. While the law was passed on April 19, 2024, in early December, the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) released additional guidance (the Guidance) that gives insight into the agency’s interpretation of the law.

The Guidance clarified that all qualifying employees, including new employees, must automatically receive 20 hours of frontloaded paid prenatal leave, to be made available as of their first day of employment. Unlike New York paid sick leave, employers cannot require employees to accrue this type of leave. The law specifies that employees must be allowed to use their paid prenatal leave in hourly increments (as opposed to the four-hour increments permitted for sick leave).

The 52-week period starts when the employee uses prenatal leave for the first time. An employee is only entitled to 20 hours of paid prenatal leave per 52-week calendar period; however, even if they have multiple pregnancies in the same 52-week period. An employee’s subsequent 52-week period does not begin until an employee initiates a new request for prenatal leave under the law (e.g., if the employee’s initial 52-week period ends on January 7, 2025, and they do not request to use paid prenatal leave again until March 6, 2025, the next 52-week period spans from March 6, 2025 until March 5, 2026).

The law defines the pregnancy-related healthcare services covered by paid prenatal leave to include the following:

• Physical examinations
• Medical procedures
• Monitoring and testing
• Discussions with a healthcare provider related to the pregnancy

The Guidance specified that paid prenatal leave also covers the below:

• Fertility treatment appointments, including in vitro fertilization
• End-of-pregnancy care appointments.

Per the Guidance, paid prenatal leave cannot be used for post-partum care.

The Guidance also clarified that paid prenatal leave can only be used by the employee receiving prenatal care and cannot be taken by family members or support persons (including partners) accompanying a pregnant person to an appointment.

The 20 hours of prenatal leave must be provided in addition to any other available leave options. The Guidance states that prenatal leave is a separate employee benefit from sick leave, meaning employees have the choice to use prenatal leave, sick leave, or any other available form of leave for the uses permitted under paid prenatal leave. An employer cannot require an employee to exhaust other forms of leave before using their paid prenatal leave.

The Guidance also suggests that reducing other leave options in response to an employee taking paid prenatal leave would be a form of retaliation.

The law prohibits employers from requiring the disclosure of confidential information related to the use of paid prenatal leave and discriminating and/or retaliating against employees for taking prenatal leave. According to the Guidance, employers are not permitted to ask employees to disclose information about their health conditions or submit medical records or documents supporting their request.

Upon returning from prenatal leave, an employee must be restored the same position, pay, and other terms of employment held before using the leave.

Sunsetting New York’s COVID-19 Paid Leave (Effective July 31, 2025)

The New York state budget sets July 31, 2025 as the sunset date for New York State’s COVID-19-related paid sick leave legislation, initially enacted in March 2020, which required employers to provide up to 14 days of paid sick time to employees who cannot work because they are subject to a mandatory quarantine or self-isolation order due to COVID-19. After July 31, 2025, employees can continue to apply for leave under the New York Paid Family Leave Law to care for a family member who has contracted COVID-19. However, this leave will not be applicable to an employee’s own illness due to COVID-19.

Benefit and Contribution Updates to New York’s Paid Family Leave Law (Effective January 1, 2025)

Effective as of January 1, 2025, there are several changes to deductions and benefits under New York Paid Family Leave Law (NYPFLL). Employees who take leave under the NYPFLL will continue to receive 67% of their average weekly wage, up to a cap of 67% of the current New York State Average Weekly Wage (NYSAWW). In 2025, the NYSAWW will be $1,757.19, resulting in the average weekly benefit amount being capped at $1,177.32. This is an increase of $26.16 from the 2024 benefit cap.

Additionally, eligible employees will contribute 0.388% of their gross wages per pay period (an increase from 2024’s 0.373% rate) up to a maximum annual contribution of $354.53. If an employee earns less than the 2025 NYSAWW (currently set at $1,757.19), their contribution rate will be proportional to their wages.

