Arielle E. Kobetz
Arielle Kobetz is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department. She assists employers in a wide range of areas, including discrimination, wage and hour, and traditional labor.
Prior to joining Proskauer, Arielle served as a law clerk at the New York City Human Resources Administration, Employment Law Unit, where she worked on a variety of employment discrimination and internal employee disciplinary issues.
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***UPDATE: on June 11, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed the HERO Act amendments into law. As discussed below, section 1 of the Act takes effect on July 5, 2021, though employers are not required to adopt an airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plan until the state issues its model. Section 2 (permitting the creation of a … Continue Reading
***UPDATE: Governor Cuomo signed the HERO Act into law on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. The Act is currently scheduled to take effect on June 4, 2021; however, section two of the Act, which permits the creation of a joint employer-employee workplace health and safety committee (as discussed below), takes effect on November 1, 2021. On … Continue Reading
***UPDATE: On May 21, 2021, OSHA published a new FAQ establishing that employers do not need to record adverse reactions from COVID-19 vaccines on their OSHA 300 Logs, at least through May of 2022. The enforcement position applies regardless of whether an employer requires, recommends, or incentivizes employees to receive the vaccine. On April 20, … Continue Reading
On March 31, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the New York State Cannabis/Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act, which legalized the use of recreational marijuana for individuals ages 21 and older. Among other things, the Act establishes a Cannabis Control Board and Office of Cannabis Management that will be responsible for regulating … Continue Reading
The New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) has issued guidance on the State’s recently enacted COVID-19 vaccine leave law, which went into effect on March 12, 2021. As we previously reported, the law requires employers to provide employees with “a sufficient period of time, not to exceed four hours” per dose to be vaccinated … Continue Reading
***UPDATE: Governor Cuomo signed this bill into law on Friday, March 12. The law takes effect immediately.*** The New York state legislature passed Bill S2588A/A3354B, which would amend the New York Labor Law to grant employees paid leave time for the COVID-19 vaccination. Below is a brief summary of what New York employers need to … Continue Reading
*** UPDATE: On November 24, 2020, the Plaintiffs in Palmer, et al. v. Amazon.Com, Inc., et al. filed a notice of appeal. The Plaintiffs appealed Judge Cogan’s order dismissing the case to the Second Circuit. We will continue to monitor this case and provide updates. *** On November 2, 2020, the Eastern District of New … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, the New York State paid sick leave law will take effect, and covered employees will begin accruing leave time, on September 30, 2020. However, employees may be restricted from utilizing accrued sick leave until January 1, 2021. As set forth in our previous blog: Employers with 4 or fewer employees and … Continue Reading
As we have previously reported, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) continues to update its COVID-19 guidance. Most recently, on July 20, 2020, the DOL issued additional Q and A guidance related to COVID-19 and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Families First Coronavirus Response … Continue Reading
In a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Gorsuch on June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court held that Title VII’s prohibition on discrimination “because of…sex” includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Bostock v. Clayton County, No. 17-1618 (590 U.S. ___ (2020). In doing so, the Court made clear that … Continue Reading
As the nation continues to move toward reopening, the EEOC and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued additional guidance for employers to consider as they plan employees’ return to the workplace. These updates supplement earlier guidance issued by both agencies, which we discuss in our previous posts. EEOC Guidance On June 11, 2020, … Continue Reading
On May 19, 2020, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued a memorandum updating previous guidance regarding employers’ obligation to record cases of COVID-19 in the workplace. On May 26, 2020, the previous guidance will be rescinded and OSHA’s updated guidance will go into effect, the key provisions of which are … Continue Reading
New York State and Washington D.C. have enacted legislation regarding paid time off to vote. The details of these new laws are summarized below. New York Nestled into the FY 2020-21 NY state budget is a revision to the statewide time off to vote law, which was revised in April 2019 to increase paid voting … Continue Reading
*** Last Updated: July 17, 2020 *** New York State has issued detailed guidance on Governor Cuomo’s “New York Forward” Plan, under which the State will re-open in four phases on a regional basis. The guidance includes additional information regarding: (1) when regions will be permitted to begin re-opening; (2) which businesses are included in … Continue Reading
***Updated May 5, 2020 to account for new information released by the Governor’s Office.*** In his daily press conference on April 26, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to re-open the state in phases on a regional basis. Under the plan, businesses will re-open on a business-by-business level within each region, with … Continue Reading
***Last Updated: May 18, 2020*** On April 9, 2020, Empire State Development (“ESD”) released guidance for determining whether a business or service is “essential” under a series of executive orders issued by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. These orders, which we addressed in a previous post, require that only businesses and not-for-profit entities deemed essential … Continue Reading
On April 3, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the fiscal year 2021 New York State budget, which, notably for employers, includes a new statewide paid sick leave requirement. As described below, the new leave provisions, which amend the NY Labor Law, will require New York employers of all sizes to provide … Continue Reading
