Rent Check Bounced? A New NY Law Just Capped What Landlords Can Charge You

Ever bounced a rent check and been hit with a random “returned payment” fee that felt way higher than it should be? A new law in New York just put a stop to that.

As of October 16, 2025, New York landlords can no longer charge tenants excessive fees when a rent check bounces. This new law, passed as Assembly Bill A56, makes it clear that landlords can only charge tenants for the actual cost they incur when a check is dishonored.

That means no more flat “penalty” fees or inflated charges that go beyond what the bank actually billed the landlord. And here’s the kicker: landlords can only charge this fee if it’s specifically written into the lease. If it’s not in the lease, they can’t demand it later.

What do you think, does this law strike the right balance between protecting tenants and covering landlords’ real costs? 

#StopTheIck

Reddit Story: My Boss Lifted My Skirt to “Check Dress Code” — This Is Why We Say #STOPTHEICK

“He said my outfit was ‘too suggestive’ but that it would be fine to wear if I was his personal assistant. Then he stood up, lifted my skirt, and put his hand down my underwear. He said, ‘if I can do this, it’s breaking dress code.’”

— Reddit user, r/TwoXChromosomes

A young woman posted this after starting her first job as a front-desk receptionist. Her boss made “offhand jokes,” calling her eye candy and saying front-desk work was “a woman’s job.” She brushed it off. Most of us do because we’re told to be professional, not make it weird, and keep our heads down.

But this story shows what happens when the ick goes unchecked. What started as comments escalated into assault.

It Starts With the Ick

That uncomfortable feeling in your gut when someone in power jokes about your body or clothes? That’s not oversensitivity. That’s your instincts warning you. That’s the ick.

When workplaces ignore it when people say “he didn’t mean it like that” the behavior festers until someone gets hurt.

Here’s the Truth

What this boss did is not a “misunderstanding.” It’s sexual assault and workplace discrimination. 

Yet, that's not even the point - the point is you can't give an inch when you get the ick. Even if the statements weren't severe and pervasive enough or even if they were just petty slights or trivial inconveniences, too many people focus on whose right? Instead, you need to focus on #STOPTHEICK before you even get to whether there is a hostile environment case because an unchecked hostile environment often turns into sexual assault. 

Just so you know, you are protected under both federal law and state laws across the tri-state area that make this conduct illegal:

• ⚖️ Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Federal): Applies to nearly all U.S. workplaces.
• ⚖️ New York State & New York City Human Rights Laws: Prohibit any unwelcome sexual conduct, even one incident.
• ⚖️ New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD): Protects employees from harassment, retaliation, and hostile work environments.
• ⚖️ Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA): Bans sexual harassment and protects anyone who reports it.

These laws make sexual harassment and assault illegal in every workplace. They protect employees from unwanted sexual contact, comments, advances, and any retaliation for reporting misconduct.

You don’t have to scream or fight back for it to count. Freezing is a trauma response, not consent.

Retaliation is illegal. You cannot legally be fired, demoted, or punished for speaking up.

You have legal options:

• 📄 File a complaint with HR, the EEOC, or your state or city human-rights agency.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Bring a lawsuit against an employer or coworker who violated your rights.
• 💼 Negotiate severance or settlement through an employment attorney.
• 🔐 Keep everything confidential, you decide how and when to share your story.

If this happened to you, you are protected under federal law and your state’s law and you are not alone.

Why We Say #STOPTHEICK

“Jokes,” “compliments,” and “dress-code talks” like this aren’t harmless they’re warning signs of cultures that excuse abuse. More so, that boss was testing you to see what he could get away with and thought it was okay to put his hand down your pants. Every ignored ick is an open door for someone to cross another and further line.

Calling it out isn’t overreacting. It’s prevention. It’s how we keep workplaces safe, equal, and human.

If You’ve Experienced This

You are not alone. You are not to blame. And you have rights.

Get confidential help at www.stoptheick.com or contact Lieb at Law, P.C. at (646) 216-8009.

Know Your Rights Call for Help

#StopTheIck #WorkplaceHarassment #SexualHarassmentAwareness #YouAreNotAlone #EndWorkplaceAbuse

This post is part of our #StopTheIck series. We highlight real stories shared online about workplace harassment, discrimination, and abuse and break down the rights and protections that exist under the law. Have a link you want us to cover? Submit it here.

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Sexual Favors as a Condition of Tenancy Violate Fair Housing Act and New York State Human Rights Law

Instagram has a post that reads - "Sex for Rent Agreements Becoming Increasingly Popular in Canada" and its got a lot of likes and traction. 

Not sure what's happening north of the border, but in the US, that "agreement" clearly violates the Fair Housing Act and state laws, like the New York State Human Rights Law. Simply, a landlord, who is in a position of power cannot condition a tenancy, rental payments, or services (like maintenance) relevant thereto on receiving sexual favors or sexually charged pictures, or, even sexual talk. To be certain, a tenant can go so far as having sex or providing sexual favors to their landlord and still sue their landlord for discrimination by arguing that the tenant's act of participating in sexual acts doesn't change those acts into being welcomed (a key word in discrimination law); that power differential just won't go away when quid pro quo discrimination happens (i.e., trading a sexual favor for a positive term of the tenancy). If you are not yet convinced, check out landlord Edwin Allen who was reported to be ordered by a jury to pay his tenant $10,000,000* for increasing her rent and threatening to evict her to pressure her for sex. This is actionable discrimination. The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice even has its own Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative - Be warned. 

