A recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has modified the standard for determining whether employees have been lawfully disciplined or discharged after making abusive or offensive statements...more
Following its December 2019 decision holding that confidentiality mandates during the course of workplace investigations are presumptively lawful, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently held that employers can...more
The New York budget legislation signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on April 3 includes notable amendments to the New York Election Law that may look familiar to employers. The 2020 amendments eliminate and modify voting leave...more
In recognition of the challenges currently facing employers due to COVID-19, on May 8 the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it will delay its collection of 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 data until...more
5/16/2020
/ Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
OMB ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Gap ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
On Monday, March 23, the United States Supreme Court, in a nearly unanimous opinion, ruled that a plaintiff asserting race discrimination claims in the making of a contract under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (Section 1981) bears the...more
3/31/2020
/ 42 U. S. C. § 1981 ,
Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
But For Causation ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Comcast ,
Comcast Corp. v National Association of African American-Owned Media ,
Commercial Contracts ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Contract ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Race Discrimination ,
Racial Bias ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Substantial Motivating Factor Test ,
Television Broadcast Stations ,
Title VII
The New York City Commission on Human Rights (the Commission) has published guidance regarding an amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) that expanded protections under the law to independent contractors and...more
1/24/2020
/ Breastfeeding ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Misclassification ,
NYCHRL ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Stalking ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
2019 brought a number of important changes in the law that warrant the attention of New York employers. Start off the new year right and ensure your calendars are up to date by including the 2020 effective dates of these New...more
1/15/2020
/ Conditional Job Offers ,
Contract Terms ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Salary ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
NYSHRL ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pay Gap ,
Reproductive Discrimination ,
Salaried Employees ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On Dec. 17, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that confidentiality mandates during the course of workplace investigations are presumptively lawful.
...more
12/23/2019
/ Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Risk Management ,
Section 7 ,
Workplace Investigations
On Nov. 14, 2019, the office of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) General Counsel released an advice memorandum finding an employer violated federal labor law by requiring employees to sign a broad non-disparagement...more
On Sept. 12, 2019, the New York City Council passed a law, Int. 0136-A, that expands the scope of the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) to provide protections for freelancers and independent contractors....more
11/12/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Local Ordinance ,
Misclassification ,
NYCHRL ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
On Sept. 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) unveiled its final rule to update the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime exemptions for executive, administrative and professional workers. The final rule is...more
9/28/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
New Rules ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On April 9, 2019, the New York City Council passed a bill that prohibits employers from conducting pre-employment drug testing for the presence of marijuana or tetrahydrocannabinols (THC). ...more
5/13/2019
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
State and Local Government
On March 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced its proposed rule to update the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime exemptions for executive, administrative and professional workers....more
3/22/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Standard Duties Test ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The NYC Commission on Human Rights (Commission) recently released new legal enforcement guidance (guidance) that prohibits employers from punishing, demoting, firing, harassing or taking other adverse actions against workers...more
3/12/2019
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appearance Policy ,
Dress Codes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NYCHRL ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
How do you measure a year in labor and employment law? Likely not in daylights or sunsets, midnights, or cups of coffee — but rather in legislation! Clearly, the most significant developments last year concerned the rise of...more
2/26/2019
/ Breastfeeding ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Work Schedules
Now that the Times Square glitter has settled, it’s time to get started on tackling those New Year’s resolutions. Although updating your employee handbook may not have made your resolution list, 2018 brought a number of...more
1/29/2019
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Breastfeeding ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NYCHRL ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Protected Class ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Safe Leave ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour