New York’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act, which requires that a business provide any freelance worker with a written contract if the freelance work is worth at least $800, inclusive of multiple projects over a 120-days period,...more
For retail establishments, developments involving religious accommodation and the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) make scheduling employees more challenging.
Religious Accommodation-
The U.S. Supreme Court...more
9/15/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retailers ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Seeking to address several open issues in New York’s sexual harassment laws, Governor Hochul has signed a package of legislation strengthening the state’s antiharassment initiative....more
After being issued more than 12 years ago, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted to publish a proposed update to its Compliance Manual section on religious discrimination. Once published, it will be open...more
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s execution of the state’s fiscal year 2021 budget had eliminated the “pink tax,” effective September 30, 2020, as part of the Governor’s 2020 Women’s Agenda.
The “pink tax” refers to...more
Earlier this month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) updated its Technical Assistance Questions and Answers on COVID-19 issues to state that employers cannot require antibody testing of its employees...more
Based on a set of somewhat unusual facts, a federal district court in Ohio ruled that an employer that refused to rehire a recently retired individual to his former position will need to argue at a jury trial that its...more
Under generally accepted Title VII principles, an employer can be held liable when a co-worker harasses a co-worker if a supervisor is aware of the harassment, but fails to take prompt corrective action. This principle was...more
Just when landlords and their insurers thought that their obligations couldn’t get broader, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the federal Fair Housing Act’s anti-discrimination requirement extends to every part of the...more
New York’s Suffolk County is the latest local jurisdiction to adopt legislation prohibiting employers from asking about the prior salary histories of prospective employees. The salary history ban amends the Suffolk County...more
Claiming that frequent restroom breaks were required by a pregnancy-related medical condition, a former employee’s claims were allowed to proceed under the Americans with Disability Act, but not Title VII. In Wadley v....more
Pregnancy discrimination can arise from an employer’s effort to “protect” a pregnant worker from harm, just as it can from other adverse actions. In Cameron v. NYC Dept. of Educ., 15-cv-9900 (S.D.N.Y), it was alleged that...more
Proving that non-economic damages and perhaps attorney’s fees are driving forces in litigation, constructive discharge clams were asserted and survived summary judgment in a federal district court action in Oregon. The...more
Finding not a “scintilla” of evidence to support claims of minimum wage violations, a New York federal district court in Yu Sen Chen et al v. MG Wholesale Distribution Inc. et al, 16-cv-04439 (E.D.N.Y.) dismissed a proposed...more
In a mixed ruling, a California state court judge in Villegas v. Six Flags Entertainment Corp., Case No. BC505344, issued a decision last week denying certification of eight subclasses of amusement park workers, but...more
In a decision of apparent first impression in New York, an appellate court has ruled that the sexual jealousy of an employer’s spouse may be considered gender discrimination under New York State and New York City law (Edwards...more
According to one federal court judge, a transgendered former employee can proceed with an employment discrimination case under the American With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) alleging that she was mistreated and fired based on her...more
A federal magistrate in New York has recommended that an employment discrimination case survive a dismissal motion even though some of the claims relied on facts that occurred outside the statute of limitation. Grimes-Jenkins...more
In a somewhat unusual ruling, a New York federal court denied an unpaid intern’s attempt to remand a putative wage-hour class action against Oscar de la Renta to state court even though the case was removed to federal court...more
A federal court in Tennessee denied an employer’s motion for summary judgment on an African-American employee’s race discrimination and hostile work environment claims under Title VII and state law. The decision was based in...more
Employers facing multiple litigations can take solace in the fact that, sometimes, too much of a bad thing can be helpful. In Ruiz v. Brennan, 16-11061, the Fifth Circuit held that a pending administrative class action...more