WAGE AND HOUR UPDATES

There are a number of updates to wage and hour laws in both New York State and City, effective January 1, 2025.

Changes to Minimum Wage (Effective January 1, 2025)

Effective January 1, 2025, New York’s minimum wage increased for all employees all across the state.

The minimum wage for home care aides increased as follows:

Changes to the Overtime Exemption Threshold (Effective January 1, 2025)

Effective January 1, 2025, the minimum salary threshold for the executive and administrative exemptions from overtime pay increased in New York as follows:

These amounts are set to increase again on January 1, 2026.

Changes to the Tip Credit for Tipped Employees (Effective January 1, 2025)

The minimum wage rates for tipped service employees and tipped food service workers were also increased, effective January 1, 2025. As a reminder, (1) a “service employee” is an employee, other than a food service worker who customarily receives tips, e.g., hosts/hostesses, and (2) a “food service worker” is any employee who is primarily engaged in the serving of food or beverages, who also regularly receives tips, e.g., wait staff, bartenders, captains, and bussing personnel. The term does not include delivery workers.

Changes to the Meal Credit for Food Service Workers, Service Employees, and Non-Service Employees (Effective January 1, 2025)

As a refresher, in New York, qualifying employers who provide meals to their employees are permitted to take a “meal credit” against an employee’s wages for each shift during which they provide a meal to the employee, provided the meal meets certain specifications (e.g., must contain at least one of the types of food from all four of the following groups: (1) fruits or vegetables; (2) grains or potatoes; (3) eggs, meat, fish, poultry, dairy, or legumes; (4) tea, coffee, milk, or juice). Effective January 1, 2025, the meal credit for food service workers, service employees, and nonservice employees increased as follows:

Changes to Uniform Maintenance Pay (Effective January 1, 2025)

New York employers that require employees to use a uniform (that cannot be worn in an employee’s ordinary wardrobe) can either (1) launder and maintain the uniform on its employees’ behalf, or (2) pay the employee an allowance known as “Uniform Maintenance Pay.” The amount paid to an employee is dependent on the number of hours worked by the employee each week. The weekly rates of “Uniform Maintenance Pay” given to employees increased on January 1, 2025 as follows:

OTHER NOTABLE UPDATES

Notice of Reproductive Health Rights Again Required in Employee Handbooks

On January 2, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit published its decision in CompassCare v. Hochul, vacating the permanent injunction issued in April 2022 that halted the requirement for employers to provide employees with notice in employee handbooks of their reproductive health rights.

Section 203-e of the New York Labor Law became effective January 7, 2020, and prohibits employers from the following:

• Accessing an employee’s personal information regarding the employee’s (or the employee’s dependent’s) reproductive health decision-making, including the decision to use or access a particular drug, device, or medical service, without the employee’s prior informed affirmative written consent
• Discriminating or retaliating against an employee on the basis of reproductive health decision-making
• Requiring employees to sign waivers or other documents purporting to deny their right to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions

New York employers that provide employee handbooks are required to include in the handbook the notice of employee rights and remedies under Section 203-e.

On November 14, 2019, a group of religious organizations commenced a pre-enforcement challenge to the law in CompassCare v. Hochul (originally captioned CompassCare v. Cuomo). The plaintiffs claimed that Section 203-e was an infringement on their First Amendment freedoms of expressive association, speech, and religion that “forc[ed] them to employ and associate with those persons who do not share or live by the organizations’ beliefs regarding abortion, contraception, and the impropriety of sexual relations outside the context of a marriage between a man and a woman.” They also challenged the employee handbook notice requirement as compelled speech in violation of the First Amendment. On June 5, 2020, the US District Court for the Northern District of New York granted the plaintiffs an injunction with regard to the notice requirement but dismissed the remainder of their claims.

