Teri Weaver of the of the Post-Standard writes:

“By last Wednesday, all private employers across New York were required to tell their workers how much they make.

The workers, in turn, were supposed to sign these new wage notices – information that, for the most part, already shows up on regular pay stubs – or their bosses could face the threat of severe fines.

This exercise in busywork is the product of a new state law meant to protect low-wage workers from bosses who are stealing their employee’s pay.

It was most likely the first and last time the notification will go out to most of the people working 7.2 million private sector jobs in the state.

A move is under way by Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak, D-Cheektowaga, and Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, to repeal the Feb. 1 wage notification requirement.”

To read more click here.

Voice your support for fixing the Wage Theft Prevention Act here and click on “take action.”

The Business Council of New York State, Inc. recently launched an e-advocacy campaign on its Fix New York website to fix the costly, unnecessary pay notice mandate that was laid out in the so-called “Wage Theft Prevention Act.” Recognizing the negative impact this mandate would have on businesses across the state, both republican and democratic legislators are calling for the elimination of the annual pay notice requirement.

Visit Fix New York and tell your local legislator to fix the “Wage Theft Prevention Act.”

Cara Matthews of Gannett News writes:

“Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, plans to introduce legislation Monday that would increase the state’s minimum wage to $8.50 an hour starting Jan. 1, 2013.

New York’s minimum wage is $7.25, the same as the federal minimum wage. Silver’s proposal would index increases in the minimum wage to inflation, legislative officials said.

Assembly Democrats plan to hold a news conference Monday to introduce the bill.

Silver announced early this month that increasing the minimum wage would be a priority for Assembly Democrats this legislative session…”

“…But the National Federal of Independent Business in New York recently said it was opposed to a hike, arguing that it would drive jobs out of the state and make it more difficult for entry-level workers to find employment.

‘Small employers that can’t afford the increase will simply find ways to avoid creating new jobs,’ Mike Durant, the organization’s New York director, said in a statement. ‘And the jobs that are available will be more attractive to people who have more experience. People with the lowest skills and the least experience will be crowded out of the market.’

To read more click here.

James Odato of the Times Union writes:

“Assembly Democrats are close to unveiling a plan to raise the minimum wage in New York after talks with an alliance of labor and political groups pushing for a $9.50-per-hour rate.

Rob Lillpopp, a spokesman for the Business Council of New York State, expects a presentation this week. The council is wary of a hike, and questions the logic of raising minimum wages during a weak economy. “The way to improve the state’s economy is to increase the number of jobs,” Lillpopp said.

A coalition that includes the Working Families Party and some labor unions, particularly New York City-based SEIU 1199 and 32BJ, as well as the progressive advocacy group Citizen Action is pushing the increase. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, began pushing for an increase in his first speech of the year, made before Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address earlier this month.”

**Update: The Assembly has introduced a bill to increase the minimum wage to $8.50/hour (A.9148).

To read more click here.

According to a press release from the National Labor Relations Board:

“The National Labor Relations Board has agreed to postpone the effective date of its employee rights notice-posting rule at the request of the federal court in Washington, DC hearing a legal challenge regarding the rule. The Board’s ruling states that it has determined that postponing the effective date of the rule would facilitate the resolution of the legal challenges that have been filed with respect to the rule. The new implementation date is April 30, 2012.”

For more information click here.

We all thought that we’d be rushing to post the new NLRB 11” x 17” employee rights poster by November 14th but on October 5th, the NLRB announced a delay in the posting requirement. They say more outreach and education for employers is needed. Here is their press release.

The NLRB also has an FAQ page with nineteen questions concerning the posting of this new poster. It will be updated frequently as new questions arise.

The new posting date is January 31, 2012. Not mentioned in the press release was the lawsuit filed by the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Federation of Independent Business and other associations against the NLRB arguing that the posting requirement was beyond the NLRB’s jurisdiction.

A new coalition of New York employers, farmers and others has joined together to make a major push to reform New York’s century-old “Scaffold Law” to help promote economic growth and recovery throughout New York.

Under New York’s Scaffold Law, contractors, employers and property owners are held absolutely liable for “elevation related injuries.” When an injured worker sues, the contractor, employer, or owner is automatically liable even if they weren’t at fault.

New York remains the only state in the nation where a worker is not held responsible for his or her own negligence. Illinois was the last to reform the law, in 1995, and the effect was immediate: 50,000 new jobs and a sharp decrease in workplace injuries. By reforming the law, workplace safety will be improved.

