Workforce Bulletin

Just ahead of the Trapped at Work Act’s effective date, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) released guidance clarifying several key issues the statute had previously left unresolved.

As a quick reminder and as we explain in more detail here, the Trapped at Work Act (TAWA) prohibits employers from requiring employees to sign an agreement that obligates an employee to repay the employer for specific benefits if their employment relationship terminates before a certain date absent certain conditions. TAWA also exempts certain agreements from coverage, such as financial bonuses, relocation assistance, or other non-educational assistance not tied to specific job performance, unless the employee resigned or was terminated for “misconduct.”

On Election Day this year, New York Governor Kathy Hochul was re-elected to her second full term. For New York employers, there are a few keys things to watch for as 2026 wraps up. As we previously discussed, over the summer the legislature passed several bills, which are making their way to the governor’s desk. These bills, once sent, must be acted upon by the end of the year. A summary of those bills is below:

On October 22, 2026, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato signed legislation to establish a mandatory paid parental leave program, which also expands Allegheny County’s paid sick leave law.

On October 16, 2026, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published a list of 10 “Key Practices for Incident Readiness and Response in Super Intelligence Training and Evaluation” (the “NIST Document” or “document”). The NIST Document is significant, as it is the first government effort to provide information to designers and deployers on mitigating risks associated with agentic artificial intelligence (AI) systems. To that end, NIST’s Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI), NSA’s Super Intelligence Security Center (SISC), and CISA partnered to develop best practices, described below, for incident response regarding super intelligence (SI) threats.

The New York City Commission on Human Rights (the “Commission”) approved and adopted final rules amending previous rules implementing the New York City Fair Chance Act (FCA). The finalized rule amendments are set to take effect on October 30, 2026.

On October 14, 2026, U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson, District of Maryland, denied a motion for a preliminary injunction and stay in National Ass’n of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump with respect to the March 2026 Executive Order (EO) No. 14398, “Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors.”

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s enforcement priorities have changed, and it seems, so have corresponding timelines to respond to employee charge allegations. Employers responding to charges of discrimination filed with the EEOC are encountering shorter deadlines for submitting position statements. This development makes prompt coordination with counsel and timely collection of evidence more important than ever.

The State of Rhode Island – the smallest state in the nation – is not often thought of as a trendsetter for legal issues. But in July 2025, the Ocean State set off the latest trend in employment protections by becoming the first state to enact employment-related legislation meant to support women who experience menopause.

On September 30, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit joined the Sixth and Ninth Circuits in their interpretation of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act’s (EFAA) scope. In Diaz-Roa v. Hermes Law, P.C., the court extended the developing consensus view that a plaintiff who includes a “claim” of sexual assault or sexual harassment in their complaint extends the statute’s invalidation of an existing agreement to arbitrate every claim in the lawsuit—in other words, the entire “case.”

Effective December 13, 2026, New York State will require most private employers to stock their workplaces with opioid antagonists (antidotes), such as naloxone or Narcan.