Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP

Latest Blog Posts

Recent Amendment to New York State Technology Law Demonstrates Rapid Evolution of Privacy Laws Posted on: December 29, 2021 In: Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
On December 22, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law New York Senate Bill 7019, amending New York State Technology Law § 209 in an effort to remedy the miscommunications between various state agencies regarding notices of data breaches. The law now requires the Office of Information Technology Services to take certain steps when it discovers a data breach or network security breach. We discuss the background and details of the new law in this post.
Read more »

Tags:
legislative alert, new york, breach notification, personal information, office of information technology services
Which States Are Paying More Money in 2022: An Overview of Minimum Wage Increases Across the Country Posted on: December 15, 2021 In: Labor & Employment
As 2021 begins to wind down, employees in many states can look forward to a raise in the new year as minimum wage rate increases take effect across the country in January 2022. This post lists the new minimum wage rates for those states, including information about tipped workers and tip credits.
Read more »

Tags:
minimum wage, payroll, wage and hour, legislative alert, tipped employees, tip credit
Banking Organizations & Bank Service Providers Subject to New Computer-Security Incident Notification Rule Posted on: November 24, 2021 In: Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
On November, 18, 2021, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a joint final rule to establish computer-security incident notification requirements for banking organizations and their bank service providers. The final rule's new definition narrows the focus to those incidents most likely to materially and adversely affect BOs, while still retaining general consistency with the NIST definition.
Read more »

Tags:
banking, breach notification, incident response, fdic, nist
New Electronic Monitoring Disclosures for New York Employers Posted on: November 18, 2021 In: Labor & Employment
Many employers have already acted wisely by adopting policies to advise their employees that the employer reserves the right to engage in electronic monitoring of employee communications by phone and email, as well as employee internet access and usage. Effective May 7, 2022, New York employers will be obligated to adopt and enforce such policies if they do engage in such monitoring.
Read more »

Tags:
new york, legislative alert, electronic montoring, data privacy, employment law
New Jersey Adds Age Discrimination Protections for Workers Aged 70 and Older Posted on: November 17, 2021 In: Labor & Employment
On October 5, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law legislation that provides new protections for persons aged 70 and older under the umbrella of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD). The new law is designed to enable older workers to “retire by their own volition” and protect their financial independence. The law is effective immediately.
Read more »

Tags:
new jersey, lad, discrimination, age discrimination, human resources, legislative alert
What Employers Need to Know About New York’s Expanded Paid Family Leave Law Posted on: November 15, 2021 In: Labor & Employment
On November 1, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill to expand New York’s Paid Family Leave Law to cover paid time off to care for siblings. The bill, Legislation S.2928-A/A.06098-A, does not go into effect until January 1, 2023. Nevertheless, employers should begin preparing for compliance with the updated law as the new year will be upon us very soon.
Read more »

Tags:
new york, paid leave, family leave, benefits, human resources, legislative alert
Fraud Liability for Government Contractors with Lax Cybersecurity Posted on: October 22, 2021 In: Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
The Department of Justice announced on October 6, 2021 the creation of a new Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative to pursue penalties against government contractors who do not properly comply with the cybersecurity standards required by their contracts. This new risk, under the False Claims Act, means that CISOs should consult with their lawyers before starting cybersecurity compliance audits.
Read more »

Tags:
cybersecurity, government contractors, nist, fraud, fca
Facing the “Quit and Sue” Scenario Posted on: October 06, 2021 In: Labor & Employment
Employers frequently face the scenario in which a former employee who resigned or quit sues for wrongful termination in violation of public policy, or other employment law theories, claiming the employer retaliated or discriminated against him or her. This is called the “quit and sue” lawsuit.
Read more »

Tags:
employment law, employers, wrongful termination, resignation
Lactation in the Workplace: What Employers Need to Know Posted on: September 23, 2021 In: Labor & Employment
Americans, including many new mothers, are returning to the workplace following pandemic shutdowns. Over 80% of U.S. mothers breastfeed their babies after giving birth, according to a 2016 study from the Centers for Disease Control. Over half of those mothers are still breastfeeding once their babies reach six months old. A complicated tapestry of federal and state laws affects employers of lactating mothers.
Read more »

Tags:
breastfeeding, lactation, working mothers, reasonable accommodation, human resources
FTC Warns Health Apps, Connected Device Companies to Comply with Health Breach Notification Rule Posted on: September 22, 2021 In: Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
On September 15, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a policy statement to offer guidance on the scope of its Health Breach Notification Rule (the Rule) in relation to health applications and connected devices. The Rule, issued in 2009, helps ensure entities not covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are held accountable when consumers’ sensitive health information that has been entrusted to them is compromised.
Read more »

Tags:
ftc, breach notification, hipaa, personal health information, personal data
OFAC September 2021 Advisory: Illusory Solutions to Soften the Enforcement Threat? Posted on: September 22, 2021 In: Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
On September 21, 2021, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released an updated advisory on potential sanctions risks for facilitating ransomware payments. The sanctions have been authorized by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act with the purpose of disrupting funding for malicious cyber activities and limiting activities that may be adverse to U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives.
Read more »

Tags:
ofac, ransomware, cyber threat, cybersecurity, data breach
ERISA: Everything Ridiculous Imagined Since Adam, But Important Nonetheless Posted on: September 20, 2021 In: Labor & Employment
ERISA, also known as The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, is sometimes as confusing to judges as it is to lawyers. Therefore, it is not surprising that both large and small employers often fail to familiarize themselves with the basic tenets of ERISA before providing health insurance and other “welfare” benefits to their employees.
Read more »

Tags:
erisa, employee benefits, health insurance, retirement, welfare, human resources