After the District Court’s decision in CompassCare, on February 27, 2023, the Second Circuit published its opinion in Slattery v. Hochul. Slattery similarly involved the Northern District of New York’s dismissal of a religious organization’s challenge to Section 203-e on First and Fourteenth Amendment freedom of expressive association grounds. The plaintiff in that case argued that the law improperly “prevent[ed] it from disassociating itself from employees who, among other things, seek abortions.” Crucial to the Second Circuit’s decision was the fact that the Slattery plaintiff was a fundamentally expressive organization focused on discouraging abortion through the operation of pregnancy crisis centers.

The court found that, although Section 203-e may serve a compelling state interest in preventing discrimination based on the decision to engage in legally authorized conduct, “that interest cannot overcome the expressive rights of an association dedicated to outlawing or otherwise opposing that specific conduct.” As a result, the District Court’s dismissal was reversed, and the case was remanded for further proceedings.

In light of its holding in Slattery, the Second Circuit on January 2, 2025 reversed the District Court’s dismissal in CompassCare of the plaintiff’s First Amendment religious, associative, and speech claims and remanded the case for further proceedings. At the same time, the Second Circuit vacated the District Court’s permanent injunction on the notice requirement, finding that Section 203-e’s notice requirement is not significantly different from similar notice requirements imposed by, for example, Title VII or minimum wage laws.

While an employer may object to any of these underlying laws or find them controversial, the Second Circuit held that employers can otherwise communicate to their employees “their moral, political, and religious views, their expectations for employees, and even their disagreement with” the law. The court wrote: “Plaintiffs remain free to oppose [Section 203-e], and the policy judgments that underlie it, and have many avenues to do so.”

As a result, with CompassCare’s permanent injunction vacated, the notice provision of Section 203-e is once again in effect. Employers must provide notice in employee handbooks of employees’ rights and remedies under Section 203-e. The District Court must now reconsider whether Section 203-e can be applied to religious organizations whose mission includes objection to the legalization of and access to abortion and contraceptives, as well as same-sex relationships. For all other employers, Section 203-e is in effect in full.

Workers’ Compensation for Extraordinary Work-Related Stress (Effective January 1, 2025)

Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation S.6635/A.5745 which, effective January 1, 2025 allows any worker in the State of New York to file for workers' compensation for specific types of mental injury premised on extraordinary work-related stress. Previously, this only applied to certain first responders, police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians who filed a claim for mental injury caused by extraordinary work-related stress. It was designed for first responders facing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to file for workers’ compensation benefits. This new legislation expands coverage to all workers in the State of New York. The law states that its purpose is to: “Expand[] to all workers the ability to receive PTSD coverage under NYS Workers’ Compensation Coverage identified work-related stress.”

It is not yet clear what will be considered “extraordinary work-related stress.” In a press release, Governor Kathy Hochul said, “those who have experienced the unthinkable while on the job deserve to be treated fairly.” State Senator Jessica Ramos said, “Not all injuries are physical, but all workers should get support for injuries sustained on the job.” The question of whether a causal relationship exists between a work activity and the mental injury will be an issue of fact for the Workers’ Compensation Board.

The term “extraordinary” is not defined by the statute so it will take time to see how the Workers’ Compensation Board decides on a case-by-case basis what will be considered an “extraordinary work-related stress.” It is likely that we will see an uptick in claims filed due to extraordinary work-related stress.

Retail Worker Safety Act (Effective March 3, 2025)

The Retail Worker Safety Act (S. 8358B) will become effective March 3, 2025, pending an amendment that would extend the effective date to June 2, 2025. This new legislation, which aims to create a safer working environment for retail workers, applies to retail employers in New York with at least 10 employees working at a retail store. Retail employers are those “sell[ing] consumer commodities at retail and . . . not primarily engaged in the sale of food for consumption on the premises.”

The law will require implementation of a workplace violence prevention policy, employee training on workplace violence prevention and emergency procedures, and written notice to workers given to each employee at the time of their hiring, and annually at the time of training on workplace safety.

