New York Blog — Employment Defense
Labor and Employment Defense
Welcome to the NYC Employment Law Blog! This blog is an online publication of Stephen D. Hans & Associates, P.C., a New York City law firm that has been representing small and mid-sized businesses throughout the New York metropolitan area in all types of employment and labor law matters for over thirty years. We hope this blog will be an interesting and informative resource for our readers, whether they are current or past clients, or simply compliance-minded business owners looking for ways to stay up-to-date with the ever-changing employment law landscape. To that end, we will endeavor to offer regular blog posts highlighting legislative developments, significant court and agency decisions and noteworthy news stories from the employment and labor law realm. We hope that as a reader you will find ours blog enlightening, useful and above all, interesting.
If you are the owner of a small or mid-sized business in New York State and have questions regarding any of our blog posts, or if you would like to consult with us regarding any employment or labor law issues, please feel free to give us a call at (718) 275-6700 or contact us online to schedule an in-person consultation at our offices.
Thank you for visiting our blog and we hope that you check back often!
Sincerely,
Stephen D. Hans & Associates, P.C.
Blogs
How Frequently Must You Pay Your Employees?
Frequency of pay refers to whether you pay your employees weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. New York Labor Law determines how frequently employees in different work classifications must receive pay. If you do not abide by the law, your employee has the legal right to sue you for damages.
Arbitration of Employment Issues: Its History and Growing Use
Arbitration of employment issues was rare before the 1990’s. In fact, in 1992, a little more than 2 percent of the U.S. workforce was subject to mandatory arbitration for employment disputes.
A study done by the Economic Policy Institute showed that use of mandatory arbitration rose after a series of Supreme Court decisions that began in 1991.
NY Mandatory Arbitration Agreements Seem to Be Holding Up
Federal Laws Take Precedence Over New NY State Law.
Mandatory arbitration agreements have recently born the brunt of hostility in New York. However, the aggressive sentiment against them does not seem to be changing the outcome.
Overtime Rates: U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Final Rule
What Pay Rates Include and Can Exclude
Overtime rates received clarification when the DOL announced a Final Rule on December 12, 2019 that goes into effect January 15, 2020.
This is the first DOL substantial update in over 50 years that affects regular rate requirements. It tells employers what payment employers should include and should exclude in the time and a half, overtime pay calculation. It also greatly enables employers to offer perks and benefits to employees.
How Do Perks and Benefits Figure into Regular Pay and Overtime Rates?
New York Unpaid Wages Lien Bill: NY Employment Defense Attorneys
Cuomo Vetoes Liens Against Employers
The Unpaid Wages Lien Bill passed by the NY State Senate and Assembly would have permitted employees to obtain liens against their employer’s real and personal property. The bill allowed for liens when employees claimed their employers owed them unpaid wages.
The intent of the Unpaid Wages Lien Bill 2844–B was to give employees more extensive rights to deal with wage theft. Specifically, the bill would have allowed them to hold shareholders of non-publicly traded corporations personally liable for wage theft. Wage theft victims would have been able to hold the ten members, who held the largest interests in a company, personally liable for wage theft.