New York, N.Y. (January 13, 2022) - On January 26, 2022, New York's newly expanded whistleblower protections will go into effect, creating substantial potential liability for employers.
New York's current whistleblower law, which is codified at Sections 740 and 741 of the Labor Law, provides only narrow whistleblower rights, protecting private-sector employees from retaliation attributable to employee complaints about practices that constitute acts posing "substantial and specific danger to the public health or safety." While employees are protected against retaliation for complaints about discrimination and harassment under the New York State Human Rights Law and New York City Human Rights Law, and for complaints about unlawful wage and hour issues under New York State Labor Law Section 215, until now New York had strictly limited the ability to seek redress for adverse action taken by employers against employees who complain about other alleged unlawful conduct. That is now changing.
The upcoming change in the New York Labor Law will expand the anti-retaliation provisions to include protections for employees, former employees, and independent contractors who disclose or threaten to disclose, to a supervisor or public body:
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