If the pending amendment, set to be voted on in January 2025, is passed, several changes to the law would be enacted. First, the frequency of the workplace violence prevention training for employers with 50 employees or less would decrease, only required at hiring and every two years thereafter, as opposed to the annual requirement. Next, the model templates for trainings would be offered in English and in 12 of the most common languages spoken in New York State.

Lastly, the panic button would be removed from the law, replaced with a “Retail Worker Requests for Assistance” section for employers with 500 employees or more in New York state only (as opposed to nationwide). These panic buttons would also be replaced with “silent response buttons.” Finally, compliance with the act would be adjusted from 180 days to 270 days from the new June 2, 2025 deadline. For more information on this law, please see our previous LawFlash.

New York Clean Slate Act

The New York Clean Slate Act was signed into law by Governor Hochul on November 16, 2024 and enables individuals with a conviction record to have their record automatically sealed three years from sentencing for misdemeanors and eight years from sentencing for felonies, not including any time spent incarcerated. The Clean Slate Act allows for some to become eligible for automatic sealing of a conviction record. The individual must have completed probation, parole, or post-release supervision, and cannot have received a new conviction during the waiting period.

This legislation prohibits employers from making inquiries into automatically sealed conviction records or making any adverse decisions about employment based on these records. However, an employer is permitted to access and consider sealed convictions when making employment decisions when state or federal law requires or permits a fingerprint background check.

New York State Freelance Isn’t Free Act

The New York State Freelance Isn’t Free Act (FIFL), signed into law by Governor Hochul on August 28, 2024, extends business and enforcement protections to freelance workers in the state of New York. As a reminder, a freelance worker is “any natural person or organization composed of no more than one natural person…provid[ing] services in exchange for an amount equal or greater than $800.” This does not include sales representatives, practicing lawyers, licensed medical professionals, or construction contractors.

The law requires the engaging entity to (1) provide the freelance worker with a copy of the written contract for the work to be done, which must be valued at $800 or more, or be the value of contracts combined with the same hiring party within a 120-day period; (2) make timely payments to the freelancer on or before the date that payment is due, pursuant to the terms of the contract, or 30 days after the services have been completed if unspecified in the contract; and (3) keep a copy of the contract for at least six years and make it available to the attorney general upon request. Nonprofit organizations are not exempt from this law.

The contract with a freelance worker also has certain requirements, including (1) inclusion of the names and mailing addresses of the parties, (2) an itemized list of all services to be rendered, indication of the values of each service, (3) the rates and methods of compensation, (4) the date the hiring party must pay the freelanced worker or how this date will be determined, and (5) the date the freelance worker must provide a list of the services rendered to the hiring party to meet internal deadlines and provide for timely compensation to the freelance worker.

Amendment 44-A to FIFL, passed in August 2024, changed the law’s supervisory oversight from the New York State Department of Labor to the attorney general by making it a new component to the New York General Business Law. This change codified these freelance protections into New York State law.

BEST PRACTICES

These new laws continue the trend of expanding employee protections in New York State. Employers should take the following steps to meet their current obligations and prepare for the laws that have or will soon go into effect:

• Review and update leave policies to ensure compliance with new and updated leave laws, including New York’s prenatal leave law, the sunsetting of COVID-19 leave, and the contribution and benefit changes to New York Paid Family Leave
• Ensure compliance with changes to the benefit and contribution amounts of paid family leave
• Ensure compliance with updated wage and hour law requirements, including reviewing exempt employees’ salaries of the increases to the minimum wage/overtime exemptions
• Prepare to implement a retail workplace violence prevention policy and facilitate the necessary training with employees
• Ensure compliance with prohibition of inquiry into automatically sealed conviction records unless state or federal mandate allows for fingerprint background checks of employees
• Ensure freelance workers are provided with a legally compliant written contract of work and are paid in a timely manner

Law clerks Jade Williams and Nina Leeds contributed to this LawFlash.