New York Paid Leave – Understanding Recent Changes and the Growing Patchwork

Joshua D. Seidman | Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Joshua is a trusted counselor who provides clients with strategic and practical business solutions on a broad spectrum of complex HR issues, with a specific focus on nationwide paid leave and leave of absence matters.

Joshua’s practice primarily involves counseling clients on a broad spectrum of employment law issues, with an emphasis on nationwide paid leave and leave of absence matters. To date, Joshua has helped more than 350 companies navigate the constantly evolving patchwork of federal, state and local paid sick and family leave laws.

Joshua regularly provides advice and counseling to employers on a wide array of Human Resources topics and issues, including policy development and review, day-to-day HR matters, and complying with federal, state, and local employment law. As part of his counseling, Joshua assists employers of varying sizes, including Fortune 500 companies, and operational scope, including in the finance, technology, transportation, telecommunications, health care, hospitality, restaurant, and retail industries.

Joshua strategically and extensively advises employers on leave and absence management, most notably on nationwide compliance with federal, state, and local paid sick and family leave laws. Joshua takes a proactive approach to helping employers keep up with the ever-increasing amount of state and local paid leave regulations, develop and update internal paid leave policies, train managers, human resources, and benefits professionals, and institute best practices based on applicable legal and practical considerations and business objectives. He also has experience representing companies during state and municipal paid sick and family leave investigations and audits.

Joshua guides clients on how to comply with other significant leave, absence management and accommodation laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, state vacation time laws, flexible scheduling laws, and many other rules and regulations. Joshua is regarded for his vast knowledge in the leave and  accommodation space, regularly speaking and publishing on this topic in terms of national considerations and strategies and state and local developments.

On the litigation side of his practice, Joshua defends clients during paid leave lawsuits and administrative charges, as well as single and multi-plaintiff litigation and wage-and- hour class and collective actions. Notably, Joshua defends management against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims under federal, state, and city anti-discrimination laws, wage and hour claims under federal and state laws, and wrongful discharge and breach of contract claims. He also has experience with employment litigation before New York State administrative agencies, and disputes involving collective bargaining and grievance arbitration.

Joshua’s strong litigation experience provides him with the unique ability to provide practical, sound business advice, while also helping clients position themselves to defend or avoid litigation altogether. Additionally, Joshua is a registered patent attorney, and prior to his legal career, spent time working for both a national laboratory and major regional newspaper.

Ashley N. Ehman | Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Ashley represents employers in single-plaintiff and multiplaintiff litigation and provides legal counseling on a wide variety of labor and employment matters.

Ashley represents employers in many areas of employment law, including discrimination, harassment, and retaliation matters. Additionally, Ashley has significant experience representing employers in matters involving the New York City Fair Workweek Law, which is a growing area of the law. She regularly counsels clients through the complexities of the Fair Workweek Law and defends employers against audits by the New York City  Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.

In addition to her employment law practice, Ashley counsels clients on the ever-changing paid sick leave and paid time-off landscape, including offering practical solutions to complex issues and preparing policies that comply with applicable laws. She also assists clients with addressing accommodation challenges in the workplace.

Ashley initially joined the firm as part of the Labor & Employment Department’s Fellowship program, an innovative training-focused program for law students with an affinity for labor and employment law. While in law school, Ashley served as a legal intern for the Honorable Dennis Hurley, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York. Ashley continues to draw on her experiences as a legal intern when representing employers in court.

Marlin Duro-Martinez | Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Marlin represents employers in single-plaintiff and multiplaintiff litigation, and provides counseling on various employment matters.

With the ever-changing leave law landscape, Marlin provides clients with practical solutions. She also assists clients with addressing website and physical barrier accessibility challenges at their place of accommodation, which is a growing area of the law.

Marlin joined the firm initially as part of the Labor & Employment department’s fellowship program, an innovative training-focused program for law students with an affinity for labor and employment law. While in law school, Marlin was a law clerk intern in the federal sector of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Previously, Marlin also served as a paralegal for a plaintiff’s side labor and employment law firm.

As a member of the firm’s ADA Title III Specialty practice team, Marlin advises and defends public accommodations in matters arising under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and other state and local laws concerning disability access. She also has experience assisting clients in various sectors with updating internal paid sick leave and paid time-off policies, as well as managerial and human resources guides, based on applicable leave law requirements.

Marlin enjoys working alongside Seyfarth attorneys who are highly skilled and knowledgeable in their respective fields.

I. New York paid sick leave mandates at the state and local levels | 12:00pm – 12:10pm

II. New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act updated Rules | 12:10pm – 12:20pm

III. Updates on New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act enforcement by the City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection | 12:20pm – 12:30pm

IV. Status and updates on New York state and local COVID-19 paid leave mandates | 12:30pm – 12:40pm

V. New York Paid Family Law and recent developments in 2023 | 12:40pm – 12:50pm

VI. 2023 amendments to the New York state anti-retaliation law (New York Labor Law Section 215) and their impact on legally protected absences | 12:50pm – 1:00pm