News & Commentary

This Black History Month we pause to recognize Black women as recent and historic key players in the U.S. political process. We celebrate the election of the first Black and South Asian woman to Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. We also celebrate the commitment and systematic organizing spearheaded, most notably by Stacey…

You may be scrambling to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination for yourself or a loved one. But, will you be responsible for costs associated with vaccination? Earlier What You Need to Know Now posts here and here explained that all COVID-19 testing and associated costs must be covered without cost-sharing under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and…

In March 2020, New York State passed emergency legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that requires employers to provide job-protected COVID-19 sick leave to employees subject to an order of quarantine or isolation. See LR’s prior What You Need to Know Now updates on the legislation here and here. On January 20, 2021, the…

On December 21, 2020, Congress passed a $900 billion stimulus package. If signed into law, the second stimulus bill would extend some of the federal protections specifically created during the pandemic for workers and those who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19, while reducing some of the earlier protections. The Families First Coronavirus Response…

On December 17, 2020, the New York City Council voted to pass a bill protecting fast food workers from being fired or having their hours significantly reduced without a valid reason. Mayor DeBlasio is expected to sign the legislation into law. Under the bill, employers may not terminate employees or substantially reduce their hours without…

Preparing to enter office in January 2021, President-elect Joe Biden has not yet announced his choice for Secretary of Labor, but the labor agenda Biden shared throughout the presidential campaign signals that greater workplace safety enforcement, progressive labor legislation, and a more union-friendly NLRB may be on the horizon. Though many aspects of his labor…

Levy Ratner congratulates Pamela Jeffrey on her well-deserved induction into the Class of 2020 College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Click here to read about Pam’s illustrious career representing unions and employees in the robust exercise of their rights in organizing, collective bargaining, strikes and picketing, litigation, arbitrations and before the NLRB.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently issued a decision that provides guidance for determining when a representation election should be conducted through mail ballots, rather than in-person voting, due to health and safety concerns related to COVID-19. The NLRB recognized that while “existing precedent strongly favors manual elections,” i.e. in-person, the extraordinary circumstances that…

On October 29, 2020, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ordered the U.S. Postal Service to implement measures to ensure that Florida mail-in ballots are efficiently delivered and counted by Election Day on November 3. The court order came as the result of a lawsuit brought by Levy…

Election Day is quickly approaching, and many voters are having to make special considerations this year regarding how and when to cast their ballot. Employees working in New York may find some relief from the state’s newly amended Election Law, which grants some employees the right to paid time off to go vote. The amended…