On March 1, 2024, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) released the text of the new "Workers' Bill of Rights" on its website along with the poster that employers will have to use starting July 1, 2024. The law requiring employers to distribute and post a notice informing workers of their rights was enacted on December 4, 2023.
What Is in the Workers' Bill of Rights?
When the law was signed in December 2023, it gave the DCWP until March 1, 2024, to draft the Workers' Bill of Rights in collaboration with the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), the New York City Commission on Human Rights, and community and labor groups.
The newly published Bill of Rights includes information on:
- Rights enforced by DCWP: Paid Safe and Sick Leave, Temporary Schedule Changes, Fast Food Worker Rights, Retail and Utility Safety Worker Rights, Food Delivery Worker Rights, Freelance Worker Rights, Commuter Benefits, and Grocery Worker Rights.
- Rights enforced by other agencies: Minimum Wage and Hour Rights, Prevailing Wage, Paid Family Leave, Family and Medical Leave Act, Workers' Compensation and Disability Benefits, No Forced Labor, Safe and Healthy Workplace, Discrimination-free Workplace, Right to Organize, Unemployment Benefits, Health Insurance, and Correct Worker Classification (Employee or Independent Contractor).
- Job applicant rights: Pay Transparency, Salary History Ban, Rights When Using an Employment Agency, and Automated Employment Decision Tools.
What Does the Poster Look Like?
The poster states "Know your rights at work" in multiple languages and provides a QR code that links to the DCWP web page with the text of the rights.
When Do Employers Have to Provide the Workers' Bill of Rights to Employees?
By July 1, 2024, employers must conspicuously post the poster at the employer's place of business and provide a copy of the notice to all employees. The notice must be posted/distributed in English and "any language spoken as a primary language by at least five percent of the employees employed [by] an employer." Employers also must publish the notice online if such online systems are regularly used to communicate with employees.
How Will the Law Be Enforced?
Employees can file a complaint online, or by email, mail, or phone. Employers that fail to comply with the law will receive a warning and have 30 days to cure the first violation. Thereafter, there is a $500 civil penalty.
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