On June 14, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the “Statewide Housing Security and Tenant Protection Act of 2019” (“Act”). The Act dramatically changes existing landlord-tenant laws and extends and expands tenant rights and protections throughout the State of New York. The list below highlights some of the major changes to come from the Act. On October 12, 2019 the entirety of the Act will be in effect.

A sampling of the changes and additions to the law under this Act include, but are not limited to:

• Prohibition of a landlord’s refusal to rent to a prospective tenant for their past or pending involvement in eviction proceedings.

• Prohibition of a landlord f...

On September 24, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued its long-awaited final rule regarding the annual salary threshold for executive, administrative and professional (EAP) employees to qualify for overtime exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).   

The final rule is effective as of January 1, 2020. 

Under the final rule, employees covered by the FLSA are now subject to the following exemption requirements: 

• The minimum salary required for an EAP employee to qualify as exempt from overtime would increase from the currently enforced level of $455 to $684 per week ($35,568 annually).  This increase is lower than the $47,476 annual salary proposed by...

     On October 1, 2018, the New York State Department of Labor released the final guidance on the new sexual harassment law that requires all employers adopt a written sexual harassment policy, complaint form and implement a training program. The final guidance and model forms can be found on the Department’s website at: https://www.ny.gov/programs/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace

     Employers must have a legally compliant written sexual harassment policy and complaint form in place no later than October 9, 2018 and all employees must receive sexual harassment training by October 9, 2019 (and on an annual basis thereafter, with new hires receiving sexual harassment trainin...

        Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a $3.5 million HIPAA settlement with Fresenius Medical Care North America (“Fresenius”), a company which focuses on delivering care to patients with renal and other chronic conditions. Fresenius provides centralized support to a network of Fresenius Covered Entities (“Fresenius Facilities”).

        In 2013, Fresenius reported five separate breaches which occurred in between February 2012 and June 2012. All five breaches were the result of lost or stolen devices and ePHI not being encrypted. Device theft and unencrypted data are two of the biggest causes of...

     On January 24, 2018, the New York State Department of Labor (“DOL”) extended until April 4, 2018 the Emergency Rule(1) amending the Minimum Wage Order for Miscellaneous Industries and Occupations as it relates to hours of work for live-in home care workers. No changes were made to the Emergency Rule aside from the extension.

     The Emergency Rule, which was initially issued on October 25, 2017 and expired on January 3, 2018, codified and reaffirmed the DOL’s long-standing position that employers are not required to compensate live-in home care workers who work shifts of 24 hours or more for meal periods and sleep time if such an agreement exists, whether impli...

               On October 23, the Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Kara M. Stein, issued a public statement where it was announced that all three SEC Commissioners voted unanimously to support and adopt Auditing Standard (AS) 3101 (‘The Auditor’s Report on an Audit of Financial Statements when the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion’). Through a concept release, this standard was earlier proposed by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)- an independent body that regulates auditing practice. The Commissioner highlighted that the approval is the first significant development...

        On November 10, 2017, the New York State Department of Labor released proposed regulations which significantly change requirements for employee work schedules and the compensation employees receive for being on-call, called in and for cancelled shifts. The proposed regulations are currently open for comment. It is anticipated the proposed regulations will be finalized and effective early next year.

        The proposed employee scheduling regulations, promulgated at the direction of Governor Cuomo as part of his agenda “to achieve nation leading success in workers’ rights”, are among the most expansive work schedule regulations in the nation. Predictive scheduling legi...

          This article will discuss the basics of a New York State Partnership Plan Long Term Care Insurance Policy. According to statistics, at least 70 percent of people over age 65 will require some long-term care services at some point in their lives. Furthermore, Medicare and health insurance do not fully cover the long-term care services that most individuals need.

         A partnership program is a partnership between an insurance company, a state and residents of the state who buy a long-term care partnership insurance policy. Depending on the partnership policy, an individual could apply for Medicaid, even if he or she had sufficient assets to pay for his or her...

           This article will discuss the differences between a Medicaid Trust and a life estate deed to protect real property from long-term care costs.

         A Medicaid Trust allows individuals to transfer their home (or other assets) into an irrevocable trust. The grantor of the trust may appoint a Trustee, a person who manages the trust assets. Once assets are transferred to the trust, the grantor gives up the right to remove the trust’s principal [1] but retains the right to receive trust income. Generally, the most common asset transferred into this type of trust is real property—specifically, the home; this is because a person’s residence is usually not an i...

          Probate is the legal process that takes place after a person’s death. The process may include collecting assets, identifying which property is to be distributed by the Will, obtaining appraisals of estate property and paying off debts, taxes or other liabilities of the deceased individual. The final phase is to distribute the remaining property according to the terms of the Will or in accordance with New York State intestacy law, if there is no Will.

         Typically, probate involves filing a Petition with the Surrogate’s Court within the County where the decedent was domiciled (where the decedent resided). This Petition is called a Probate Petition (if there...