The New York City Council has passed a bill amending the City’s anti-discrimination statute (the New York City Human Rights Law or “NYCHRL”) to prohibit discrimination and harassment on the basis of an individual’s “height”...more
5/22/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
City of New York ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Housing Discrimination ,
Human Rights ,
Job Applicants ,
Public Accommodation
Severance agreements offered to non-supervisory employees that include broad-based non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions are unlawful according to the National Labor Relations Board. The Board’s decision in...more
The New York City Council has expanded NYC’s Fair Chance Act to further restrict NYC employers from taking adverse actions against applicants or employees based on their criminal history. The law will go into effect on or...more
In a landmark opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from employment discrimination. The Court’s holding will have major...more
6/17/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Employers reacted in a variety of ways to cope with the unprecedented financial impact of COVID-19. Many of the initial executive compensation responses were designed as cost-cutting measures that would ease cash flow burdens...more
6/3/2020
/ Board of Directors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Contract ,
Executive Compensation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Layoffs ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Salaried Employees ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Succession Planning ,
WARN Act
On Monday, Governor Cuomo signed into the law the last of four bills aimed at strengthening workplace protections for employees. In mid-July, the Governor signed pay equity, salary history disclosure and hair discrimination...more
Just days before concluding its legislative session, the New York Legislature enacted a law focusing on an employer’s acquisition and use of applicant and employee wage and salary history when making decisions regarding...more
6/28/2019
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
NYCHRL ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Just before the end of its session, the New York Legislature expanded protections against discrimination and harassment under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). The Governor still has to sign the new bill into law,...more
6/28/2019
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights ,
NYCHRL ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
Title VII
The New York State Department of Labor (DOL), in consultation with the New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR), has released drafts of its model sexual harassment prevention policy, complaint form, and harassment...more
8/28/2018
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NYDOL ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Comment ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
In the wake of the #MeToo movement and the nationwide discourse over the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, New York State and New York City have taken aggressive steps to implement stronger protections against...more
5/1/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Hires ,
New Legislation ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws
Recent cases in New York and Pennsylvania demonstrate that, at least in some jurisdictions and under some circumstances, a plaintiff can state a valid claim for unlawful gender discrimination based on a spouse’s jealousy....more
No matter how long you’ve played the game, administering a Reduction-in-Force or RIF is never easy. In fact, it is often painful not only because they are difficult to administer, but because of the toll it takes on the...more
Last week the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice jointly issued guidance to educate companies, and in particular human resource professionals, on how antitrust laws apply in the employment arena,...more
California’s governor has signed into law a bill aimed at discouraging discriminatory age hiring practices in the entertainment industry. The law focuses on internet websites identifying ages, but critics question whether...more
The obligation to accommodate a disabled employee is an ongoing one; a doctor’s note may not be a prerequisite to engage in the interactive process – those are two important lessons that employers should take away from a...more
The National Labor Relations Board, in one of its first applications of the Browning-Ferris decision, gave hope to non-union contracting entities engaged in franchising and subcontracting relationships. After an extensive...more
11/4/2015
/ Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Discipline ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Franchises ,
General Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Subcontractors ,
Supervision ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Wage and Hour
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed a series of bills entitled the “Women’s Equality Agenda” that significantly amend the State’s equal pay, sex discrimination, harassment and other laws to provide additional...more
10/30/2015
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Pay Secrecy ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Disparate Impact ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Family Status Discrimination ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Liquidated Damages ,
New Legislation ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wage and Hour
The so-called “manager rule” addresses a concern that employers may face a “litigation minefield” if a manager whose very job duties required them to report discrimination complaints could later sue for retaliation if they...more
Last week, the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act became effective. It amended the New York City Human Rights Law to prohibit most employers from making employment decisions based on an employee or applicant’s...more
9/11/2015
/ Credit Checks ,
Credit Discrimination ,
Credit History ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Credit Checks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Exemptions ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
NYCHRL ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Recordkeeping Requirements
Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony that was not dismissed, expunged, or sealed? New York City employers, if you ask that question on your employment application or some version of that question, then...more
The Supreme Court recently held that job applicants may hold their potential employer liable for intentional discrimination under Title VII if the applicant can show that his or her need for an accommodation was a motivating...more
6/15/2015
/ Abercrombie & Fitch ,
Actual or Constructive Knowledge ,
Discrimination ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Interviews ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII
Mayor de Blasio recently signed a series of bills that, among other things, require the New York City Human Rights Commission – the agency responsible for enforcing the New York City Human Rights Law – to conduct employment...more
A Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of California recently handed down an important decision regarding the application of the Fair Credit Reporting Act to one of LinkedIn’s search products. The decision in Sweet v....more
The New York City Council passed the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act last Thursday. It amends the New York City Human Rights Law to prohibit most employers from making employment decisions based on an employee...more
If you thought the Round of 64 was wild, then wait until you see what happened during the second round. Let’s just say that some shocking upsets left many a bracket busted wide open....more