Labor & Employment

Prohibits the use of a wage-fixing algorithm in combination with personal or behavioral data to set or recommend wages or compensation; defines terms; establishes penalties for violations of such prohibition.

Provides for cost-of-living adjustments of disability benefits for an employee with a permanent total disability to be based on an increase of the consumer price index as promulgated by the U.S. department of labor.

Enacts the "New York emergency expedited temporary work permit act" to allow asylum seekers to apply for and be granted temporary work permits while their federal immigration status is being determined.

This bill creates an optional 25-year retirement plan for airport firefighters employed by counties or municipalities. It allows eligible firefighters (those responsible for aircraft rescue, fire suppression, and emergency response at airports) to retire after 25 years of service and receive a pension equal to half their final average salary. Employers (counties/municipalities) must voluntarily adopt the plan by resolution and cover the costs, but it does not affect existing retirement options for other workers. The plan includes credit for prior service in firefighting, police, or military roles and applies only to firefighters whose employer chooses to participate.

Requires employers and third-party websites, job boards, and recruitment platforms to remove inactive job postings within a certain timeframe; authorizes the commissioner of labor to promulgate rules and regulations regarding such posting requirements and violations thereof.

Includes entities that provide employment or services to formerly incarcerated persons in the preferred source exemption for purposes of state purchasing.

Enacts into law major components of legislation necessary to implement the state education, labor, housing and family assistance budget for the 2026-2027 state fiscal year; relates to contracts for excellence, foundation aid, the homeless and foster count, renewable energy projects, zero-emissions school buses and to apportioning aid for universal prekindergarten; relates to reimbursement for the 2026-2027 school year and the maximum contract hours, withholding a portion of employment preparation education aid, and the effectiveness thereof; relates to the use of apportionments for the EXCEL program and the effectiveness thereof; relates to maximum class sizes for special classes for certain students with disabilities; provides for special apportionment for salary expenses; provides for special apportionment for public pension accruals; amends provisions relating to the apportionment amount for the Roosevelt union free school district; provides for set-asides from the state funds which certain districts are receiving from the total foundation aid; provides for support of public libraries; repeals certain provisions relating to the statewide universal full-day prekindergarten program (Part A); relates to evidence-based instructional practices in the subject of mathematics for students in kindergarten through grade five (Part B); relates to the eligibility of students enrolled in an approved program leading to a degree in a high demand field for the New York opportunity promise scholarship (Part C); allows for the chancellor of SUNY and CUNY to impose differential tuition rates on non-resident undergraduate and graduate students until the 2028-2029 academic year (Part E); relates to early childhood educator eligibility for the masters-in-education teacher incentive scholarship program (Part F); changes the name of the "New York state musical instrument revolving fund" to the "New York state music grant fund"; includes musical education in school districts and boards of cooperative educational services within not-for-profit musical entities incorporated in the state and organized for the purpose of the presentation of performing arts for the benefit of the public (Part G); extends provisions of law relating to restructuring financing for residential school placements (Part K); increases the standards of monthly need for aged, blind and disabled persons living in the community (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, the solutions to end homelessness program or the operational support for AIDS housing program (Part M); increases the number of land banks which can simultaneously exist in the state of New York from 35 to 45 (Part N); authorizes a tax abatement for alterations and improvements to multiple dwellings for purposes of preserving habitability in affordable housing (Part O); relates to establishing the crime of aggravated harassment of a rent regulated tenant (Part P); renumbers the disparate impact standard for housing and employment in the human rights law (Part Q); defines eligible multiple dwelling under the affordable New York housing program; includes a multiple dwelling that is located on a parcel of land which was part of a tract of land for which a special permit for a large scale general development was approved via the uniform land use review procedure on or before June 15, 2022, and such tract contains a multiple dwelling for which the commencement date is after December 31, 2015 and on or before June 15, 2022 and complies with certain affordability options (Part R).

This bill requires employers to provide a designated sink for washing breast pump equipment upon request by nursing employees. It amends labor law to specify that the room designated for expressing milk must include, "upon request," a sink or basin for cleaning pump attachments. The law directly affects nursing employees who express milk at work and their employers, who must comply with this provision. Key provisions include ensuring the facility is accessible, private, and not a restroom, with the new sink requirement being optional only when requested. The bill takes effect immediately upon passage.

Establishes a reasonable accommodation reimbursement grant program under which eligible employers may request a grant for reimbursement of expenses made for reasonable accommodations for applicants or employees with a disability; establishes a reasonable accommodation reimbursement fund for payment of such grants; makes an appropriation of $5,000,000 for such program.

Provides protections for telecommunications tower technicians, including requiring that all tower technicians performing work pursuant to a contract with a state agency complete training requirements determined by the office of general services prior to commencing work pursuant to such contracts; repeals legislative intent relating to such tower technician protections; relates to the effectiveness thereof.