The New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) recently announced the formation of a COVID-19 Response Team to handle allegations of harassment and discrimination related to COVID-19. Although the COVID-19 Response...more
Following a proposed and failed bill in the New York State legislature during Summer 2019 that would have created a new category of “Dependent Worker,” and California’s passage of AB-5, which codified the ABC “employment”...more
As New York continues to be hard hit by the effects of COVID-19, Governor Cuomo announced a three-way agreement on March 17 between his office and both houses of the New York State Legislature on a bill guaranteeing job...more
3/19/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Benefits ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Quarantine ,
Sick Leave ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
After a busy 2019 of expanding workplace protections in New York, Governor Cuomo just issued his 2020 State of the State to lay out his priorities for the coming year. And it should come as no surprise that several of the...more
1/13/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Employment Policies ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Cuomo ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
A federal appeals court just ruled that workers don’t need to clear a heightened legal standard in order to pursue pay equity claims, setting the stage for a possible increase in the number of lawsuits seeking recovery for...more
New York lawmakers just introduced the “Dependent Worker Act” into the Assembly and Senate this past week, which proposes to provide workers in the gig economy with certain rights that previously were only available to...more
On the heels of the NYC Council passing (and the mayor signing into law) a bill requiring minimum payments for ride-sharing drivers and a one-year freeze on the number of ride-sharing vehicle licenses issued, the NYC Council...more
Westchester County has just enacted an Earned Sick Leave Law which will soon require Westchester employers to provide sick leave to its employees. All Westchester employees—both full-time and part-time—who work more than 80...more
10/23/2018
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Private Right of Action ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
On the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year in Epic Systems Corporation v. Lewis, which held that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) does not bar class or collective action waivers in arbitration...more
10/3/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Back Pay ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Compel ,
NLRA ,
Savings Clause ,
Wage and Hour
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
9/17/2018
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Background Checks ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Collective Action Waivers ,
Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Failed Legislation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Baker ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) ,
Licenses ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OFCCP ,
Opinion Letter ,
Opioid ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Gap ,
Pending Legislation ,
Portable Benefits ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Ridesharing ,
Right to Work ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Union Dues ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Injury
On the heels of the Supreme Court's decision in Epic Systems Corporation v. Lewis, which held that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) does not bar class or collective action waivers in arbitration agreements, the 6th...more
8/23/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Back Pay ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Action Waivers ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Former Employee ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Motion to Compel ,
NLRA ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
Wage and Hour
One of the key provisions of New York City’s Fair Workweek Law was just put on hold while a federal judge sorts out a constitutional challenge brought by two restaurant advocacy organizations. The “Deductions Law” portion of...more
1/26/2018
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Donations ,
Employees ,
Fair Workweek ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) ,
NLRA ,
Nonprofits ,
Pending Legislation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Deductions
As pay equity litigation heats up across the country, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals issued a January 26 decision that should help employers in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont combat claims brought under the federal Pay...more
2/17/2017
/ Achieve Pay Equity Act (APEA) ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Evidence ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Equity Act (PEA) ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
To ring in the New Year, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the creation of a 200-member multi-agency Minimum Wage Enforcement and Outreach Unit on January 2, 2017. The Unit’s goal is to ensure that all minimum wage workers in...more
Lost in the shuffle surrounding the United States Department of Labor’s (USDOL) proposed (but stalled) increases to the salary threshold for the “white collar exemptions” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was the New...more
On October 25, 2016, the New York Court of Appeals – New York’s highest court – ruled that non-staff instructors at a yoga studio were properly classified as independent contractors, and were not employees. The Court of...more
2nd Circuit Refuses To Join Circuit Courts Siding With NLRB -
Employers can breathe a sigh of relief after the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals once again upheld the validity of class and collective action waivers in...more