New law is an area of law that focuses on bringing new ideas and strategies to the legal field. This can be anything from providing services to underserved communities to bringing in new sources of revenue for law firms. It’s a rapidly growing area that deserves close attention from any lawyer, as it can help to provide the firm with a source of fresh ideas and new ways to work.

Severance Pay for Hotel Service Employees

This bill would require hotel owners and managers to provide severance pay to any employees who are laid off by the hotel or terminated by the company as part of a business restructuring. It also requires employers to notify affected employees of the change in employment status and the amount of severance pay that they are entitled to receive.

Notification of Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

This bill requires city agencies to prepare a notice for employees and applicants for employment, describing the availability of federal and state student loan forgiveness programs. The bill also requires city agencies to post the notice on their websites. It also requires the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to make the notice available to employers in New York City.

Street Vending Permits and Supervisory Licenses

This law would gradually expand the number of permits to vend food on public streets, sidewalks, and parks in New York City. Several batches of new permits would be issued each year beginning in 2022 until 2032, and the law would require that any pushcart operator have a supervisory license at all times. It would also require that all pushcart operators use a designated street cart, rather than operating multiple independent carts.

Third-Party Food Delivery Services Licensing

This bill would establish a new licensing scheme for third-party food delivery services in the City. It would replace the existing subchapter in the Administrative Code regulating such services with this new scheme, which would also incorporate recent laws passed by the City regarding such services. It would provide for a new administrative penalty that could be levied against such services that committed two or more violations of this bill’s subchapter.

Obtaining Information from Process Servers

This law would require process servers to submit their records to the City for auditing and inspection by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. It would also require the Department to create a notification system to inform licensed process servers that their licenses are suspended, revoked, or denied. It would prohibit the sale of information gathered by process servers to any other person without the consent of the person whose private identifying information is being accessed, disclosed or used in violation of the law.

Data Breach Notifications

This bill amends the City’s data breach notifications laws to align them with requirements in the SHIELD Act. It would require the City to disclose any security breaches involving the private identifying information of citizens to its Chief Privacy Officer and to its Office of Cyber Command, as well as to its affected individuals.