New York Archives - Ortoli

InsightsSeller Beware: Don’t Market Your Business Without Doing A Presale Legal Audit

June 25, 2022

Selling a business involves significant risk and is something that most owners do only once in their lifetime. A seller must “do it right the first time” and avoid pitfalls that can result in a reduced number of interested buyers, a reduced sale price, unfavorable payment terms, a large at-risk escrow amount, or a deal that does not close. If a deal doesn’t close, substantial management time is likely to have been spent, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars in professional fees are likely to have been incurred, confidential information about the seller’s business will have been disclosed, employees may leave, and a multi-million dollar payday will have vanished.

InsightsNew York City Amends Its Sick Leave Law To Align With New York’s Statewide Sick Leave Law

October 27, 2020

On September 28, 2020, Mayor de Blasio signed into law amendments to New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (the “Act”). The amendments, which went into effect on September 30, 2020, generally align the Act with New York’s recently enacted statewide sick leave law that also went into effect on September 30, 2020. However, several important differences described below exist between the two laws.

InsightsNew York State Issues Reopening Requirements And Guidance For Office-Based Work

July 10, 2020

As part of its “New York Forward” reopening plan1 for “Phase II” businesses, New York State authorized office-based businesses (other than medical offices) to reopen on June 22, 2020; provided they meet certain “minimum” requirements in light of COVID-19. These requirements must be met for office-based businesses to reopen, as well as by office-based businesses that have already reopened. They are in addition to requirements of the New York State Department of Health (“DOH”) and applicable federal requirements (such as from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”)).

InsightsNew York City Enacts Ban On Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing

April 17, 2020

Last year the New York City Council by a vote of 40-4 enacted Int. 1445-A (the “Law”), which amends the New York City Human Rights Law to prohibit employers and staffing firms from pre- employment drug testing for marijuana and THC (the active ingredient in marijuana). The Law will go into effect on May 10, 2020. It is applicable to employers with four or more employees who physically work in New York City and, pending further guidance, only to those employees who physically work in New York City (including temporary employees of staffing firms).

InsightsNew York State Enacts Covid-19 Sick Leave Law

April 13, 2020

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Cuomo signed into law on March 18, 2020 the New York COVID-19 Sick Leave Law, S. 8901 (the “Law”). The Law, which was effective immediately, requires employers regardless of size to provide sick leave to their eligible employees who physically work in New York State. The sick leave to be provided is paid or unpaid leave, depending on the size and net income of the employer. Guidance issued by New York State on March 25, 2020 is attached to this Legal Advisory.

InsightsNew York Enacts Statewide Ban On Salary History Inquiries

December 20, 2019

On July 10, 2019, Governor Cuomo signed into law bills A. 5308-B and S. 6549 (the “State Law”) that amends New York State’s Labor law to prohibit, statewide, employers from inquiring about or relying on the salary history of a job applicant or current employee in determining whether to offer employment to an individual or in determining the compensation of an individual. The State Law follows and supplements similar laws previously passed in New York City, Albany County, Suffolk County, and Westchester County, of New York State, and will go into effect on January 6, 2020.

InsightsNew York State Minimum Wage Increases, And Salary Level Increases For Certain Exempt Employees, For 2020

December 2, 2019

As we previously advised, as part of the 2016-17 New York State budget, Governor Cuomo signed into law a staggered set of minimum wages increases that will over a period of several years increase the hourly minimum wage in New York State to $15.00 for all workers in all industries across the state.

InsightsNew York State And New York City Enact Sweeping Laws To Prevent Workplace Sexual Harassment

September 10, 2018

In response to the #MeToo movement, New York State and New York City have recently enacted sweeping and partially overlapping workplace anti-sexual harassment laws, some provisions of which have already gone into effect while others will go into effect between now and April 1, 2019 (as indicated below). The new laws apply to both staff employees (full-time and part-time) and, for staffing firms, consultants/temporary employees who are their employees. Perhaps the most significant of the new provisions is mandatory annual sexual harassment training for employees.

InsightsNew York City Mandatory Paid Sick Leave Law Expanded To Include “Safe Leave”

July 23, 2018

On May 5, 2018, an amendment went into effect expanding and renaming New York City’s Earned Sick Time Act (the “Act”). Since the Act went into effect on April 1, 2014, it has required private sector employers with 5 or more New York City-based employees to provide such employees with paid sick leave of up to 40 hours per twelve-month calendar year, and private sector employers with fewer than 5 New York City-based employees to provide such employees with the same amount of unpaid sick leave.