CITY OF NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS --------------------------------------------------------------X New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, Petitioner, -against- CONSENT ORDER Record Nos. Index No. 192639 2018-00290-ENF 4950-2019-ADJC Bloomberg L.P., Respondent. --------------------------------------------------------------X 1. As a result of an investigation commenced on September 20, 2018, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (“the Department”) filed a petition charging Bloomberg L.P. (“Respondent”) with violating Chapter 8 of Title 20 of the New York City Administrative Code (the “Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law” or the “Law”) and Chapter 7 of Title 6 of the Rules of the City of New York. This Consent Order (“CO”) sets forth the agreement between the Department and Respondent. 2. Respondent is an Employer as defined by Section 20-912 of the Law (“Employer”) and employs five or more Employees, as defined by Section 20-912 of the Law (“Employees”), in New York City. 3. On June 19, 2019, the Department filed a Paid Safe and Sick Leave Petition with the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (Index No. 192639) (the “Paid Safe and Sick Leave Petition”), charging Respondent with violations of: a. Section 7-211(c) of Title 6, Chapter 7 of the Rules of the City of New York by maintaining a written safe/sick time policy that requires Employees to give advanced notice of at least one hour prior to the beginning of a shift for unforeseeable uses of sick time, contrary to the requirements of Section 20914(a)(2) of the Law from April 1, 2014 to June 1, 2018; and b. Section 7-211(c) of Title 6, Chapter 7 of the Rules of the City of New York by maintaining a written safe/sick time policy that requires Employees to provide medical documentation for sick leave uses of any length, contrary to the requirements of Section 20-914(a)(2) of the Law from April 1, 2014 to June 1, 2018. Consent Order Bloomberg L.P. Page 1 of 6 4. Respondent, having answered the Petition, and the Department enter into this CO to avoid further litigation and to resolve this matter without a hearing and before any judicial determination, which has not been made in this matter. This CO is limited to resolution of the charges set forth in the Paid Safe and Sick Leave Petition and paragraph 3 of this CO for the time periods specified. Respondent waives service of charges. 5. The undersigned signatory of Respondent represents and certifies that s/he is duly authorized to settle the violation(s) enumerated in paragraph 3 and to enter into this CO with the Department on behalf of Respondent. 6. The acceptance of this CO by the Department shall not be deemed approval by the Department of any of Respondent’s business practices, and Respondent shall make no representations to the contrary. 7. Unless otherwise indicated, the terms of this CO are effective upon execution of the CO by both Respondent and the Department (the “CO execution date”). SAFE/SICK TIME POLICIES AND PROCEDURES 8. Respondent’s safe/sick time policies shall fully comply with the Law and Subchapters A and B of Title 6, Chapter 7 of the Rules of the City of New York (the “Rules”). 9. To the extent not already implemented, within fifteen (15) calendar days of the CO execution date, Respondent shall develop, adopt, and implement comprehensive written safe/sick time policies that fully comply with the Law and the Rules and that include, without limitation, provisions stating, verbatim or to the same effect, that: a. Any requirement that an Employee provide documentation from a licensed health care provider in order to be paid for the first 40 hours of sick time used (1) is limited to circumstances in which the Employee uses sick time for more than three consecutive work days, (2) does not require the Employee to disclose the nature of the illness, injury, or health condition, (3) only requires documentation from one licensed health care provider, and (4) allows an Employee at least seven days from the date the Employee returns to work to submit such documentation; * b. Any requirement that an Employee provide documentation in order to be paid for safe time used (1) is limited to circumstances in which the Employee uses safe time for more than three consecutive work days, (2) does not require the Employee to disclose the details of the family offense matter, sexual offense, stalking, or human trafficking, and (3) requires documentation to be accepted if it is in the form of: documentation signed by an employee, agent, or volunteer of a victim services Respondent agrees that it shall not require any employee to provide documentation for absences of fewer than four days of sick leave until Respondent’s revised policy is distributed in January 2020, regardless of whether such time exceeds the 40 hours of sick time required by the Law. * Consent Order Bloomberg L.P. Page 2 of 6 organization; an attorney; a member of the clergy; or a medical or other professional service provider from whom the Employee or that Employee’s family member has sought assistance in addressing family offense matters, sex offenses, stalking, or human trafficking and their effects; a police or court record; or a notarized letter from the Employee explaining the need for such time; c. An employer may not require the disclosure of details relating to an Employee’s or his or her family member’s medical condition or status as a victim of family offense matters, sexual offenses, stalking, or human trafficking as a condition of providing safe/sick time under this chapter. Health information and/or information concerning an employee's or his or her family member’s status or perceived status as a victim of family offenses, sexual offenses, stalking or human trafficking shall be treated as confidential and shall not be disclosed except by the affected employee, with the written permission of the affected Employee; and d. Employees will not be required to provide notice of the need to use safe/sick time sooner than seven days prior to a foreseeable need to use safe/sick time or sooner than is practicable under the circumstances for an unforeseeable need to use safe/sick time. 10. The preceding paragraph describes minimum requirements of the Law and Rules, and Respondent may adopt written safe/sick time policies that are more generous than the provisions in the preceding paragraph and in the Law and Rules generally. 