Archives: New York

Pregnant Employees Become the Subject of Heightened Attention and New Legislation

Over the past decade, the number of claims pregnant workers have filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has risen by almost 50 percent, according to the National Women’s Law Center (“NWLC”). Most of these workers assert that their employers denied them reasonable accommodations, such as bathroom breaks, periodic rest breaks, breaks to facilitate … Continue Reading

Employers Under Continued Fire from Government Agencies and Legislature for Workplace Misclassification

By Jeanine Conley and Amy J. Traub on December 6, 2013 Posted in Department of Labor, DOL, FLSA, Independent Contractor, New York, Wage and Hour

New York has just become the 15th state to formally align its efforts with those of the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) to crack down on the misclassification of employees as “independent contractors.” New York joins 14 other states (including California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Washington) that have partnered with the DOL to “root out bad … Continue Reading

Times, They Are A-Changing: Employers No Longer Permitted to Delay or Fail to Return NY Unemployment Insurance Requests – Penalties Now Imposed

By Amy J. Traub and Mackenna Mosier on November 19, 2013 Posted in Department of Labor, New York

Last month, the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) rather quietly effected legislation that had previously been signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on March 29, 2013, reforming New York unemployment insurance law effective October 1, 2013. Many companies are just now beginning to receive a letter that looks this. The reform was enacted to … Continue Reading

Certain Deductions Allowed Under New York Labor Law, But Employers Beware

By Amy J. Traub and Laura Scully on October 24, 2013 Posted in New York, Wage and Hour

The New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) issued final regulations last week governing how employers may make certain types of deductions from employee wages authorized under the New York Labor Law. For years, there were very few exceptions to the Law’s general prohibition on wage deductions. This changed last year, when the New York … Continue Reading

Interns and Anti-Discrimination Laws: Is Wang Employers’ High-Water Mark?

By Pat Muldowney on October 21, 2013 Posted in Harassment, New York, Retaliation

So you may have heard — a federal court in New York has dismissed an unpaid intern’s hostile work environment sexual harassment claim against a media company pursuant to the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”). (Wang v. Phoenix Satellite Television US, Inc., Case No. 1:13-cv-00218-PKC (S.D.N.Y. 2013).) In granting the defendant’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s … Continue Reading

Staffing Agency Employee May Sue Multiple Employers for Wrongful Discharge, Federal Court Rules

By Todd Lebowitz on September 23, 2013 Posted in Discrimination, New York, Staffing Agency

Whose employee is it anyway? The answer may be everyone’s. Companies who use staffing agencies to supply workers may be considered joint employers of those workers, even if the staffing agency hires and pays the workers. Both companies may be held liable for retaliation and wrongful termination, a federal court in New York has just … Continue Reading

Legal Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence on the Rise

By Ana Salper on August 12, 2013 Posted in Leave of Absence, New Jersey, New York

New Jersey and New York have joined a growing trend of states that have recently passed or are seeking to pass laws affording greater protections for victims of domestic violence. As the national movement focused on strengthening protections for victims of domestic or dating violence grows, so too do employer obligations to provide time off … Continue Reading