2024 Budget Bill Makes New York Dispensary License Mandatory for Cannabis Retailers
As part of the state budget for the 2024 fiscal year, New York recently passed legislation aimed at cracking down on unlicensed sales of marijuana, which have thrived since the legalization of adult recreational cannabis two years ago. The primary goal of these measures is to regulate the cannabis industry and protect licensed dispensaries, which are currently outnumbered by nearly 2,000...Read More
New York Set to Enact Total Prohibition on Non-Compete Agreements
New York is set to become the latest state to enact a prohibition on non-compete employment agreements following the passage of bill A1278B/S3100A by the New York State legislature. If signed into law by NY Governor Hochul, new Labor Law Section 191-d will go into effect thirty (30) days after it becomes law and will prohibit any non-compete agreement entered into or modified thereafter. The...Read More
What Employers Should Know Ahead of the COVID-19 Outbreak Period’s July 10 Ending
Next month, the Outbreak Period of the COVID-19 National Emergency will expire, bringing with it an end to extensions of deadlines for special enrollment in employee health plans, continuing employee health benefits under COBRA, and filing claims. To ensure a smooth transition, employers should familiarize themselves with the coming changes and be prepared to answer employee questions. As many...Read More
Material Health Care Transactions in New York Subject to DOH Disclosure and Public Comment
A new Article 45-A, titled “Disclosure of Material Transactions,” was added to the New York Public Health Law as part of the 2024 New York State Executive Budget law that Governor Kathy Hochul signed on May 3, 2023. This new legislation will substantially increase regulatory oversight by the New York State Department of Health (“DOH”) over large health care transactions. It applies to “health...Read MoreDEA Re-Examining Proposal to Limit the Prescription of Controlled Substances Via Telehealth
On May 3, 2023, the DEA released a statement that it had received a record 38,000 comments on its proposed rule that would no longer permit telehealth providers to prescribe controlled substances if the patient never had an in-person examination, subject to limited exceptions (see our March 21, 2023 article on this and related issues). “We take those comments seriously and are considering them...Read MoreMunicipalities Must Re-Think Traditional Exclusionary Zoning to Allow Greater Flexibility for Mixed Use/Residential Development
Given the post-pandemic adjustments to our daily work and life patterns, high interest rates and decreased demand for office and retail space in Westchester County and throughout the Hudson Valley, the time is now for municipalities to embrace forward-thinking changes to outdated, onerous and restrictive zoning codes. Rather than put every zoning use in its own separate, exclusionary rigid...Read MoreProposed HIPAA Privacy Rule Change to Strengthen Privacy Related to Reproductive Health
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule to prohibit the use or disclosure of protected health information (“PHI”) to investigate or...Read MoreFirst Deadline of NYC’s Local Law 154 of 2021 Looms
With the passage of Local Law 154 of 2021 (the “All-Electric New Buildings Law”), New York City became the largest city in the world to require that newly constructed buildings operate solely on electricity. This law means new buildings, with few exceptions, will be all-electric and emit less carbon, with the goal of improving local air quality. The law is a significant milestone in the...Read MoreSCOTUS Ruling Clarifies Overtime for Daily-Rate Employees Under FLSA
On February 22, 2023, in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, No. 21-984, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision held that a “highly compensated executive employee” who was paid at a daily rate and not paid on a “salary basis” at the then-required $455 weekly salary was not exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer, an offshore oil and...Read MoreNational Labor Relations Board Decision Places Limits on Severance Agreements
On February 21, 2023, in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No. 58, the National Labor Relations Board held that employers may not offer severance agreements to employees which require these employees “to broadly waive their rights under the National Labor Relations Act .” The McLaren decision involved severance agreements offered to furloughed employees which prohibited them from making any disparaging...Read MoreLabor and Employment Law: Updates to New York State Leave Protections
The New York Labor Law has been amended to provide protection for certain employee absences. The new law takes effect on February 20, 2023. The law aims to prohibit employers from penalizing employees who take legally-protected absences, including those defined by federal, local, or state employment law, and forbids “no-fault” attendance policies. The stated purpose of the amendment to...Read More