* That doesn't make all cases worth this amount or anything at all, but it certainly paints a risk assessment. 

If you’ve experienced or been accused of sexual harassment in housing, contact Lieb at Law, P.C. Our discrimination attorneys handle cases across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
👉 Speak with a Housing Discrimination Attorney

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FMLA Just Got Messy: DOL Redefines “Normal Workweek” for Shift Workers

Employees with irregular or extended schedules (like correctional officers, nurses, EMTs, and other shift-based workers) have a new way to calculate Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitlements per a DOL Opinion Letter, FMLA2025-02-A (Sept. 30, 2025). In summary, under the Opinion Letter, FMLA hours are based on the actual “normal workweek,” not a standardized 40-hour figure, where mandatory overtime now counts, but voluntary overtime does not. As a result, an employee’s 12 weeks of FMLA leave must reflect that employee’s schedule, not a default 40-hour standard. For example, a correctional officer working 84 hours every two weeks (12-hour shifts, mandatory overtime included) is entitled to 504 hours of FMLA leave, not 480. Employers must also deduct leave on that same basis: hours actually missed from the normally scheduled workweek. To put it simply, if an employee skips required overtime because of FMLA leave, those hours count against their entitlement. But if they skip voluntary overtime, it doesn’t.

Simply, under the Opinion Letter, DOL drew a fuzzy (and litigable) line between “mandatory” and “voluntary.” These types of fuzzy lines result in litigation where an employee will claim that they were ‘pressured’ to pick up shifts or 'strongly suggested’ to take extra hours. Rather than clarifying the rules, the DOL has created a new battleground for disputes over scheduling language and payroll records. Employers are now left to prove, retroactively, that a shift was truly voluntary. Employers with shift differentials, rotating schedules, or recurring overtime must audit how they calculate FMLA entitlement and usage. HR systems that default to a 40-hour week are officially outdated. The DOL has made it clear that if your FMLA math doesn’t match your reality, you’re violating federal law.

The bottom line is that employers, especially in public safety and healthcare, need to redefine their policies before the lawsuits hit. Audit your “mandatory” overtime definitions, verify your FMLA tracking system, and get your documentation airtight. Because after this Opinion Letter, one miscounted hour could mean an FMLA interference claim.

Don’t wait for an FMLA lawsuit to expose your timekeeping gaps.

📞 Contact Lieb at Law, P.C. to audit your overtime policies, HR systems, and FMLA compliance before enforcement begins. Call Lieb at Law, P.C. 646-216-8009. 

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90 Day Notice Required As Condition Precedent to Condo / Homeowners' Association Enforcement of Lien Action

Homeowners' association and condominium boards must now provide, at least, a 90 day notice prior to commencing an action to enforce a lien for unpaid common charges, assessments, fines or fees pursuant to s7413. This notice must be provided to both the property address and any other address of record in at least fourteen point type and it must include the specific amount due. 

If you're a board member or managing agent, make sure your lien enforcement process complies with the new 90-day notice rule.
📞 Contact Lieb at Law, P.C. to review your HOA or condo’s collection procedures and avoid costly legal missteps. 

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PropTech Beware: NYS Amends Donnelly Act to Ban Algorithmic Rent Pricing

The NYS Donnelly Act (Anti-Monopolies) has been expanded by S7882, which is effective on December 15, 2025, and now algorithms utilized for price fixing residential rental properties are distinctly prohibited under NYS's anti-monopoly legislation, by the state establishing a lower reckless disregard standard to prove culpability that does not otherwise exist in Article 22 of the General Business Law. As a result, PropTech companies need to shift their resources, in NYS, to focus on pre-development legal viability reports rather than post-development litigation defense. In targeting PropTech, rather than universally applying a reckless disregard standard to the Donnelly Act, which otherwise prohibits two or more entities from intentionally entering an agreement to price fix, NYS is legislating against startups. The legislation prohibits residential landlords from utilizing algorithms to coordinate their pricing. However, the Donnelly Act (NYS), and also the Sherman Act (Federally), already prohibit concerted action by two or more independent entities through agreement. So, why is NYS targeting a specific industry with a lower standard rather than price fixing, in general? The question begs why is "operating or licensing a software, data analytics service, or algorithmic device" or the industry of "residential rental property owners or managers" special in NYS. Does protecting residential rentals serve a greater public good than promoting PropTech development in the eyes of our government? Either way, startups and other tech firms needs to pay attention to this law change and, unfortunately, they are traditionally the type of industry that asks for forgiveness rather than permission. Only now, the need for a legal viability report in PropTech is even more important because otherwise the lawsuits will be coming based on this lower standard of proof necessary to recover treble damages, attorneys'' fees and costs. These lawsuits are going to be filed based on private rights of action, action by the AG, and there are even criminal penalties spelled out in the Act. So, PropTech, be warned. 

Consult Lieb at Law for a PropTech Legal Viability Review. Our attorneys can evaluate whether your algorithms, data-sharing models, or partnerships expose you to treble damages or criminal liability under the new Donnelly Act standard.

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