On December 21, 2022, NY Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the Warehouse Worker Protection Act (“the Act’), which will be effective February 19, 2023. As noted in Governor Hochul’s press release announcing the Act, a major driving force behind the legislation was organized labor, including the Teamsters and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.
The Act amends the New York Labor Law by adding a new Article 21-a, which sets a number of broad definitions, including who constitutes an “employer” of workers covered by the law. The Act will be applicable to any employer that employed: (1) 100 or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center; or (2) 500 or more employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers within the State of New York during the prior 12-month period.
