Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Strengthen Workers’ Rights in New York State
On September 14, 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul signed three pieces of legislation to strengthen workers’ rights in New York State. Two of them are relevant to our practice areas at Modica Law Firm.
The new laws are part of Governor Hochul’s nation-leading worker agenda. Her plans include increasing New York’s minimum wage and indexing it to inflation; offering 12 weeks of fully paid parental
leave to more than 150,000 state employees; and other initiatives to increase wages and benefits, expand prevailing wage, connect job seekers to employment opportunities, and help ensure retirement
security for private sector workers.
The first new piece of legislation requires employers to notify employees that they are eligible for unemployment insurance whenever the employer permanently or temporarily separates the employee
or reduces hours to a point that the employee qualifies for total or partial unemployment.
As we all remember, New York faced catastrophic job losses in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This unfortunate situation highlighted the vital role that unemployment insurance plays in
sustaining our communities and helping families survive job loss. The new legislation codifies and strengthens existing regulations to ensure that workers who are laid off or have their hours
reduced know they need to access unemployment insurance.
This law requires the notice to be in writing and on a specific Department of Labor form that includes:
- The employer’s name and registration number;
- The employer’s address to direct a request for remuneration and employment information about the employee; and
- Other information required by the commissioner of labor.
The second new piece of legislation prohibits employers from requesting or requiring usernames, passwords, or other login information to personal accounts as a condition of hiring or employment or for use in a disciplinary action.
The explosion of social media has made for greater availability of information than ever before. This can tempt employers to make hiring and disciplinary decisions based on information that is not shared publicly, by requesting and demanding prospective and current employees share credentials to their personal email and social media accounts.
This legislation avoids putting workers in a position where they feel they must agree to what their employer demands of them.
