On December 10, 2021, we told you about another initiative by New York State to combat discrimination in real estate where, effective as of December 21, 2021, a $30 fee has been added for real estate broker / salespersons licenses to cover the costs of the Attorney General to fund fair housing testing throughout NYS. 

Now that law has been changed to "clarify provisions concerning the disposition of surcharges collected by the department of state on licenses for real estate professionals."

Rather than the surcharge being "payable to the office of the attorney general," now, it is required to be "deposited into the anti-discrimination in housing fund."

This change is effective as of March 26, 2022. 

New law establishes Office of the Advocate for People with Disabilities. The Office assures that disabled people are afforded the opportunity to exercise all of the rights and responsibilities accorded to citizens of New York.

Operating under the Department of State, the Office shall advise and assist state agencies in developing policies designed to help meet the needs of the disabled by:

• Coordinating the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act;
• Ensuring that state programs do not discriminate against disabled people; 
• Ensuring that programs provide appropriate services for disabled individuals; and 
• Working with state agencies to develop legislation and potential regulatory changes.

Landlords should be actively removing barriers to access so that this new Advocate doesn't bring suit against them for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

Effective January 21, 2022, there will be an increase in the fees for real estate salesperson, real estate broker and real estate branch office licenses. The new fee for salespersons will be $65, the fee for brokers and branch offices will be $185. This increase applies to both initial and renewal applications. 

The NYS DOL published new regulations, retroactively effective to January 1, 2022, as an emergency rule to implement the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (NY HERO Act).

The regulations requires private sector employers to create an Exposure Prevention Plan to eliminate or minimize employee exposure to airborne infectious disease agents, which includes the COVID-19 virus and its variants.

The measure sets forth requirements that employers select and obtain exposure controls appropriate for the exposure risks. These controls must be included in the employer’s Exposure Prevention Plan. As to the plan, the NYS Department of Health has developed a new Model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan (Template) and various industry specific model plans (Templates) for prevention of airborne infectious disease.

Employers must enact compliant plans immediately. 

What are the Continuing Education requirements for real estate agents in NY?

As of 7/1/2021. All licensees must receive 22.5 hours of continuing education every 2 years to stay licensed. NY Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons that were previously exempt from Continuing Education will no longer be exempt and will need to have completed the full CE requirements, including the new subjects prior to submitting a renewal on or after 7/1/2021. The 22.5 hours must include:

• 3 hours on fair housing &/or discrimination
• 2.5 hours on ethical business practices
• 1 hour on recent legal matters governing the practice of real estate brokers and salespersons in New York, which may include statutes, laws, regulations, rules, codes, Department of State Opinions and Decisions, and Court Decisions
• 1 hour on the law of agency (2 hours in the initial 2-year cycle)

As of 4/20/2022: All licensees must receive 22.5 hours of continuing education every 2 years to stay licensed. The 22.5 hours must include the following topics:

• 3 hours on fair housing &/or discrimination
• 2.5 hours on ethical business practices
• 1 hour on recent legal matters governing the practice of real estate brokers and salespersons in New York, which may include statutes, laws, regulations, rules, codes, Department of State Opinions and Decisions, and Court Decisions
• 1 hour on the law of agency (2 hours in the initial 2-year cycle)
• 2 hours on Cultural Competency

As of 6/19/2022: All licensees must receive 22.5 hours of continuing education every 2 years to stay licensed. The 22.5 hours must include the following topics:

• 3 hours on fair housing &/or discrimination
• 2.5 hours on ethical business practices
• 1 hour on recent legal matters governing the practice of real estate brokers and salespersons in New York, which may include statutes, laws, regulations, rules, codes, Department of State Opinions and Decisions, and Court Decisions
• 1 hour on the law of agency (2 hours in the initial 2-year cycle)
• 2 hours on Implicit Bias Awareness and Understanding
• 2 hours on Cultural Competency

All healthcare facilities that receive Medicare and/or Medicaid funding must ensure that their covered saff are vaccinated against COVID after the Supreme Court stayed injunctions that were preventing the implementation of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Interim Final Rule.

To be clear, the rule does not cover those healthcare workers with medical and religious exemptions and those who telework full-time. 

In permitting the mandate to be implemented, the Supreme Court found exactly what it said was lacking in the OSHA vaccine mandate case, to wit: specific language in a statute authorizing Biden's Executive Branch to impose a mandate. 

According to the Court, the core mission of the Department of Health and Human Services "is to ensure that the healthcare providers who care for Medicare and Medicaid patients protect their patients’ health and safety." In fact, the Court found that “infection prevention and control program designed . . . to help prevent the development and transmission of communicable diseases and infections” are precisely within the Department's charge. 

In addressing its divergent opinions, between OSHA and Healthcare, the Supreme Court explained:

The challenges posed by a global pandemic do not allow a federal agency to exercise power that Congress has not conferred upon it. At the same time, such unprecedented circumstances provide no grounds for limiting the exercise of authorities the agency has long been recognized to have.

In staying the OSHA vaccine mandate, the Supreme Court wrote "that the Secretary lacked authority to impose the mandate."

As the Court explained "permitting OSHA to regulate the hazards of daily life—simply because most Americans have jobs and face those same risks while on the clock—would significantly expand OSHA’s regulatory authority without clear congressional authorization." The problem, as set forth by the Supreme Court, was that the mandate was indiscriminately applied. However, and to be CLEAR, the problem was not that it was unconstitutional, violated federalism, or anything else. 

The Supreme Court did not rule that either:

• The Federal Government cannot issue a nationwide vaccine mandate; or 
• Biden's Executive Branch cannot issue a nationwide vaccine mandate. 

In fact, the concurring opinion set it simply, "that power rests with the States and Congress, not OSHA."  

That is not to say OSHA has no power to regulate workplaces with respect to COVID. The Court carefully said OSHA does have power by writing that it was "not [] say[ing] OSHA lacks authority to regulate occupation-specific risks related to COVID–19. Where the virus poses a special danger because of the particular features of an employee’s job or workplace, targeted regulations are plainly permissible." As such, the Supreme Court invited a new mandate to be issued by OSHA and suggested that it targets COVID researchers or risks associated with crowded / cramped environments. 

As the concurring opinion explained, this case was decided on the Major Questions Doctrine, "'[w]e expect Congress to speak clearly' if it wishes to assign to an executive agency decisions 'of vast economic and political significance.'" Here, Congress did not clearly grant OSHA the power to do make this indiscriminate mandate. 

The fact that they didn't doesn't mean that they can't. Should Congress authorize OSHA now?