***Updated April 16, 2020*** On March 25, 2020, New York State published Frequently Asked Questions and other guidance regarding the state’s recently enacted Covid-19 Paid Sick Leave Law and expansions to New York’s Paid Family Leave Law (PFL) and Disability Benefit Law. This bill was signed into law on March 18 and became effective immediately … Continue Reading
D.C. Governor Muriel Bower has issued an emergency order, Mayor’s Order 2020-053, (“the Order”) requiring that all non-essential businesses cease on-site operations beginning at 10:00 p.m. on March 25, 2020. The Order also prohibits gatherings of 10 or more people. The Order, as of now, will remain in effect through April 24, 2020. The Order … Continue Reading
*** IMPORTANT NOTE: On April 9, 2020, the State of New York released updated guidance that modifies some of the content discussed below. Read more on our updated blog post here. *** Beginning Sunday, March 22, 2020, in accordance with Executive Order 202.8 issued by Governor Andrew Cuomo, only essential businesses and not-for-profit entities in … Continue Reading
*** UPDATE: The Department of Labor has issued guidance stating that the law will take effect on April 1, 2020. More information on the guidance can be found on our blog post here.*** On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into the law the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Family First Act” or the … Continue Reading
*** New York State has issued additional guidance on the statewide Coronavirus leave law. More information about this guidance can be found on our blog post here. *** On March 18, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a statewide Coronavirus response bill that immediately provides employees with sick leave and job protection in … Continue Reading
*** IMPORTANT NOTE: On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed an amended version of the Family First Coronavirus Response Act into law that modifies some of the provisions discussed below. Read more on our updated blog post here. *** On March 14, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 6201, also known … Continue Reading
The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (the “Department”) has issued its final regulations regarding the state’s Paid Sick Leave Act (the “Act”), which took effect on October 29, 2018. The Department also published its responses to over one hundred comments submitted by members of the public regarding the proposed regulations. As we … Continue Reading
New York State Passes Significant Amendments to the HERO Act
By Harris Mufson, Evandro Gigante and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Coronavirus, Workplace Policies and Procedures
New York State Passes Bill to Mandate COVID-19 Safety Standards in the Workplace
By Evandro Gigante, Harris Mufson and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Coronavirus, Workplace Policies and Procedures
OSHA Issues Guidance on Employer Recording Obligations Regarding Mandatory Vaccination Programs
By Harris Mufson and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Coronavirus, Workplace Policies and Procedures
New York State Legalizes Recreational Adult Use of Marijuana
By Harris Mufson and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
New York State Issues Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccine Leave Law
By Evandro Gigante, Arielle E. Kobetz and Alex Downie on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences
New York State Passes Bill Granting Employees Paid Time Off for COVID-19 Vaccinations
By Evandro Gigante, Harris Mufson, Arielle E. Kobetz, Alex Downie and Julia Hollreiser on Posted in Coronavirus
New York Court Dismisses Amazon Workers’ COVID-19 Health and Safety Claims
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Evandro Gigante and Heylee Bernstein on Posted in Coronavirus, Litigation and Arbitration, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
Reminder: New York State Paid Sick Leave Law Takes Effect September 30
By Arielle E. Kobetz and Evandro Gigante on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
DOL Releases Additional COVID-19 Guidance Related to FFCRA, FMLA and FLSA
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Laura Fant, Heylee Bernstein and Guy Brenner on Posted in Coronavirus, FLSA, Leaves of Absences, Wage and Hour
U.S. Supreme Court Holds That Title VII Prohibits Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Alex Downie and Steven Hurd on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation
EEOC and OSHA Issue New COVID-19 Guidance
By Arielle E. Kobetz and Harris Mufson on Posted in Coronavirus
OSHA Updates Guidance Regarding COVID-19 Recordkeeping Requirements
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Caroline Guensberg, Harris Mufson and Scott Tan on Posted in Coronavirus, Workplace Safety
New Voting Leave Laws in New York State and Washington D.C.
By Allan Bloom and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
New York State Issues Guidance for Re-Opening of Businesses
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Alex Downie, Evandro Gigante and Harris Mufson on Posted in Coronavirus
New York’s Governor Outlines Plan to Re-Open Businesses
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Alex Downie, Evandro Gigante and Harris Mufson on Posted in Coronavirus
New York State Issues Updated Guidance on Essential (And Non-Essential) Businesses
By Allan Bloom, Arielle E. Kobetz and Alex Downie on Posted in Coronavirus
New York Enacts Statewide Paid Sick Leave Law as Part of FY 2021 Budget
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Harris Mufson and Laura Fant on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
New York State Issues Guidance on COVID-19 Quarantine Leave Law
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Rachel Therese Gulotta, Laura Fant, Harris Mufson and Evandro Gigante on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
District of Columbia Orders Closure of All Non-Essential Businesses
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Caroline Guensberg and Guy Brenner on Posted in Coronavirus
New York State Mandates That Non-Essential Workers Must Stay Home
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Evandro Gigante and Alex Downie on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
Federal Family First Coronavirus Response Act Signed Into Law
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Laura Fant, Heylee Bernstein, Guy Brenner and Evandro Gigante on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
New York State Enacts Coronavirus Response Bill Including Paid Sick Time and Other Statutory Benefits
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Laura Fant, Harris Mufson, Heylee Bernstein and Evandro Gigante on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Family First Coronavirus Response Act: What Employers Need to Know
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Laura Fant, Heylee Bernstein, Guy Brenner and Evandro Gigante on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
Final Regulations Issued for New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act
By Arielle E. Kobetz, Alex Downie and Harris Mufson on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
