Summary of August 2025 Labor Law Updates for New York, New York
This post provides a roundup of significant recent developments in labor and employment law in New York during August 2025, aimed at employees, HR professionals, compliance leaders, and employers. It is brought to you by HKM Employment Attorneys. The developments below include court decisions and legislation that may shift obligations under New York law or in federal law as applied in New York.
August 2025 has brought some key developments in New York—including an important court decision expanding EEOC investigative authority, proposed legislation that would increase employer liability for discrimination, and ongoing shifts in how state and federal authorities share or contest jurisdiction in labor/union law. Employers would be wise to review their internal policies around discrimination, EEOC cooperation and document retention, and consider the risk exposure under emerging legislative proposals.
EEOC v. AAM Holding Corp. — Court Ruling
Date: August 25, 2025
Summary:
In EEOC v. AAM Holding Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) retains its investigatory authority even after issuing a “right-to-sue” letter to a charging party and after that party files a lawsuit in court. Here, a former dancer (Eunice Raquel Flores Thomas) alleged sexual harassment and hostile work environment at two adults’ entertainment clubs. The EEOC had issued subpoenas for employee data (“pedigree information” such as name, dates of employment, demographic data) applicable broadly (not only for the individual charging party). The clubs argued that once the charging party had obtained a right-to-sue letter and filed her own lawsuit, the EEOC’s authority to enforce subpoenas should end. The Second Circuit rejected that argument and held that the statutory text of Title VII allows the EEOC to continue its investigation even after those steps. The court also found that the requested employee data was relevant to the underlying claims and that the burden of compliance was not shown to be unduly large.
Implications:
Employers in New York (and generally in the Second Circuit) must understand that the EEOC’s investigation can proceed even if a lawsuit is filed under a right-to-sue letter. So, the EEOC may continue to seek discovery or use subpoenas for broader information beyond what an individual plaintiff might seek. The “relevance” standard for what the EEOC can demand is relatively generous; broad class or group-level data may be compelled if it sheds light on systemic or widespread practices. Employers should ensure compliance with EEOC document requests and investigations even after private litigation has commenced; ignoring or limiting cooperation on the basis that the lawsuit has started may risk court orders enforcing subpoenas. This ruling is likely to strengthen EEOC’s ability to investigate systemic discrimination and may increase the stakes of early cooperation in investigations.
Assembly Bill A9009 — Proposed Legislation on Employee Discrimination Penalties
Date: Introduced August 13, 2025
Summary:
New York State Assembly Bill 2025-A9009 was introduced on August 13, 2025. It seeks to amend the Workers’ Compensation Law to increase penalties for discrimination against employees. Under the proposed amendment, an employer found to have discriminated would be liable for three times the total compensation of the employee (wages + benefits) rather than more modest penalties. Further, half of the penalty amount would go directly to the employee.
Implications:
If enacted, this would significantly raise the financial stakes for employers found liable for discrimination under the Workers’ Compensation Law framework in New York. Employers should review their discrimination policies, grievance/complaint handling procedures, internal audit/training practices to reduce risk. Employees would have stronger leverage/potential for recovery in discrimination claims, which may encourage more claims and/or earlier settlements. HR and legal counsel should monitor the bill’s progress; even as a proposal, it may affect negotiation dynamics, insurance or risk planning.
Additional Note: National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Quorum Absence & State Response Efforts
Date: August 2025 (ongoing)
Summary:
Nationally, the NLRB is currently without a quorum (as of Aug. 27, 2025) after Chairman Marvin Kaplan’s term ended, limiting the agency’s ability to issue new decisions. In response to this, New York has been considering (“trigger”) legislation, sometimes called the NLRB Trigger Bill (A8590/S8034), which would expand the jurisdiction of the New York Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to serve some roles typically handled by the NLRB when the NLRB cannot act. While much of the coverage of that law occurred earlier, its effects and discussions were very much alive in August.
Implications:
Employers engaged with union or labor representation issues should be aware of state-law changes that may shift jurisdiction from federal to state entities. The lack of NLRB activity (due to quorum issues) means that state responses could fill gaps—either in actual jurisdiction, or in threats of lawsuits/actions to enforce state labor/union law in areas where NLRB would usually act. Monitoring for implementation of the trigger bill is important, including which kinds of employers/industries might be affected.
Conclusion: Looking Back on New York’s Labor Law Updates from August 2025
With recent court rulings refining protections under the NY Human Rights Law, Family and Medical Leave Act, and anti-retaliation statutes, securing experienced local counsel is more important than ever. At HKM Employment Attorneys in New York, our NYC and New Paltz teams—including attorneys Briana Beltran, Artemio Guerra, Marcela Jimenez Rodriguez, and Meagan Rafferty—have obtained over $250 million for employees across practice areas such as discrimination, harassment, FMLA, and more. We offer fearless, no-fee-unless-we-win representation and guide clients through sensitive negotiations, EEOC or ethics filings, and court litigation. If recent NY case developments hit close to home, contact our New York office to see how we can help enforce your workplace rights.
