New York lawmakers will be busy in January when they begin a new legislative session, and Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering whether to sign or veto bills they passed in this year’s session.
The state is widely considered a leader in employee protection laws, with wage theft and fair pay requirements that often go further than the federal government and other states.
To stay up-to-date on your rights in the workplace, here are six labor initiatives employees should keep an eye on in 2025:
The EMPIRE Act Seeks to Strengthen Labor Law Enforcement
New York has a set of strong wage theft and employee protection laws, but they need strong enforcement mechanisms to be effective.
The Empowering People in Rights Enforcement Worker Protection Act (“EMPIRE Act”) would let employees and unions file lawsuits on behalf of the state’s Department of Labor. The agency has limited resources to enforce labor standards, and the EMPIRE Act would expand its capacity to go after wrongdoers.
Importantly, the EMPIRE Act lets workers sue in court even if they are covered by a forced arbitration clause or a class action waiver. Those are terms employers often impose to force claims into secret, out-of-court forums that are rigged in their favor and bar employees from joining class actions.
Because an EMPIRE Act suit would be brought by an employee on the state’s behalf, most of the penalties an employer has to pay would go to the DOL, which can use them to strengthen its ability to enforce the law and educate employees about their rights. An employee who mounts a successful EMPIRE Act suit would get to keep 40 percent.
A Proposal to Weaken Pay Protections for Manual Workers
Gov. Hochul is likely to ask the legislature to gut Section 191 of the New York Labor Law, which requires paychecks on a weekly basis for “manual workers.” A manual worker is anybody who engages in physical movement on the job — no matter how strenuous or easy it is — for at least 25% of the time. The definition covers a wide range of activities, such as walking and standing.
Currently, Sec. 191 lets a manual worker who wasn’t paid every week in the last six years recover the amount they were paid late and an equal amount as a penalty, called liquidated damages. For many New Yorkers, this amounts to half of their wages.
But Gov. Hochul’s proposal would erase liquidated damages. She made a similar proposal in the last legislative session but lawmakers didn’t pass it.
Without liquidated damages, the penalty for violating Sec. 191 would be so weak that employers may see little incentive to comply. As a result, some employers may continue unlawfully paying workers every other week, making life more difficult for low-wage workers who live paycheck-to-paycheck.
Weekly paychecks are especially helpful for low-wage employees who need immediate access to their earnings so they can pay living expenses like groceries, rent, medical care, and childcare. Eliminating liquidated damages would roll back a key penalty and let employers off the hook when they break the law.
The Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act
Legislation is headed to Gov. Hochul that would make warehouse fulfillment centers safer for workers. The Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act (“WWIRA”) passed both houses of the state legislature earlier this year with overwhelming support in the Senate and unanimously in the Assembly.
The WWIRA requires employers to develop workplace safety programs in consultation with ergonomists who specialize in preventing on-the-job injuries. Employers will have to produce annual assessments of their progress toward reducing workplace hazards and provide copies to employees upon request.
Warehouse work — which includes repetitive movements like lifting, bending, twisting, and reaching — can take a harsh toll on employees’ bodies and saddle them with medical bills. The dangers are especially clear at Amazon, which employs more warehouse workers than any other private company in the U.S. Research shows its fulfillment center workers are injured at twice the rate of employees in other private sector industries. Amazon’s New York-based fulfillment centers are even more dangerous than its sites in other parts of the country, according to an analysis of Occupational Safety and Health Administration data.
The bill is a follow-up to the Warehouse Worker Protection Act. The 2022 law requires companies that operate warehouse fulfillment centers to disclose any productivity quotas employees are subject to and ensures they get to take rest, meal, and bathroom breaks without worrying that the time will count against them.
Measures to Bridge Gaps in the Unemployment Insurance System
A package of bills aims to improve the unemployment insurance system. First, the Unemployment Bridge Program seeks to close coverage gaps in the safety net so workers who are currently excluded can receive support.
The program covers four categories of workers who are currently ineligible for UI benefits:
- Immigrants without work authorization
- Freelancers and self-employed people
- Domestic workers, landscapers, and construction workers on very small teams
- Formerly incarcerated individuals
These groups cover roughly 750,000 New Yorkers, an estimated 73% of whom are Black, indigenous, or people of color.
Second, legislation will also raise the UI benefit recipients get. Since 2019, the maximum benefit has been just $504 per week. That amount only covers 29% of wages for the average New Yorker, according to Cornell University’s Worker Institute.
Finally, legislation would give employees who strike an easier time accessing the UI system, which can provide vital support as the number of people engaged in work stoppages climbs back to pre-pandemic levels. Legislation would also reduce the waiting period before a striker can apply for unemployment from two weeks to one, taking some of the financial uncertainty out of standing up to the bosses.
Safety for Students and Teachers in Hot Temperatures
Another measure lawmakers approved during the last session is a heat safety bill that would establish processes schools must follow if the indoor temperature gets too warm.
It protects students, teachers, and school staff by requiring school districts to develop response plans for days when the temperature hits 82 degrees indoors. If the temperature climbs to 88 degrees, the bill requires vacating the space, which could mean sending kids home if an entire school building is warm.
Heat safety is gaining urgency as climate change produces hotter weather. If Gov. Hochul signs the measure, it would add to other heat safety guidance from the state Department of Labor.
New York’s law is especially important because observers expect the incoming Trump administration to severely weaken or even kill a heat safety proposal that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is working on. As the federal government pulls back from worker protection, only a few states have their own rules for working safely in hot weather, such as California, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Washington, and Minnesota.
Minimum Wage Parity in Different Parts of the State
Lawmakers may consider legislation that would end a minimum wage disparity that lets upstate employers pay less than businesses in New York City and nearby counties.
New York, like most states, has a minimum wage that’s higher than the federal requirement, which is just $7.25 per hour.
But New York’s minimum wage varies by region and falls short of a living wage. In downstate – specifically, New York City, Westchester County, and Long Island – the wage floor is $16 per hour. In the rest of the state, it’s $15.
It’s even lower for tipped employees in the hospitality sector, such as waiters and bartenders. Their minimum wage is $10.65 downstate and $10 in the rest of the state.
Instead of setting minimum wage by geography, advocates have called for New York to have the same wage floor throughout the state. A higher minimum wage for everyone will help upstate workers struggling with rapidly rising housing and living costs.
