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
Preventing Harassment from Occurring in Your Workplace
Many employers realize that preventing harassment in the workplace can mean the difference between a productive and profitable business and a business that faces legal threats and compromised profitability.
Workplace harassment is a form of discrimination and can be based on sex, race, disability, age, ethnicity/national origin, color and religion.
EEOC Study on Harassment
Recently, the Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released the results of a study about harassment along with recommendations that employers may find valuable in preventing workplace harassment.
Fox News Embroiled in Discrimination Lawsuits
Recently, Fox News has been high profile in the media for discrimination lawsuits brought by employees who are alleging sexual harassment and racial discrimination. The most shocking news report that hit the media and rocked the nation was about the firing of Bill O’Reilly due to sexual harassment allegations.
Bill O’Reilly Discrimination Lawsuits Based on Sexual Harassment
According to The New York Times , Fox settled complaints brought by five women who alleged Bill O’Reilly had sexually harassed them. The network launched an investigation into O’Reilly and discovered multiple women had reported inappropriate behavior that involved him.
The Murdoch family, which controls 21st Century Fox, decided the outcome, and in particular, Rupert Murdoch and his sons James and Lachlan arrived at their decision after the internal investigation. They paid $13 million to settle the women’s complaints.
What Is the New York Women’s Equality Agenda?
In October 2015, New York passed eight bills that were known as the Women’s Equality Agenda. Seven of the provisions of this law went into effect on January 19, 2016. As an employer, it is important to understand your rights and responsibilities under this new equal pay law in New York.
What Are the Main Changes in the Women’s Equality Agenda that Affect Employers?
One aspect of the Women’s Equality Agenda increases women’s protection against pay differentials based on sex by replacing the current “any other factor than sex” exception, which typically referred to seniority, merit, or a quantity/quality of production system and other non-sex related factors. The law replaces the “any other factor than sex” with “a bona fide factor other than sex, such as education, training or experience.”
Court’s Decision Favors Employers in Case EEOC Brought Against a Wendy’s Franchise
Recently a federal district Court in Tennessee ruled that the EEOC could not force a Wendy’s restaurant franchisee to turn over broad information based on a single discrimination charge.
Bloomberg BNA reported about the decision in this case, which was a victory for employers.
Details of the Case EEOC Brought Against a Wendy’s Franchise
An employee at Southeast Food Services, a Wendy’s franchise, filed an EEOC complaint that alleged the franchise unlawfully retaliated against her because as a condition of promotion, she refused to sign a general release of past claims. The EEOC issued a subpoena for the franchise to submit all contact information for its employees since 2014, including employees who were promoted and who signed releases. The information was to include job titles and hiring and termination dates.
How Can You Avoid Religious Discrimination Claims?
When employers deal with a worker unfavorably because of religious beliefs, they open themselves up to discrimination lawsuits. Laws prohibiting religious discrimination protect people who adhere to traditional religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. The also apply to other people who hold sincere religious, ethical or moral beliefs.
Tips the EEOC Provides to Employers to Avoid Religious Discrimination Charges
Based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the EEOC encourages employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for workers so they can practice or observe their religions. The only exception is when the accommodation causes the business an undue hardship, making it difficult to operate the business.
What is involved with making reasonable accommodations?