New York Employment Law Update – October 2018

Finalized Materials and Guidance on NYS Sexual Harassment Prevention Law

On October 1, 2018, Governor Cuomo announced the release of the following finalized materials and guidance on New York’s new sexual harassment prevention laws, following a public comment period that began August 23:

• Updated website with resources for employers, employees, state contractors and targets of sexual harassment.
• Updated model sexual harassment prevention policy.
• Updated model sexual harassment complaint form.
• Updated model training (script book and PowerPoint presentation).
• Updated minimum standards for sexual harassment prevention policies and trainings.
• Updated FAQs.

Toolkits for employers and employees and a sexual harassment prevention policy poster are also being made available.

The training and policy materials are being made available in Word and PowerPoint, where applicable, to allow for employer customization. Additionally, the state will be translating these materials into Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Italian, Polish, and Haitian-Creole, and creating a video training, all of which will be released in the near future online at: www.ny.gov/programs/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace.

The state will offer both in-person and webinar training sessions to help employers understand the new requirements. A schedule of these events will also be announced in the near future online at: www.ny.gov/programs/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace, where visitors may add their name to the list to receive future updates about the state’s sexual harassment prevention policy.

Read the press release

Port Authority Board Approves Minimum Wage Increase for Airport Workers

On September 27, 2018, the New York Port Authority Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted an expanded minimum wage policy for JFK International, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty International airports that increases the wages of airport workers to $19 per hour by 2023.

The policy adopted by the board will increase and ultimately align the wages of workers at the three airports, including a $2 per hour increase for workers at Newark beginning on November 1, 2018. This represents a nearly $4 per hour increase for workers at Newark Airport – primarily catering workers – who were not covered under the previous $10.10 minimum policy.

Under the new policy, the wages of workers at Newark increase from the current $10.45 to $12.45 as of November 1, 2018 and to $15.60 by September 1, 2019 – at which point they would be equal to the wages of workers at JFK and LaGuardia. Workers at the two New York airports currently earn a minimum wage of $13 in line with New York State’s minimum wage law. The wages at JFK and LaGuardia airports would rise to $13.60 on November 1, 2018. New York’s minimum wage goes to $15 on January 1, 2019.

The minimum wage of all airport workers would increase in parallel to the state’s wage rate, as follows:

• $15.60 on September 1, 2019.
• $16.20 in 2020.
• $17 in 2021.
• $18 in 2022.
• $19 in 2023.

Read the press release