11. By no later than January 31, 2020, or within five (5) calendar days of an Employee’s commencement of employment with Respondent, whichever is later, Respondent shall distribute, by a method that ensures personal receipt by the Employee, Respondent’s safe/sick time policies to all of Respondent’s Employees and obtain from each Employee a written, dated acknowledgment of receipt of Respondent’s safe/sick time policies. Respondent must redistribute its written safe/sick time policies, by any method that ensures personal receipt, within fourteen (14) calendar days of the effective date of any changes to the policy to all Employees, and upon request to the requesting Employee. 12. Respondent shall maintain all safe/sick time policies in writing and follow its written safe/sick time policies, unless to provide more generous benefits. Respondent shall maintain records of all written safe/sick time policies for three (3) years. TRAINING † 13. Respondent shall train all personnel responsible for the administration of Paid Safe and Sick Leave on the provisions of this CO, the Law, and the Rules, and obtain and retain training attendance records for three years. To assist Employers in understanding their obligations pursuant to the Law and the Rules, the Department has developed several resources, including FAQs and PowerPoint presentations, which are available at www.nyc.gov/paidsickleave. The Department also † Consent Order Bloomberg L.P. Page 3 of 6 14. Respondent shall digitally provide the document entitled “Paid Safe and Sick Leave: What Employers Need To Know,” attached as Exhibit A to this CO, to all managers and supervisors working in New York City. Such managers and supervisors will be provided with this document annually for three years following the CO execution date. RECORDKEEPING 15. Respondent is responsible for all recordkeeping requirements set forth in the Rules and the Law that are not explicitly set forth in this CO. 16. Respondent shall establish and maintain in, an intelligible and accessible format, contemporaneous, true, and accurate records in accordance with the requirements set forth in Sections 20-919 and 20-920 of the Law and Section 7-212 of the Rules including, without limitation: a. The names, addresses, phone numbers, and rate of pay of all Employees; b. The hours worked each week and regular workweek of all Employees; c. The date each Employee most recently began employment with Respondent; d. The safe/sick time hours each Employee accrues and has available for use each week; e. The dates and times of each instance of safe/sick time hours used by each Employee and, if applicable, the amount of compensation paid for each instance; and f. Each Employee’s requests for safe/sick time and whether those requests were granted or denied and, if denied, the reason(s) for the denial. PAYMENT OF CIVIL PENALTIES 17. Within ten (10) calendar days of the CO execution date, Respondent shall pay $1,000.00 to the Department. Payment shall be made by check in the amount of $1,000.00 made payable to New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, and delivered to the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, Accounts Receivable Division, 42 Broadway – 8th Floor, New York, NY 10004. The check shall reference the following number: 4950-2019-ADJC. 18. Respondent shall incur a late fee of $100.00 if Respondent does not pay the above civil penalty by the date specified in the preceding paragraph, and an additional $100.00 for each week past offers open houses to educate Employers about the Law. As is appropriate, Respondent may use these resources as training materials to fulfill its obligations in this CO. Respondent’s training materials shall be consistent with the Department’s materials. Consent Order Bloomberg L.P. Page 4 of 6 the date specified in the preceding paragraph in which Respondent does not pay the above civil penalty. MISCELLANEOUS 19. The Department and Respondent agree that this CO shall serve as final settlement of the charges set forth in the Paid Safe and Sick Leave Petition and paragraph 3 of this CO. The Department and Respondent shall not forward, seek, or take further review, action, redress, or appeal of or regarding such matters to, in, or before the administrative tribunal or any other court or forum, except as may be necessary to enforce the terms of this CO. 20. Upon written request for information or records from the Department to Respondent, Respondent shall make available to the Department such records related to any provisions of this CO and/or compliance with the Law or the Rules at an agreed upon date not more than seven (7) calendar days after written request from the Department, unless a longer period for compliance is agreed upon by the Department and Respondent. 21. Upon a finding by an Administrative Law Judge or a court of competent jurisdiction that Respondent breached any material term of this CO, Respondent shall be subject to a fine in the amount of $500.00 for each material breach, in addition to any applicable relief, fines, and/or penalties prescribed by the Law and the Rules. 22. This CO may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original and all of which, when taken together, shall be deemed to be one and the same document. A signed copy of this CO transmitted by facsimile, email or other means of electronic transmission shall be deemed to have the same legal effect as delivery of an original executed copy of this CO for all purposes. 23. Nothing in this CO shall be construed to limit Respondent’s responsibilities pursuant to the Law or the Rules. THIS CONSTITUTES AN ORDER OF THE DEPARTMENT. Consent Order Bloomberg L.P. Page 5 of 6 Agreed to by Respondent Bloomberg LP. by: H35 Signature Dated NAME: 1? 2:171:32 digs, TITLE: 5315/. :2 ADDRESS: ?ff/lavifn oi; Ma?, 4,37,,?4 W7 food; PHONE NUMBER: 2121- K. Accepted for the Department by: (l f] 91$an Signature Dated . Lorelei Salas, Commissioner of Consumer Affairs by: Katherine E. Harrigan, Esq. Of?ce of Labor Policy and Standards New York City Department of Consumer Affairs 42 Broadway, 8th Floor New York, New York 10004 Consent Order Bloomberg LP. Page 6 of 6