New York’s Top Workplace Bills to Watch as Legislature Signs Off for the Year
New York lawmakers ended the 2026 legislative session by passing a wide range of workplace bills that could affect severance agreements, employment contracts, job postings, personnel files, wage-and-hour practices, arbitration, artificial intelligence, and workers’ compensation. While none of these measures are law yet, many are expected to be sent to Governor Hochul for consideration later this year. Some of the proposals would take effect immediately if signed, leaving employers little time to update policies, agreements, and compliance practices. Here are the top bills employers should know about and begin preparing for.
Note: Even if Governor Hochul signs a bill, she may do so with an agreement that lawmakers will add chapter amendments when they return next session. Employers should confirm final action before treating any proposal as effective.
Severance Agreements and Employment Contracts
The No Severance Ultimatums Act (S372A)
Employers offering covered severance agreements would be required to:
- notify employees of their right to consult an attorney;
- provide at least 21 calendar days to consider the agreement;
- allow a seven-calendar-day revocation period; and
- make clear that the agreement does not become effective or enforceable until the revocation period expires.
Any severance agreement that fails to comply with these requirements would be void and unenforceable. Learn more here.
The Anti-Waiver of Employment Rights Act (S4424A)
This bill would invalidate certain contractual provisions that waive or limit employee rights, remedies, or claims under the New York Labor Law or New York State Human Rights Law, subject to certain exceptions and federal-preemption arguments. If enacted, this would affect provisions commonly found in employment agreements, arbitration agreements, compensation plans, and other workplace documents. Learn more here.
Required Disclosures for Certain Employment Agreements (A618)
Employers would be required to inform employees that non-disclosure and non-disparagement provisions do not prohibit them from communicating with law enforcement, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the New York State Division of Human Rights, local human rights commissions, or their own attorney. Learn more here.
Hiring, Job Postings, Personnel Files, and More
Targeting “Ghost Job” Postings (S8877)
Covered employers and third-party job posting entities would be required to disclose whether a job posting is tied to a current vacancy, a future anticipated opening, or a resume pipeline. Employers would also be required to remove covered postings within two weeks after a position is filled, and violations would result in escalating penalties on a per-platform or per-publication basis.
If enacted, employers will need greater coordination among HR, talent acquisition, recruiters, staffing agencies, and job-board vendors. Learn more here.
Employee Right to Access Personnel Records (S3460)
Employers would be required to:
- provide an employee a copy of their personnel file at no cost within five business days of their written request;
- notify an employee within 10 days after placing negative information in their personnel record; and
- retain complete personnel records until three years after termination.
In addition, employees who disagree with information in their file would have the right to submit a written rebuttal statement that would become part of the personnel record and accompany the disputed information if later transmitted to a third party. Learn more here.
Neurodiversity Training Pledge Program (S4593)
This bill would direct the state’s Department of Labor to create a voluntary Neurodiversity Training Pledge Program and employer certification process. Although participation would be voluntary, the program could provide employers with a state-recognized framework for improving neuroinclusive recruiting, interviewing, accommodations, workplace accessibility, and retention practices.
Wage-and-Hour and Pay Practices
The Wage Payment Integrity Act (S2236A)
New York’s wage-payment rules would be updated to exclude bonuses, commissions, incentives, and other forms of compensation from the definition of “wages” only if:
- they are payable at the employer’s sole and absolute discretion; and
- employees are informed of that discretion in a clear, prominent, timely, and uncontradicted manner.
Expansive Interpretation of Labor Law (A10365)
New York Labor Law and related regulations would be required to be construed liberally in favor of workers to accomplish their remedial purposes, even when comparable federal provisions are interpreted more narrowly. This change could influence both compliance obligations and wage-and-hour litigation strategies, particularly where employers have relied on federal interpretations of similar statutory language. Learn more here.
Extension of Temporary Wage-Deduction Exceptions (S10569)
New York’s temporary wage-deduction framework – which is otherwise set to expire later this year – would be extended another two years. That framework allows the following types of wage deductions: as authorized by law, as expressly authorized by the employee for their benefit, for the recoupment of wage overpayments caused by mathematical or clerical error, and for repayment of wage or salary advances. Learn more here.
