1. Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce 2017 HR/Legislative Update
Frank Kerbein SPHR
Director, Center for Human Resources
The Business Council of New York State

2. Recent Developments “Equity Agenda” Remember the WTPA!
S.1 - Pay Equity/Disparate Impact
Discussion of wages
S.2 - NYS Human Rights Law
S.4 - Familial status
S.8 – Pregnancy
Remember the WTPA!

3. What’s NYC Up To? New York City Pregnancy Paid Sick Leave
Pre-Employment Inquiries
Credit Checks
Ban the Box
Salary History
Transgender Rights
Predictive Scheduling

4. What’s New? NYS Non-Legislative actions: Pay cards/Paychecks
Fast Food Wage Board
On-call Scheduling
Gender Identity/Human Rights Law
Association with a member of a Protected Class

5. What’s New? Executive Order 161 Executive Order 162
Prohibition on state entities inquiring about salary history
Executive Order 162
Requires all state contractors (and subcontractors) to disclose data on the gender, race, ethnicity, job title, and salary of all its employees in all state contracts.
Prime contracts in excess of $25,000 – Quarterly
Prime construction contracts in excess of $100,000 – Monthly

6. What’s New? Federal Non-Legislative Actions:
OSHA Transgender Guidance – 06/01/2015
EEOC Guidance: Pregnancy – 06/25/2015
Administrator Interpretation regarding Independent Contractors – 7/15/2015
NLRB Browning-Ferris Decision – 8/27/2015
Paid Sick Leave – 9/07/2015
Administrator Interpretation regarding Joint Employer/FLSA – 01/20/2016
EEOC Collection of Pay Data – 02/01/2016
Changes to the FLSA and OT - 05/17/201
DOL Sex Discrimination Regulations – 6/14/2016

7. Minimum Wage Rate Schedule
Location
12/31/16
12/31/17
12/31/18
12/31/19
12/31/20
2021
NYC-Large Employers (11 or more)
$11.00
$13.00
$15.00
NYC-Small Employers (10 or less)
$10.50
$12.00
$13.50
Long Island & Westchester
$10.00
$14.00
Remainder of the NY State
$9.70
$10.40
$11.10
$11.80
$12.50 *

8. NYS Exempt Salary Levels Executive and Administrative
Date
Federal
(Proposed)
Upstate Employers
Large NYC Employers
Small NYC Employers
Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester
12/31/16
$913
$727.50
$825
$787.50
$750
12/31/17
$780
$975
$900
12/31/18
$832
$1,125
$1,012.50
12/31/19
$885
12/31/20 ?
$937
$1,050
12/31/21

9. Paid Family Leave
The act applies to all private sector employers of one or more employees;
Leave may be taken to participate in providing care, including physical or psychological care for a family member, to bond with the employee’s child during the first twelve months after the child’s birth, or the first twelve months after the placement of the child for adoption or foster care; or for a qualified military exigency as defined by the FMLA;
Family member is defined as child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, spouse, or domestic partner;

10. Paid Family Leave
Employees must be employed for 26 weeks before they are eligible for paid family leave; (175 days for part-time employees).
Employees returning from leave are entitled to return to their same or comparable position without loss of benefits they would have accrued otherwise.
Employers must continue the employees’ health insurance during leave as if they were not on leave.
PFL can run concurrently with FMLA.

11. Paid Family Leave
Maximum combined DBL and PFL leave is 26 weeks in 52 week period.
When practicable, the employee should provide 30-days’ notice of intent to take paid family leave;
An employer may offer an employee who has accrued but unused vacation/personal leave to choose whether to charge all or part of the family leave time to this unused time and receive full salary; or, to not charge benefit time and receive the benefit provided. 

12. Paid Family Leave
January 1, 2018; up to 8 weeks of leave at 50% of the employees average weekly wage to a maximum of 50% of the state’s average weekly wage;
January 1, 2019; up to 10 weeks of leave at 55% of the employees average weekly wage to a maximum of 55% of the state’s average weekly wage;
January 1, 2020; up to 10 weeks of leave at 60% of the employees average weekly wage to a maximum of 60% of the state’s average weekly wage;
January 1, 2021 and thereafter; up to 12 weeks of leave at 67% of the employees average weekly wage to a maximum of 67% of the state’s average weekly wage.

13. Paid Family Leave
Income replacement will be paid for by an insurance policy procured by the employer on behalf of the employee, the full cost of which will be paid by payroll contributions of the employee.
June 1, 2017 (and annually thereafter); Superintendent of Financial Services shall set the maximum employee contribution.

14. Paid Family Leave Public entities may opt-in.
Every policy of insurance issued…must offer coverage for both disability and family leave benefits.

15. What’s Next? On-Call “Predictive” Scheduling DBL/PFL parity
NYS EEO form
Non-Compete Agreements
Paid Sick Leave/Use of Sick Leave
Pre-Employment Inquiries
Ban the Box
Credit Checks
Salary History

16. Center for Human Resources
Customized fee based employer resources
Employee Handbooks
Policy Development
Customized Supervisory Training
Wage and Hours
Harassment
OSHA