For decades, New York law had little to say about employer confidentiality rules or employee privacy rights. This void left employers with a free hand to impose strict confidentiality policies governing nearly every aspect of the employer’s business, while facing few consequences if the employer trampled on an employee’s privacy. In recent years, however, the legislative pendulum has swung in favor of employee protection, including when it comes to confidentiality and privacy. Currently, New York employers now face a number of rules and obligations that are not intuitive and may become traps for the unwary. Given the recent dramatic expansion of New York Labor Law §740, New York’s whistleblower law, to protect the reporting of virtually any violation of law, employers ought to revisit their approach to confidentiality and privacy issues specific to New York to ensure that they are not taking unnecessary risks.
Pay Secrecy Policies
Starting in 2016, New York has sought to reduce pay disparities by making it unlawful for an employer to “prohibit an employee from inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing the wages of such employee or another employee.” N.Y. Lab. L. §194(4)(a). In some ways, this law did not break new ground insofar as the federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) has long protected employees, both in unionized and non-union contexts, who engage in protected concerted activity regarding working conditions, including discussions about wages. But the NLRA lacks the enforcement teeth that are present in Article 6 of the New York Labor Law. Nevertheless, the still-prevalent practice of employers telling their employees not to share information about their pay is unlawful in New York and employers who continue to promulgate such policies are at risk.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