Construction Industry: The Construction Reporting Act (S9843)
Construction employers could soon face new reporting-pay and scheduling-pay obligations. Covered workers who report to work at an employer’s request or permission could become entitled to at least four hours of pay, or, if shorter, the number of hours in their regularly scheduled shift. Certain shifts cancelled with less than 12 hours’ notice would trigger additional pay obligations.
Unlike existing call-in pay rules, compensation would be calculated using the applicable prevailing wage or negotiated hourly rate rather than a minimum-wage-based formula.
Artificial Intelligence
These proposals build on New York’s broader AI agenda, including the RAISE Act framework and the state’s growing focus on transparency, accountability, and workforce impacts associated with AI deployment. Below is a snapshot of two new AI-related proposals. (For a deeper dive on these bills, as well as the latest on the RAISE Act, click here.)
Annual Reporting on How AI Impacts the Workplace (S8706B)
Covered businesses with more than 50 employees, as well as publicly traded companies, would be required to report annually to the state’s Department of Labor on AI’s impact on hiring and business practices. Reports would include information regarding staffing levels, hiring, hours worked, positions left unfilled, human oversight measures, and other aspects of AI use.
Mandatory Warnings on Generative AI Systems (S934A)
Owners, licensees, or operators of generative AI systems would be required to display a clear notice informing users that AI-generated outputs may be inaccurate.
Sexual Harrassment
Ensure Proper Notification of Prevention Policy and Training Program (S10057)
Employers would be required to obtain a signed and dated written or electronic acknowledgement each time they provide written notice of their sexual harassment prevention policy and training information (this notice has been required under New York law for years). The acknowledgement would need to be in English and the employee’s primary language, and employers would be required to retain those records for six years.
Employers would also need to provide seven days’ advance written notice of any changes to the employer’s policy or information in the training program.
Arbitration
New Transparency and Conflict-of-Interest Requirements (S926)
Although this bill is framed primarily around consumer arbitration, it expressly includes employment disputes for reporting purposes. Covered arbitration organizations would be required to publish certain case information in a searchable database, including the name of the business entity involved, information regarding dispute types, outcomes, award or settlement amounts, and arbitrator fees.
Employers that utilize arbitration agreements should monitor this proposal closely because searchable outcome data could reduce one key perceived advantage of arbitration: keeping dispute histories and outcomes out of public view.
Workers’ Compensation
Ban on Withholding Benefits Based on Labor Market Attachment (S6376A)
Employers and workers’ compensation carriers would be prohibited from withholding, reducing, or conditioning certain workers’ compensation benefits on an injured worker’s demonstration of attachment to the labor market. This would mean that benefits could not be legally withheld by claiming the injured worker has voluntarily withdrawn from the labor market by not seeking alternate employment that their injury or illness does not preclude them from performing.
What Employers Should Do Now
Although these bills are not yet law, employers should begin preparing now, especially because many of the proposals would take effect immediately if signed. Employers should consider taking the following steps as soon as possible:
- Updating severance and employment-agreement templates for New York employees.
- Reviewing non-disclosure agreements, non-disparagement provisions, waivers, arbitration terms, and limitations-period provisions.
- Mapping job-posting workflows and third-party recruiting relationships.
- Creating or updating personnel-file access and response procedures.
- Reviewing bonus, commission, wage-notice, and payroll-deduction practices.
- Inventorying AI and AI-enabled tools and documenting human oversight.
Conclusion
We will continue to track developments on these bills, so make sure that you are subscribed to Fisher Phillips’ Insight System to get the most up-to-date information directly to your inbox. If you have compliance questions, contact your Fisher Phillips attorney, the authors of this Insight, or any attorney in our New York City office.
#TAGS:
Neurodiversity Training Pledge Program, Neuroinclusive recruiting, interviewing, accommodations, workplace accessibility, sexual harassment prevention policy and training
Source(s):
New York’s Top Workplace Bills to Watch as Legislature Signs Off for the Year. (2026). Fisher Phillips; Fisher Phillips LLP. https://www.fisherphillips.com/en/insights/insights/new-yorks-top-workplace-bills-to-watch