One thing about employment law is that it is forever changing. But it’s not just employment lawyers who need to know what New York labor laws are new for 2023. Even if you never plan to be an employment attorney, you may need to hire one. At the very least, you’ll want to be in the know so that you can protect yourself and your loved ones.
2023 Employment Law Updates
Here is a list of the most important employment law updates that the top labor law attorney firms in New York think you should be aware of.
Employment Law: Wage Transparency Law
In an effort to close the race and gender gap when it comes to wages, New York state enacted Legislation S.9427-A/A.10477. This employment law requires employers in Geneva, Auburn, Ithaca, Pen Yan, and other Central NY areas to do the following:
- Disclose compensation or range of compensation to applicants who apply for a position
- Communicate compensation or range of compensation to employees upon issuing an employment opportunity for internal or public viewing
- Release compensation or range of compensation upon employee request
As the Chair of the Legislative Committee of NELA/NY, Miriam Clark, explained, this act will “Provide fundamental information for all New York workers and takes an important first step toward
pay equity for women and people of color.”
Bottomline Employment Law Breakdown: If you apply, interview, or are hired for a job, you have the right to ask for the salary or salary range upfront. By law, the employer must provide you with this information.
If your employer refuses to provide you with this information, employment lawyers like Littman and Babiarz can be a huge asset.
Employment Law: Amendments to Paid Leave
In 2021, a bill was signed into law establishing one of the country’s most comprehensive Paid Family Leave policies.
Employment attorney Lisa J. Babiarz explains that this particular policy gave eligible employees job protection and paid time off when they needed to:
- Care for a family member suffering from a serious medical condition.
- Bond with a newborn or a newly adopted child
- Care for loved ones when a spouse/partner, child, or parent was deployed abroad
Continued health insurance and protection from retaliation are also outlined.
In 2023, this was amended to include the following family members:
- Biological siblings (full and half)
- Stepsiblings
- Adopted siblings
According to Geneva, NY, and Auburn, labor law attorney specialists, the old version of the policy only covered the following family members:
- Spouses and domestic partners
- Children and stepchildren
- Parents and parents-in-law
- Grandparents
- Grandchildren
Bottomline Employment Law Breakdown: The expansion of this law will allow employees who care for siblings full-time to be able to do so with labor protection.
Employment Law: Vaccination Leave
A 2021 New York requirement was established surrounding vaccination leave. Effective that year, New York employers in Ithaca, Pen Yan, and all other New York areas were required to provide up to four hours of paid leave for employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Employment attorney firms like Littman and Babiarz were seeing lots of cases where employers were violating this requirement. Many claimed they thought it had expired as the pandemic began to level. However, this requirement has been extended through December 31, 2023.
Bottomline Employment Law Breakdown: If you want to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, your employer must provide you with up to four hours of paid leave to do so.
Employment Law: Evaluation Tool Requirements
One final employment law that went into effect in 2023 has to do with automated evaluation decision tools. AEDTs are defined as:
“any computational process, derived from machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence (AI), that issues simplified output, including a score, classification, or recommendation, which is used to substantially assist or replace discretionary decision making for making employment decisions that impact natural
persons.”
The law was created in response to concerns about employers using AI tools to assist in recruiting and other employment decisions. It outlines what must happen for an employer to be able to use an AEDT and the consequences for not following the protocol.
Have more questions about labor laws and your rights?
The employment attorneys at Littman & Babiarz Law Office have been helping those New Yorkers for over 30 years. We have law offices in Geneva and Ithaca, NY, and are eager to support clients throughout Central, NY.
Get in touch with us through our website or call us at 607-366-5918 to schedule a free initial consultation today.