Just in time for Labor Day weekend, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) released its Paid Family Leave (PFL) employee premium rate and benefit level increase information for 2020.
(Drum roll, please … .)
Privacy and Data Security Risks During COVID-19 Pandemic
Organizations of all sizes are facing daunting technological and logistical challenges, as much of the country’s workforce adjusts to working remotely. Privacy and data security risks only add to these challenges.
Harter Secrest & Emery Resources for Responding to COVID-19
As the implications of COVID-19 continue to evolve, we stand committed to providing insight from across the firm to help you respond to any legal and business issues that may arise during these uncertain times.
Relief for Notarizations in New York
The COVID-19 pandemic (commonly referred to as the “Coronavirus”) has disrupted economic life. In an example of a response to the reality of social-distancing and closures, Governor Cuomo, by Executive Order No. 202.7 (“the Order”), will allow notarial acts required under New York State law to be performed using audio-video technology (while not mentioned in the Order, presumably, Skype, Zoom or other similar technology).
Guidance for Employers on Responding to the Coronavirus
The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.”
New York Sexual Harassment Prevention Annual Training
Now that the new year is in full swing, it is a good time for employers to evaluate their sexual harassment prevention training initiatives.
New Law Prohibits Employers from Discriminating Based on an Employee’s Reproductive Health Decision Making
The New York Labor Law now bans discrimination based on an employee’s “reproductive health decision making.” You may recall that in May of 2019, New York City prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of an employee’s “sexual and reproductive health decisions.” The new state law goes even further to extend the protected class status statewide and also adds additional requirements described below.
Updates to New York’s Model Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy
When the New York State anti-sexual harassment training and policy requirements went into effect in 2018, many companies adopted the state’s model sexual harassment prevention policy.
IRS Requires Tax-Exempt Organizations to E-File
Those tax-exempt organizations which file their 990 series forms on paper will soon receive letters from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) informing them that they must now file their forms electronically.
Washington State Reconsiders Privacy Regulations
With the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) now in effect as of January 1, 2020, other states are moving to consider comprehensive privacy legislation.
Deadline Change for New York State Cybersecurity Certifications of Compliance
Entities and individuals subject to the cybersecurity regulations from the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) will see a change to this year’s filing deadlines.
With hurricane season upon us, employers may be considering how they can help employees if disaster strikes. For employers desiring to aid employees affected by a disaster, there are a number of avenues available to assist during these times. However, employers should be aware of the tax implications of such assistance.
In a recent lawsuit filed this month in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Delta Airlines brought suit against its website chat services provider, [24]7, stemming from a 2017 data breach suffered by [24]7 that affected approximately 800,000 of Delta’s customers. Specifically, Delta alleges in its complaint that an attacker gained access to [24]7’s networks and modified the source code of its chat services so that the attacker could “scrape” payment card information from customers as they used the chat feature available on Delta’s website.
On August 12, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation (S.6577/A.8421) that greatly expanded the protections for workplace discrimination and harassment. These additional protections come just a little over one year after the state enacted comprehensive legislation designed to combat sexual harassment.
Large business data breaches - like the one affecting 100 million Capital One credit card customers and applicants - remain commonplace, so much so that they are becoming accepted as the new normal in today’s climate of consumer dealings. They shouldn’t be.