“New York State’s elected officials must confront the fact that simply doing business here is more expensive than in almost every other state. The Scaffold Law is ‘Exhibit A’ of our outdated and biased legal system,” said Tom Stebbins, executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York (LRANY). “Reforming the Scaffold Law will be a first step to getting our economy moving again and sending a message that much-needed change has reached New York State.”

The tremendous costs of the Scaffold Law are passed along to all New Yorkers. Since there is virtually no defense against a million-dollar Scaffold Law suit, the cost of general liability insurance in New York is extremely high, driving up costs for all construction projects, including taxpayer-funded projects like infrastructure improvements and school construction. This has a significant impact on New York: construction costs go up, employers hire fewer workers (or must lay off those they do have) and the economy suffers.

The new Scaffold Law Reform coalition is supporting Assembly Bill 2835 (D- Morelle), which would give New York property owners, business owners, contractors and municipalities the chance to defend themselves in court when an injury occurs due to negligence. The bill would not prevent injured workers from suing their employers or prevent injured workers from receiving workers’ compensation benefits.

The coalition has launched a new website – www.scaffoldlaw.org – to educate New Yorkers about the issue and to encourage grassroots supporters to contact their legislators to express their support for reform.

“The Scaffold Law is more than 100 years old. A lot has changed in those years to help improve working conditions, including the development of OSHA standards and workers’ compensation. We need to modify this antiquated law which now serves as nothing more than an increase to the cost of doing business in New York and a deterrent to the creation of new jobs. In the end, every New Yorker pays the price,” said Stebbins.

# # #

Members of the Scaffold Law Reform Coalition include:
• Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York
• Associated General Contractors of New York State
• Business Council of New York State
• New York Farm Bureau
• National Federation of Independent Business
• Unshackle Upstate
• The New York State Builders Association

The Business Council is opposed to Assembly bill A.2947. This bill would dictate, for private sector employers of fifty or more employees who extend paid sick days, sick time or sick leave to their employees, the situations and circumstances under which employees would be entitled to use sick time under these employer sick day, sick time or sick leave programs.

Voluntary paid sick days, sick time or sick leave time-off programs have evolved in private sector workplaces over decades. Private sector employers have used them to be competitive in their recruiting and retention efforts by providing certain paid time for employees ill and unable to work. In the last ten years, many employers have expanded these voluntary programs and instituted use of this paid time off beyond the employee’s personal illness to include caring for ill family members. Furthermore, many employers have adopted the use of Paid Time Off (PTO) banks that have combined previously separate voluntary paid vacation, sick, personal and sometimes holiday pay programs into one bank of time available for employees with flexible needs. Employers have made changes that reflect their competitive market position, culture, size, industry, location and what they can afford, reflecting the vast diversity of businesses here in New York State. All of this has happened without interference from the New York State Legislature.

Businesses and their employees or collective bargaining representatives are best suited to determine what constitutes the appropriate components and use of voluntary time off programs for New York State private employers. This bill undermines the very purpose of the collective bargaining process and would launch an unprecedented level of state government mandated entitlement, replacing previously voluntary employee fringe benefit programs.

To read the rest of the bill memo click here.

The Business Council opposes this bill which would mandate utility companies and their contractors to pay public works-related prevailing wage to all their employees working on projects requiring street opening permits.

Requiring utilities to pay “prevailing wages” will increase utility’s cost of necessary infrastructure upgrades and repairs, and these increased costs will ultimately be paid by their business and residential customers.

There is no compelling reason to treat these utility projects as “public works” for prevailing wage purposes. Moreover, prevailing wage rates are typically based on union contracts, which reflect circumstances and conditions that may be unique to those parties. Under existing law, the “prevailing wage” represents one of the final products of extensive negotiations between labor and management involving potentially dozens of wage and non-wage issues. To impose these negotiated wages into the increasingly competitive energy and communications industries is inappropriate, antithetical to competition, and likely only to create upward pressure on consumer prices.

To read the rest of the bill memo click here.

This bill would require private sector employers of fifty or more employees to implement a qualified transportation fringe benefit plan. The Business Council opposes enactment of this bill.

Another Mandate on employers in New York State

Preparing a program document, engaging an administrator who would be responsible for management and maintenance of the program, and insuring proper tax compliance with IRC section 132 are all costs to a business of setting up and running such a program. Employers must establish this mandated transportation fringe benefit program before they even know if any employees are interested in participating. This is symptomatic of legislation that is proposed with no thought of any consequences to New York State employers.

To read the rest of the bill memo click here.