Legal Alerts

By action taken at an emergency session of the New York State Legislature, due to concerns about the current transmission of COVID-19, municipal boards once again have the right to virtually meet or convene in person without allowing public in-person access to the meeting. Meetings can be held fully in-person for board members and the public, via conference call or similar service for board…

On July 7, 2021, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) issued an email providing an update for personal safety measures for New York State public summer school programs. With regard to masks, the update indicates that due to current low rates of COVID-19 transmission, mask requirements can be modified to the less restrictive requirements applicable to child care, day and overnight camp…

In June 2020, Governor Cuomo signed legislation to amend the Public Service Law to prevent public and private utilities from shutting off water, electricity, gas, or telephone services to residential customers during the state disaster emergency. Utility corporations and municipalities (collectively referred to herein as “utilities”) were also required to offer deferred payment plans or restructuring of any existing payments owed without requiring a…

  On March 31, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed the “Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act” (the “Legislation” or “MRTA”), making New York the 15th state in the U.S. to legalize recreational cannabis. The Legislation will consolidate an adult-use cannabis program with New York State's existing medical marijuana program and cannabinoid hemp program. The consolidated programs will be under the control of the Cannabis Control Board…

It has been more than one year since Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 202, declaring a State disaster emergency for the entire State of New York in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Below is a list of a few key COVID-19 regulations and recent updates to provide a helpful reference to such provisions in one place. This Legal Alert is current only as of…

From time to time, Keane & Beane, P.C., issues Legal Alerts pertaining to developing legal issues of interest to our clients. On March 12, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed legislation providing paid leave to employees for the purpose of receiving the COVID-19 vaccination. The text of the new legislation can be found here. The new legislation amends both New York State Civil Service Law Section…

From time to time, Keane & Beane, P.C., issues Legal Alerts pertaining to developing legal issues of interest to our clients. On January 20, 2021, the New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) issued guidance on an employee’s right to paid sick leave under the New York State COVID-19 Sick Leave Law (“Law”). The NYSDOL guidance can be found here. While the guidance provides…

Last week, this firm issued a Legal Alert to our school law clients addressing questions related to the COVID-19 vaccinations. Recently, a question has been raised relating to whether a school district could require vaccinations without bargaining such a mandate with bargaining units. Our position at the time that the Legal Alert was released was that the serious health and safety issues surrounding COVID-19…

New York State’s COVID-19 vaccination roll-out plan has reached the level where school personnel are now eligible to receive the vaccine. The availability of the vaccine has raised a number of questions for our clients, which we wish to address herein. Q1: Can a school district mandate that employees receive the COVID-19 vaccination? Yes, with certain caveats described below. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission…

On October 31, 2020, Governor Cuomo announced new guidelines for out-of-state travelers coming to New York, effective as of Wednesday, November 4.  These new guidelines replace the previous quarantine prescribed for travelers from states with a high rate of COVID-19[1] and will apply to all out of state travelers to New York from any state, with exemptions for essential workers and travelers from states…