A new year signals a new beginning and sends a message of hope for a lot of us especially when we spent almost the entire year of 2020 in series of lockdowns, quarantines, economic recessions, job losses, and a lot more devastating things as a result of the still ongoing global pandemic.
However, in the legal community, 2021 is not just another new year, it also means that there are new laws that will be enacted and changes in some of the existing rules and regulations may be made. With that, here are some of the new laws that we shall expect to be fully implemented in New York this 2021.

Tax Law
Effective January 1, 2021, Section 485-a of the Real Property Tax Law shall require that a person taking the benefits of the Residential-Commercial Urban Exemption Program (real property that is exempt from taxation and special ad valorem levies) shall submit an annual certification to the assessor attesting that the property complies with all the requirements and provisions of this law.
We, also, expect to see soon, a new Tax Law that raises the corporate and personal tax rates in New York City and in New York State – as a whole.
Employment Law
New York City’s minimum wage remains at $15.00 per hour while the rest New York State’s minimum wage increases from $ 11.80 per hour to $12.50 per hour. While in Long Island and Westchester, the minimum wage is changed from $13.00 per hour to $ 14.00 per hour.
Under NY State Minimum Wage Act, an employer who violates the prescribed minimum wage may face criminal or civil charges. The underpaid employee is also entitled to receive liquidated damages and up to 200% of the unpaid wages as interest and penalties.
Family Law
The Child-Parent Security Act (CPSA) shall take effect in the NY State starting February 15, 2021. This law was signed by Governor Cuomo last April 03, 2020. Under CPSA, commercial gestational surrogacy is now considered legal. The intended parents are also now given full parental rights and obligations over the child born of assisted reproduction.
If you want to know more about the new laws in New York, please Schedule a Call with a New York lawyer.
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