What does the New York Labor Law say about whistleblowing and whistleblower protections for employees in New York, and how can employers remain compliant with the statute?
Whistleblowing & Whistleblower Protections under the New York Labor Law
From a legal perspective, a whistleblower is an employee who reports or discloses certain types of employer wrongdoing, including practices or policies that violate the law, constitute healthcare fraud, or pose a danger to public safety and/or health. In New York, provisions concerning whistleblowing and whistleblower protections are provided for under the New York Labor Law.
Pursuant to N.Y. Lab. Law § 740, employers are prohibited from retaliating against any employee who threatens to disclose or discloses to a public body or supervisor a practice or policy of an employer, which constitutes healthcare fraud or that poses a specific or substantial danger to public safety or health, or even violates the law. Importantly, employees who refuse to take part and/or engage in illegal practice or policy that poses a specific or substantial danger to public safety or health, or who provide information or testify to public bodies conducting investigations into wrongdoings in workplaces.
In Part V of this series and our blog post titled “Sick, Family, and Medical Leave under ESSTA,” we will shift gears to hammer on what the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) says about sick, family, and medical leave for employees in New York and how employers can remain compliant with the statute.
As usual, stay tuned for more legal guidance, training, and education.
In the interim, if there are any questions or comments, please let us know at the Contact Us page!
Always rising above the bar,
Isaac T.,
Legal Writer, Author, & Publisher.