The Governor recently signed the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), which amends the New York State Human Rights Law to explicitly prohibit discrimination in employment based on gender identity or expression, including transgender status. The law will become effective on February 24, 2019 and applies to employers in New York State with four or […]
New Legislation Regarding the Reporting of Child Abuse in an Educational Setting
Recently enacted legislation amends Article 23-B of the Education Law to expand the categories of employees that are required to report allegations of child abuse in an educational setting. The legislation also updates the training requirements under the law (Ch. 363 of the Laws of 2018). The changes take effect 180 days after enactment, […]
Executive Order Restoring Voting Rights to Parolees
In April 2018, the Governor signed an Executive Order restoring voting rights to individuals on parole. Notwithstanding this Executive Order, should an individual be on parole for a sexual offense, and is classified as a Level II or Level III offenders on the NY State Registry, this individual still requires written authorization from […]
New Protections for Labor Class Employees
On September 7, 2018, the Governor signed into law a bill passed by the State Legislature which now provides Labor Class Civil Service employees the same Section 75 rights as those Civil Service Employees in the Non-Competitive Class. Labor Class employees with at least 5 years continuous service are now entitled to Section […]
Drug and Alcohol Testing of School Bus Drivers
On August 24, 2018, Governor Cuomo signed into law a bill passed by the State Legislature to enhance the State’s requirements relating to pre-employment and random drug and alcohol testing of school bus drivers and the prohibition on drug and alcohol use prior to operating a school bus. (Ch. 207 of the Laws of […]
NYSED Residency Guidance
On July 19, 2018, the New York State Education Department (“NYSED”) issued new Residency Guidance after becoming aware of public concerns and inquiries indicating that some school districts have instituted a practice of “mandatory re-registration.” Although the Guidance does not specifically define the term “mandatory re-registration”, the Guidance references a mandatory practice wherein all […]
U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Janus v. AFSCME
On June 27, 2018, the United States Supreme Court, in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31 (“Janus”), held that public sector labor unions may no longer collect fees for the cost of collective bargaining (known as agency fees) from employees who have chosen not to join the union. […]
Agency Payments in Anticipation of the Supreme Court’s Decision in Janus v. AFSCME
In anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s imminent decision in Janus v. AFSCME, we write to address an issue that may arise regarding the collection of agency fees from non-union member employees just prior to the Court’s decision. Agency fee statutes permit government unions to collect fees from workers who are covered by a union […]
New Regulations Implementing New York State’s ESSA Plan
On June 12, 2018, the New York State Board of Regents adopted emergency regulations to implement New York’s approved State Plan under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (“ESSA”). As you recall, ESSA was enacted in 2015 as the legislative reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (“ESEA”), replacing the previous legislative […]
Amendment to State Aid 180-Day Regulations Regarding Calculation of Superintendents’ Conference Days.
At its June 12, 2018 meeting, the Board of Regents approved, on an emergency basis, an amendment to the emergency regulations adopted at its April 2018 meeting regarding the calculation of the annual minimum hours of instructional time that can be counted towards superintendents’ conference days for purposes of meeting the 180-day instructional requirement […]
