December 27 – The new year is approaching and when it does, a slew of new laws will go into effect in New York State.
Some are the result of years of legislation that are now taking effect, while others will take effect during the year after being signed into law by Governor Kathleen C. Hochul in recent weeks.
The minimum wage will increase to $15.50 per hour in the state, and to $16.50 per hour in the state and on Long Island, starting Jan. 1. That’s the result of legislation signed in 2023 that will increase the minimum by another 50 cents in 2026 and then tie future increases to a three-year average of the consumer price index for the Northeast.
For salaried employees, state laws regarding overtime are also changing. Effective Jan. 1, workers in administrative or managerial positions who earn less than $60,405.80 annually in the state will be eligible for higher pay for working more than 40 hours per week. For New York City workers, the threshold is set at $64,350.
A bill signed into law earlier this year would give all New York workers 20 hours of paid sick time, specifically to be used for prenatal care for pregnant people or their partners, and expand Medicaid to doulas.
On July 31, employers’ obligation to offer COVID-specific paid sick leave will expire.
A handful of workplace safety requirements will go into effect on March 4, the result of a bill signed by the governor earlier this year. For stores that do not primarily sell food, employers will need to develop safety plans that they share with their employees and the state labor department, implement safety training programs and install “panic buttons” to contact security or police in their storefronts. Further guidance from the Ministry of Labor is expected in the coming months, detailing which stores are subject to the new rules and what specifically they should do.
There is already a law in force that requires telemarketers to identify themselves within the first 30 seconds of a call, as well as the reason why they are calling. With financial penalties in place for non-compliance, telemarketers must now provide their name, the name of the company they are calling from, and the reason why they are calling. They must also identify if the call is being recorded and offer a ‘do not call’ option.
A bill to reauthorize the cannabis grower showcase program will also be finalized and take effect immediately next year. The Legislature this year passed a bill reauthorizing the program, which allowed state cannabis regulators to grant temporary retail licenses to people looking to open a dispensary, in partnership with legal growers and processors, at a time when the nation’s legal marijuana industry state had difficulty meeting the conditions. established. Persistent delays in dispensary approvals have left many entrepreneurs in bureaucratic purgatory and hampered plans for growers and processors. The showcase system was praised as a solution, but all showcase permits expired on January 1, 2024.
Hochul and the state Legislature have agreed to make some changes to the reauthorization law passed this year through chapter amendments before it takes effect — intended to bring the legislation closer to what regulators reported after the 2023 program ended.
Another bill to regulate short-term rentals like AirBnB’s is also getting some changes before final approval is expected early next year. The Legislature this year passed a bill that would have created a mandatory statewide registry of short-term rental units, maintained with data from the platforms that host the rental listings and property owners. It also found that these short-term rentals are subject to the occupancy and sales taxes that New York hotels pay.
Hochul said last week that the bill needs some changes — instead of creating a mandatory statewide registry, it gives counties the authority to set up their own local registries, but does not require it — the counties were already authorized to do just that, and many, including St. Lawrence County, have entered into agreements with hosting platforms to collect occupancy and sales taxes without any specific state laws.
Hochul and lawmakers also agreed to make marginal changes to a bill passed this year that would require consumer reporting agencies, such as Equifax or Experian, to report when a data breach occurs within 30 days of the incident. After lawmakers make some minor changes to the bill early next year regarding how that notice is provided, the law will go into effect immediately.
