Legal Update: NYC Requires Employers to Provide Notice of Workers’ Rights

New York City (NYC) has enacted a new law, Local Law 161, that requires every employer in the city to post and provide each of their employees with a “Workers’ Bill of Rights” by July 1, 2024.

Thereafter, employers must provide each new employee with the bill of rights on or before the employee’s first day of work. Employers that fail to comply may face a $500 civil penalty.

Required Information
The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) provides the required information on its website for employers to use for compliance with the new requirements.

The Workers’ Bill of Rights includes information about rights under relevant federal, state and local laws that apply to employees, applicants or independent contractors in the city.

Employers must provide this information in English and any language spoken as a primary language by at least 5% of an employer’s workforce (if the DCWP provides it in that language).

Posting Requirements
Employers must conspicuously post the required multilingual “Your Rights at Work” poster where employees can easily see it and give a copy to each employee.

Employers must also post it to their intranet or mobile application if they offer one for employees to use.

Important Dates:

Jan. 2, 2024 - A law that requires NYC employers to post and provide a Workers’ Bill of Rights to all employees went into effect on this date.

March 1, 2024 - The DWCP issued the Workers’ Bill of Rights on this date.

July 1, 2024 - This is the deadline for employers in NYC to post and provide the Workers’ Bill of Rights to each employee. It is also the first date on which employers must provide it to all new employees before they start work.