NYC Hotels Sue to Block New $500 Weekly Severance Mandate

A New York City law requiring large hotels that closed during the pandemic to pay laid-off workers $500 in weekly severance is preempted by federal law, the Hotel Association of New York City said in a federal complaint filed Friday.

The “hastily and poorly drafted” law will potentially cost the city’s hotels more than $150 million, the association told a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Though the law may be intended to force hotels to reopen their doors, it will instead cause many to close permanently, the association said.

The association ...