ALBANY, N.Y. — A newly signed New York State law increases protections for employees from retaliatory actions by their employers in the case of reporting illegal or dangerous business activities. It “enhances protection” for private-sector employees, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul said Oct. 28, the day she signed the legislation. The definition of employee […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — A newly signed New York State law increases protections for employees from retaliatory actions by their employers in the case of reporting illegal or dangerous business activities.
It “enhances protection” for private-sector employees, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul said Oct. 28, the day she signed the legislation. The definition of employee has been expanded to include former employees, protecting those who may have been retaliated against post-employment. The legislation goes on to widen the definition of retaliatory action, which will now include actions — or threats to take actions — that would “adversely impact” a former employee’s current or future employment. It also includes contacting — or threats to contact — immigration authorities about workers’ immigration status.
With the addition of covering former employees under this law, the statute of limitations was also extended to two years to ensure proper action can be taken in the case of retaliation.
“If we’ve learned anything from the pandemic, it’s that protecting workers must be part of our overall economic-recovery efforts,” Hochul contended. “This legislation ensures that employees can speak out on dangerous or illegal business practices that endanger their health and wellbeing. No worker should have to endure poor working conditions, so I’m proud to further protect working New Yorkers by preventing workplace retaliation.”
The law will protect employees whether they were acting within the scope of their job duties or not. It also ensures employees only must prove that they “reasonably believe” a violation of the law has occurred or that “substantial or specific danger” is possible. They previously needed to show that an actual violation of law had occurred that created and presented a “substantial and specific” danger to be protected from retaliation, expanding the type of whistleblowing that is protected.
New York State Senator Jessica Ramos (D–Jackson Heights), who represents a portion of New York City, sponsored the bill.
“When a worker comes forward to raise the alarm on dangerous or unlawful conditions in their workplace, they should have the security to know that taking that courageous step will not come back to haunt them. [The legislation] expands the same whistleblower protections available to public employees to workers in the private sector — including independent contractors,” Ramos said. “The importance of this bill has been emphasized by workers’ experiences during the height of the pandemic, as well as in the face of a troubling national trend of efforts to misclassify workers. By signing this bill, Governor Hochul is taking a significant step to signal to workers that we have their backs, and their health, dignity, and safety at work are of paramount importance.”