NYC: New Laws

There have been some new laws passed in New York City for local residents as of late.  The 185 and 186 went into effect on March 18, 2019 to extend rights of mothers who are nursing in the workplace.  What this means in practice is that employers now have an added responsibility toward working mothers:  the provision of a lactation room.  As well, lactation room accommodation policies must be written out.  These two laws are amendments to the New York City Human Rights Law.

Another new law was put in place in an attempt to help support people on the street who are being searched by the police.  These new laws took place last October via the Right to Know Act. What this means is that before performing a search, a police officer must give the individual a business card and only thereafter ask for permission to perform their search.

The Climate Mobilization Act completed 6 climate mitigation laws.  This predominantly transforms New York’s approach to climate change, and is also known as The Green New York Deal.  The fact is, 70 percent of New York’s carbon footprint is brought about by heating and cooling for buildings.  A third of that comes from 50,000 of the city’s huge skyscrapers.  Thus this bill is requesting that owners of buildings will cut emissions by 40% by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.