Labor & Employment

S 7798 makes technical adjustments to New York State's 2025-26 aid to localities budget, specifically reallocating $90 million from the General Fund to the "Underserved Communities and Civic Engagement Program." The bill directs funding to seven specific nonprofit organizations, including the Asian American Foundation, New York Urban League, and Catholic Charities Community Services, for services like housing assistance, workforce training, and healthcare in underserved areas. This is a procedural budget modification with no new policy changes, simply adjusting existing allocations. The bill became law on May 23, 2025, and applies immediately to the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Enacts into law major components of legislation necessary to implement the state education, labor, housing and family assistance budget for the 2025-2026 state fiscal year; relates to contracts for excellence; relates to calculation of state aid to school districts; relates to a statewide dual enrollment policy; extends workforce education; relates to maximum class sizes for special education; extends chapter 82 of the laws of 1995; relates to foundation aid; provides for special apportionment for salary expenses; provides for special apportionment for public pension accruals; establishes a dual enrollment program; relates to universal pre-kindergarten and the Statewide universal full-day pre-kindergarten; extends provisions relating to paperwork reduction; relates to funding a program for work force education; extends provisions for monitors in the Hempstead union free school district, the Wyandanch union free school district and the Rochester city school district; relates to supplementary funding for the East Ramapo central school district; extends provisions authorizing the Roosevelt union free school district to finance deficits by the issuance of serial bonds; relates to requirements for zero emissions school buses; relates to certain instructional requirements for nonpublic schools (Part A); establishes a universal free school meals program; repeals provisions relating to the community eligibility provision state subsidy (Part B); relates to school policies regarding the use of internet-enabled devices during the school day (Part C); relates to scholarships awarded to part-time students by the New York state higher education services corporation; makes conforming changes; repeals provisions relating to tuition awards for part-time undergraduate students; relates to the New York state part-time scholarship award program (Part D); relates to authorizing the excelsior scholarship cover the cost of tuition in the state university of New York system (Part E); creates a New York opportunity promise scholarship for certain students who matriculated at a SUNY or CUNY community college, are over 25 years of age, have applied for certain tuition assistance programs, are eligible for resident tuition rates, and have not already obtained a postsecondary degree (Part F); provides for reduction of taxes pursuant to shelter rent (Part L); utilizes reserves in the mortgage insurance fund for the neighborhood preservation program, the rural preservation program, the rural rental assistance program, and the New York state supportive housing program (Part N); extends certain provisions relating to restructuring financing for residential school placements (Part O); authorizes child care support centers which are certified by the office of children and family services to place individuals as substitute caregivers at licensed and registered child care programs (Part P); relates to the provision of public assistance allowances to public assistance recipients upon the birth of a new child (Part Q); relates to increasing the standards of monthly need for aged, blind and disabled persons living in the community (Part R); relates to the effectiveness of provisions of law relating to the powers and duties of the commissioner of social services relating to the appointment of a temporary operator (Part S); relates to the healthy terminals act; amends certain definitions relating to covered airport location and covered airport workers; provides for the applicable standard rate as meaning the wage and benefit rates designated by the commissioner of labor (Part T); limits the amount of liquidated damages for certain frequency of pay violations (Part U); relates to civil penalties for violations of certain wage payment provisions (Part V); increases the civil penalties for violations of child labor laws (Part W); establishes a database for the employment of minors; allows for registration of minors and employers in such database; digitizes the process for minors to apply for employment (Part X); expands certain payments previously made to parents of deceased service members to spouses and minor children of such service members; authorizes the commissioner of veterans' affairs to conduct an outreach program for the purpose of informing the public and persons who may be eligible to receive an annuity (Part Y); requires submission of an annual report on the New York state museum (Part AA); decreases the length of the suspension period applicable to certain individuals who lose their jobs due to a labor dispute, such as a strike, and who seek to obtain unemployment insurance benefits (Part BB); requires social services for a city of a population of a million or more shall spend a certain amount of local funds for child care block grants (Part CC); establishes the crime of evading arrest by concealment of identity (Part DD); expands the merit time allowance and limited credit time allowance programs (Part EE); authorizes the commissioner of education to appoint a monitor to oversee the Mount Vernon city school district; requires such monitor to schedule three public hearings; requires the monitor and board of education to develop a proposed financial plan for the 2025--2026 school year and the four subsequent school years (Part FF); relates to the conversion to condominium ownership for the preservation of expiring affordable housing in the city of New York; provides expanded homeownership opportunities from the conversion of certain residential rental buildings to condominium status by property owners that commit to preserve the inventory of expiring affordable housing in the city of New York (Part GG); establishes the housing access voucher pilot program (Part HH); amends section 2 of chapter 868 of the laws of 1975 constituting the New York state financial emergency act for the city of New York, in relation to the effectiveness thereof (Part II); establishes the city of Buffalo parking authority; provides for its powers, duties and obligations (Part JJ); increases the maximum benefit rate for unemployment insurance (Part KK); amends provisions relating to discovery reform (Part LL); provides for the administration of certain funds and accounts related to the 2025-2026 budget; authorizes certain payments and transfers; relates to the administration of certain funds and accounts (Part MM).

