This bill modifies the workers' compensation law to exclude unpaid student interns from coverage. It directly affects students enrolled in secondary schools, charter schools, or cooperative educational services who participate in unpaid internship or externship programs. The legislation defines a "student intern" as someone whose primary purpose in the program is educational or training-related, and it removes them from the legal definition of "employment" for the purposes of this specific insurance law. By making this change, the bill ensures that these specific unpaid trainees are not considered employees under the workers' compensation system.
This bill changes how certain public employees in New York contribute to their retirement systems by replacing a flat 3% rate with a tiered system based on their annual salary. Starting in the 2026 plan year, employees earning up to $75,000 will still pay 3%, while those earning between $75,000 and $100,000 will pay 4%, and those earning over $100,000 will pay 5%. The law also clarifies that these contribution rates are calculated using the employee's wages from the previous two-year period and excludes overtime pay from the calculation. New hires will have their contributions based on projected wages for their first three years of service.
This bill exempts unpaid student interns from coverage under the state workers' compensation law. It directly affects students enrolled in secondary schools, charter schools, or cooperative educational services who participate in unpaid internship programs. The legislation defines a "student intern" as someone in an educational program whose work is primarily for training purposes and removes them from the legal definition of "employment" for compensation purposes. Consequently, these interns will not be eligible for workers' compensation benefits if they are injured while working, even though they are performing tasks for an employer. The change applies immediately upon enactment.
This bill allows specific villages in Rockland County to use binding arbitration to resolve disputes with their employee unions when collective bargaining negotiations reach an impasse. Under the new rules, these villages can agree to submit unresolved contract issues to an impartial arbitrator, who has the authority to issue awards covering both past and future years without the usual restrictions. This change applies specifically to bargaining units in Rockland villages that have already had expired contracts for at least seven years. The legislation modifies the state Civil Service Law to formalize this process while leaving other public employers and employee groups under existing procedures.
Requires that an organization applying for grant funding shall provide to arts agencies a certification that it will enter into a labor peace agreement with at least one bona fide labor organization either where such bona fide labor organization is actively representing employees providing services covered by the organization seeking such grant funding or upon notice by a bona fide labor organization that is attempting to represent employees who will provide services to the organization seeking such grant funding; relates to prevailing wage requirements for not-for-profit theaters and payment of their employees on productions funded by the New York state council on the arts or arts agencies of localities.
This bill repeals sections 240 and 241 of New York's labor law, commonly known as the "scaffolding law," which imposed liability for injuries during construction work performed at elevated heights. It also amends other laws to remove references to these repealed sections, ensuring consistency across labor and construction regulations. The bill directly affects construction workers, employers, and contractors who previously had to comply with the liability standards for elevated work. The key change eliminates a legal framework requiring accountability for specific construction-related injury claims at height, streamlining related regulations without creating new obligations.
Freezes minimum wage automatic escalators and annual inflation adjustments beginning in 2027; repeals the provision of law providing that the minimum wage shall be determined by increasing the then current year's minimum wage rate by the rate of change in the average of the three most recent consecutive twelve-month periods between the first of August and the thirty-first of July, each over their preceding twelve-month periods published by the United States department of labor non-seasonally adjusted consumer price index for the northeast region urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W) or any successor index as calculated by the United States department of labor.
Exempts an employer that is required by contract to provide services to another entity by means of having one or more of its employees work at the facilities of the other entity for the entire daily work period and that must pay an additional employee to provide substitute services in the absence of the original contracted-for employee from the requirement to provide paid sick leave.
Enacts the "state taxpayer oversight and protection (STOP) act"; relates to the payment of attorneys' fees by the state; provides that no attorneys' fees or expenses shall be paid if incurred on behalf of an employee in any action brought by the employee against the state; provides that attorneys' fees shall be presumptively unreasonable where an individual hires or employs multiple law firms on the same matter unless such employee can demonstrate the need for additional attorneys with distinct subject matter expertise.
Provides that a pharmacy is obligated to properly dispense or refill a prescription for a drug or device, or a non-prescription drug or device regardless of the ethical, moral or religious beliefs of any employee of such pharmacy.
