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 Does the New York State Overtime Salary Threshold Work?
How Does the New York State Overtime Salary Threshold Work?
2019 Is Here with New Salary Thresholds
The New York State overtime salary threshold draws the line between exempt salaried workers, who must be paid for overtime, and those non-exempt workers, who do not have to be paid for overtime.
A Look Back on Sexual Harassment Charges in 2018
EEOC Sexual Harassment Charges Statistics Surged
The increase in sexual harassment lawsuits brought by the EEOC was 50 percent higher in 2018 than they were in 2017. The EEOC filed 66 harassment lawsuits, and of those, 41 involved allegations of sexual harassment.
New charges filed with the EEOC that alleged sexual harassment were more than 7,500, which was 12 percent higher than in 2017.
A New NLRB Roadmap for Employee Handbooks
What Are the Current NLRB Handbook Guidelines for Employers?
Through a number of legal cases, including the 2004 Lutheran Heritage decision and later decisions, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) deemed certain employee handbook rules as unlawful. They adjudicated that they were in violation of employees Section 7 rights (right to self-organize and right to collective bargaining).
As a result, for a number of years workplace rules established by employers came under scrutiny and more harsh restrictions.
However, the NLRB MEMORANDUM GC 18-04, released on June 15, 2018, restored commonplace rules that previously were under attack.
Have You Been Accused of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace?
Attorney Stephen Hans appeared in an NY NBC video to give a statement regarding the case brought against his client by rehab counselor Jennifer Lastra.
Growing Concerns About Sexual Harassment in Employment Environments
New York NBC News recently reported that more than $5 million has gone into settling lawsuits brought against 70 New York employees accused of sexual harassment or gender discrimination.
In addition, half of the accused employees have been allowed to keep their jobs.
New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act
ESTA and ESSTA
The revised Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) is now called the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA), and it became effective on May 5, 2018.
Employers should provide all newly hired employees with a Notice of Employee Rights and also provide it to all current employees that were hired prior to June 4, 2018.
How Does ESSTA Differ from ETSA?
ESSTA differs from ESTA in mainly two ways.
Expanded Definition of Family Member
It provides a more comprehensive definition of a family member, which includes any individual who is blood related to the employee and also individuals whose close connection with the employee is equivalent to a family relationship.