New York: Labor law shifts

At a glance

• New York is asserting stronger state-level control over labor disputes and proposing new limits on employer-imposed financial obligations.
• Senate Bill 8034A / Assembly Bill 8590A allows the New York State Public Employment Relations Board to intervene in private labor disputes when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is unable to act, prompting a federal lawsuit over jurisdiction.
• The NLRB filed suit claiming the law unlawfully conflicts with federal labor authority and seeks to block its enforcement.
• Trapped at Work Act (AB A584B): If signed, this bill would ban promissory notes requiring workers to repay employers for leaving early, with exceptions for advanced sums, property agreements, sabbaticals, and collective bargaining arrangements.

On September 5, Governor Kathy Hochul signed New York Senate Bill 8034A / Assembly Bill 8590A, which authorizes the New York State Public Employment Relations Board to assert jurisdiction over disputes between private employers, employees, and unions when the NLRB is unable to act effectively. The NLRB subsequently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, alleging that the law 'unlawfully usurps the NLRB’s authority by attempting to regulate areas explicitly reserved for federal oversight, creating a parallel regulatory framework that conflicts with the National Labor Relations Act.' The NLRB seeks a declaration that the law is preempted and an injunction barring its enforcement.

If signed by the Governor, AB A584B, the Trapped at Work Act, would prohibit the use of promissory notes that require workers to repay amounts to employers if they leave their jobs before a specified period. The bill allows certain repayment agreements, including for sums advanced to the worker (unless those sums were used to pay for training), repayment for property sold or leased to the worker, agreements tied to sabbatical leave for educational personnel and agreements negotiated as part of a collective bargaining agreement.