Sari Friedman Lawyer - What changed in New York law in 2016

Sari Friedman lawyer has more than 30 years of experience in the divorce field in Westchester County, New York. She is the attorney to go to when you are dealing with child custody, child support, maintenance and property division issues on your divorce. Sari Friedman lawyer works on Friedman & Friedman, and received the 2014, 2015, 2016 New York Metro Super Lawyer, a distinction given to 5% of attorneys within New York State, and was also selected as a 2016 "New York's Women Leaders in the Law" award, which is provided by New York magazine. She is also the General Counsel for the Fathers' Rights Association of NYS and Long Island, and was recently named New York's Legal Leaders Top Rated Lawyers in 2015 and 2016.

Sari Friedman is improving herself and she knows that the law is always changing  constantly and reflects the modifications in the society. In the election year these changes are extremely important since it will help to shape the beginning of a new government and with the adaptation of new ideas and of what is coming in the New Year.

Law

The changes are part of a law reform or legal reform that is when the existing laws are re-examined. The law reform bodies and commissions are organizations that research and propose methods to simplify and update laws, it also facilitates the law reform. It is all done to reflect the current values and needs of the contemporary society. In 2016 many laws changed, especially in New York City, because of that, Sari Friedman as a Lawyer created a list of the changes in the laws that will impact your life.

Minimum Wage Plan

Since the end of 2015, the minimum wage has been increasing from $8.75 per hour to $9 per hour, however fast food workers had a greater increase, up to $9.75 per hour. Sari Friedman lawyer says that what will happen is that, until 2020, the minimum wage for all workers will increase $1 annually, reaching $14.50 in 2020 and $15 per hour in 2021.

Family-Leave Policy

New York requires that, unrelatedly of size, every company provides 12 weeks of paid job-protected leave, to every employee, which means that women and men will be entitled the benefice. It can be used for a new child’s care or a sick family member. Another big change, says Sari Friedman lawyer, was that this policy covers, full and part time employees after six months of employment.
The new policy will take its time to actually work, says Sari Friedman. In 2018, all the employees will be able to take up to 8 weeks of leave in an year. This number will increase in the next year to 10 weeks, and finally 12 weeks in 2021. The same thing will happen with the paid leave. Initially it will cover 50 percent of an average pay, after four years this number will go to 67 percent.

Workers’ Rights

According to Sari Friedman lawyer, this is one of the biggest changes of 2016 in New York City. There are many improvements in workers’ rights.

• New mothers will be able to take unpaid breaks to pump breast milk at work, they need to be rational and can be for up to three years after the birth.

• Another point is that women and men will need to be paid the same. The difference in payment can only be because of factors related to business, education, training or experience level. 

• Sari Friedman affirm that the old law actually emphasize that the company needed more than four employees to be considered liable in a sexual harassment lawsuit. The new addition says that any employee can file the complaint regardless of the size of the company

•  Employers are prohibited to deny work or promotions with a base on familial status, or pregnancy.

Health

Another great victory in the view of Sari Friedman lawyer, is the health innovations. Telehealth services will need to be part of the medical coverage of insurance companies. It will include video interaction, transmission of health records and, remote patient monitoring.

Real Estate

New York passed a law this year that made illegal the advertisement of rentals of less than 30 days. The rental itself was already against the law, what changed was that now it cannot be even advertised, according to Sari Friedman lawyer. Who violates this will have to pay $1,000, if it is the first violation, $5,000 for the second, and $7,500 for the third.

Alcohol

According to Sari Friedman, there was a modernization in the state’s 80-year-old laws on alcohol. Now the restaurants or stores can start to sell drinks at 10 a.m. instead at noon. This is part of a primary alcohol legislative reform with the objective of help local craft businesses, restaurants and small businesses that suffer with the conservative laws on the sale of alcohol. Little modifications like, the approval for the sale of wine in growlers, and of gift wrapping and gift bags in liquor stores are also in the new addendum.

Divorce

The last one is right on Sari Friedman lawyer field. In the divorce front many changes in forms used in Matrimonial and Contested Matrimonial Actions were made. The modifications point to the increase in the combined income for child support and in the annual income of maintenance payor. It also provided limited redaction of personal information from written decisions in contested matrimonial actions, it also clarifies requests about identification of parties.

All this changes already caused many modifications in the lives of the New Yorkers. In the coming years, with the result of this year’s elections, many more new laws and addendums will be made to maintain or adapt to the society's needs and wants.