LIEB BLOG

Legal Analysts

Showing posts with label electronic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label electronic. Show all posts

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Employers to be Required to Learn Technology in NYS

The NYS Senate joined the Assembly in passing a new law, A7595, that will require copies of certain documents physically posted in a workplace to be made available to employees electronically, if signed by the Governor. 

While not yet signed into law, employers need to get to work on compliance now because the law will take effect immediately upon signing.

There are a litany of topics that are applicable under this proposed law where the specifics of what is applicable to a given employer is all dependent on what specific copies or abstracts that the employer has received from the Commissioner of Labor. Possible topics include workplace safety, sexual harassment, leave issues, employee monitoring, and the like.

However, the key issue is that the vast amount of NYS employers do not work in a technological world. How are they to give electronic notice if they don't use email to communicate with their employees?

It's noted that a violation of the Labor Law is $1,000 for a the first offense, $2,000 for a second, and $3,000 for the third and subsequent offenses. This seems to imply that it's time for employers to take computer classes.



Monday, December 13, 2021

The Beginning of the End for Paper Copy Lease Agreements

It is the beginning of the end of paper copy lease agreements in NYS, at least for rent stabilized tenants. 


Moving forward, rent stabilized tenants are going to be processing their leases electronically because Bill A02679 passed the legislature and is pending Gov. Hochul's signature. This Bill requires that the Division of Housing and Community Renewal ("DHCR") develops regulations allowing electronic leases and signatures to be used for both leases and lease renewals of rent stabilized tenants. 


However, the Bill makes clear that electronic leases are not yet required. As such, those who may not be well-versed in technology, such as the Baby Boomer generation, need not worry about how this could affect their lease execution process as tenants will be able to choose whether or not they want to execute their lease via electronic means or via a traditional paper copy. A tenant will be presented with a form, developed by DHCR, in the top 6 languages that will confirm that the tenant has the choice whether to consent to the use of electronic records and signatures. Therefore, landlords will not be permitted to require their tenants to execute their lease by electronic means.


It is expected that electronic leases are going to become the norm sooner rather than later. They cut down on costs of office supplies, such as printer ink and paper, while provide for improved organization and retrieval. They save time by avoiding face-to-face meetings and can maximize safety in this COVID world. 


Do you think most rent stabilized tenants will choose to have their leases executed electronically? Or, will paper copies stand the test of time in a constantly evolving technology driven world? Seems unlikely. It's my guess that as the Boomer generation dissipates, paper copy leases will as well.