Finally, on April 18, 2024, the $239 billion Budget was passed by both the NYS Senate and Assembly and sent to the Governor, who promptly signed the bills on April 20th. There were several items we were watching for NRLA that were adopted in the final budget including:
- Organized Retail Theft. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2026, a business in NYS that implements retail theft prevention measures (such as security officers, cameras, perimeter lighting, and door locking), that cumulatively exceeds $4,000 (25 or fewer employees) or $6,000 (more than 25 employees) for each New York retail location, may be eligible for the Commercial Security Tax Credit equal to $3,000 for each NYS retail location.
- Extends COVID Sick Leave until July 31, 2025. The current requirements and restrictions are in effect (see these FAQs for more details of the current program)
- Paid breaks for breastfeeding moms to express milk. The budget included legislation that requires all employers to provide paid 30-minute breaks for the expression of breast milk in the workplace, each time such an employee has a reasonable need to express breast milk for up to three years following childbirth. This law becomes effective June 19, 2024.
- Additional 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave during any 52-week period for physical examinations, medical procedures, monitoring and testing, and discussion with a health care provider related to the pregnancy. This leave may be taken in hourly increments and the employee must be paid their regular rate of pay. This law takes effect January 1, 2025.
There were also a few items that were not included in the Budget that we will advocate for before the session ends on June 6th including but not limited to:
- Limiting the frequency of pay lawsuits. The Governor included a provision in her Executive Budget proposal to clarify that paying a manual worker bi-weekly instead of weekly is not subject to liquidated damages. Small businesses have been victims of the frequency of pay lawsuits, even though employees have been paid for every hour worked; they simply were not paid weekly. No other state imposes liquidated damages or excessive penalties for frequency of pay violations. Here is an example: a small family-owned hardware store with 10 long-standing employees who each make $25 per hour could be subject to damages over $1.5 million.
- Funding Unemployment Insurance. New York’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund is completely depleted, and the state is still $7.5 billion in debt to the federal government for UI claims made during COVID. When New York borrows money from the federal government, it automatically triggers UI tax rate increases. Small businesses are at the most risk with higher claims and no debt relief.
Updates on Our Priority Legislative Issues:
The Legislature is on break until May 6th and session is scheduled to end on June 6th, with a total of 18 legislative days remaining. We will be strongly advocating for or against our bills, and making our voices heard on our Lobby Day on May 15th. Register to attend.
TREES Act (Deforestation): S.8898/A.9711 (Krueger/Zebrowski) (Similar to S.4859-A – Krueger/A.5682-A – Zebrowski of 2023 that was vetoed)
During the Budget, while most of the focus was on advocating for and against proposed Budget items, we were also working with organizations including AFPA and ESFPA to devise a strategy to kill the TREES bill before session ends. We have meetings scheduled in May with the Governor’s Office and the new Assembly Bill sponsor, Assemblyman Zebrowski. There will be a strong push by environmental groups to pass the bill in the next few weeks. But we have our ducks in a row!
Retail Worker Safety Act: S.8358-A (Ramos) / A.8947-B (Reyes)
This new, deceptively named bill would implement security mandates to combat retail theft. The bill, known as the “Retail Worker Safety Act” places responsibility for crime prevention on businesses themselves. If passed, this legislation will require businesses to install safety measures like outdoor lighting, employee training, panic buttons, and more. It further requires that if a business faces a violent crime, they would be forced to hire security personnel. This is all to be done on the business’ dime, which means businesses will be forced to pay thousands of dollars for being a victim of a crime. NRLA is part of a group of organizations that will be advocating against this terrible bill and it will also be part of our upcoming Lobby Day on May 15th.
Amish/Unfair Competition
We have requested to meet with the NYS Department of Labor to start a dialogue with them on labor-related issues surrounding the unfair business practices regarding regulation of workers, worksites, and child labor concerns in Amish businesses. We have been in contact with officials from the DOL Enforcement Department who are very interested in hearing more from us. We will also address this on Lobby Day in meetings with legislators with Amish businesses in their districts.
Retainage S.6685 / A.1194 (Martinez / Braunstein)
We are working on generating as many memos in support of the legislation to flood legislative offices before session ends in June. We are also working with the sponsors and Chairs of the relevant Committees that have jurisdiction over the bill in an attempt to move this bill out of Committee for a vote by the full Senate and Assembly.
Northeast Construction Trades Workforce Coalition Update:
We met with Senator Hinchey’s Director of Strategic Initiatives in hopes of securing a grant in support of our efforts through the Lumber and Building Material Dealers Foundation. We also had an introductory meeting with the NYS Department of Labor through the Deputy Commissioner of Business Advocacy and Engagement at the Department. We hope to have more for you in our next report.
We hope to see everyone in Albany on May 15th for our annual Lobby Day! Register to Attend.