Recent appellate court action has activated a new handbook requirement affecting New York employers. Initially, a lower court issued an injunction blocking certain provisions of the 2019 New York State Reproductive Health Bias Law, which, among other things, protects employee rights to make reproductive health care decisions, including abortion. The law required a notice to employees in any employee handbook, but until recently, that provision was blocked by the injunction. On appeal, the injunction was lifted, and the handbook requirement has been re-activated.
Background
In 2019, New York enacted the New York State’s Reproductive Health Bias Law (New York Labor Law Section 203-e), which prohibits, among other things, any discriminatory or retaliatory personnel action against an employee for their or their dependent’s reproductive health decision making. Reproductive health decision making includes, but is not limited to, the decision to use or access a particular drug, device or medical service, including abortion.
The law also precludes employers from accessing an employee’s personal reproductive health information without their consent. Employers may not require an employee to sign a waiver or other document that purports to deny an employee the right to make their own reproductive health care decisions. Additionally, the law requires that employers with employee handbooks must include a notice of employees’ rights and remedies that the law provides.
Employees who...
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