Bill A 8000 provides emergency funding to ensure the continued operation of state government. It allocates funds for the salaries and benefits of state employees across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, including those in state-operated special employment programs. The bill also covers essential non-personal service expenses for state departments and agencies. These appropriations are authorized for the period from April 1, 2025, through April 23, 2025, to support government functions until a full state budget is passed.

This bill provides emergency funding to cover essential state government operations from April 1 to April 9, 2025, during a budget gap before the new fiscal year begins. It directly affects all state employees (including executive branch officials, judiciary staff, and legislature personnel) and agencies by authorizing payments for payroll, accrued liabilities, and operational costs during this period. Key provisions include funding for personal services, employee fringe benefits (like health insurance and retirement contributions), and non-personal service expenses incurred through April 9. The appropriation ensures continuity of government services without disrupting existing programs or authority under current law.

This bill provides emergency funding to keep New York state government operating during a critical budget gap from April 1-3, 2025. It allocates $279.9 million for state employee payrolls (including March 2025 back pay), $10 million for essential operational costs, and $1.1 billion for Medicaid programs. The funding ensures continuity for state services, payroll, and Medicaid payments while awaiting the regular 2025-2026 budget. It was enacted rapidly and signed into law on April 1, 2025, to prevent a government shutdown.

Creates, in addition to the existing sanction of criminal contempt of court, the remedies of labor law civil penalties and employee's right to bring civil action for unlawful discharge, penalty or discrimination on account of the exercise by an employee of a juror's right to be absent from employment by reason of jury service.

Relates to claims for mental injury premised upon extraordinary work-related stress incurred at work, including claims for post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder or major depressive disorder resulting from work-related stress when demonstrated that such disorder arose out of extraordinary work-related stress attributable to a distinct work-related event or events directly related to the employment and occurring during the performance of the employee's job duties; amends the effectiveness thereof.

This bill (A 2432) amends New York's warehouse worker injury reduction program to specifically target work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), affecting warehouse employers and workers performing manual materials handling. It defines MSDs broadly to include conditions caused by ergonomic risks like repetitive motions, forceful exertions, or extreme postures, and establishes "competent persons" (e.g., ergonomists or safety professionals) to conduct workplace evaluations. Employers must implement injury reduction programs including annual worksite evaluations identifying MSD risks, incorporating worker input, and making evaluation results available to workers within one business day. The law requires employers to correct identified risks promptly or provide a timeline, with mandatory board-certified ergonomist reviews if workers raise material concerns. The bill became law on February 14, 2025 (SIGNED CHAP.68).

Relates to the disclosure of automated employment decision-making tools; requires the office of information technology services to maintain an artificial intelligence inventory; provides that the use of artificial intelligence systems shall not affect the existing rights of employees pursuant to an existing collective bargaining agreement, or the existing representational relationships among employee organizations or the bargaining relationships between the employer and an employee organization.

Updates requirements for retail worker employers when developing and implementing programs to prevent workplace violence; clarifies certain provisions of the retail worker safety act.