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
What Kinds of Employment Records Does Your Business Have to Keep?
There is a lot of administration involved with running a business, and sometimes you wonder what records to keep and how long you have to keep them.
The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)clarifies what your record keeping requirements are under federal law as the following:
The EEOC requires you to keep all employment records for personnel for one year. If you fire an employee, then you must keep that former employee’s records for one year from the date of termination.
New Right to Work Law Passed in Missouri
When Missouri’s current governor campaigned for office, he promised to push through a right to work law. He just signed the bill into law, making Missouri the 28th state to have a right to work law.
The National Law Review recently published an article that outlined the provisions of Missouri’s new law.
What Is a Right to Work Law?
Right to work laws enable employees who do not want to join a union to work at a unionized company without having to pay monthly union dues.
Currently, in states that do not have right to work laws, workers in unionized companies must pay union dues even if they do not join the union. The reasoning behind this is that all employees reap the benefits from the bargaining agreements negotiated for compensation and other perks. Therefore, they should help pay for the work being done by unions.
Recent Ruling on Tip Credits, Tip Pooling and Tipped Employees
The Ninth Circuit Court decision in a recent case was a landmark ruling that favored tipped employees in the debate of tip pooling. It clarifies whether an employer who is not taking a tip credit can do tip pooling, which divides tips among tipped and non-tipped employees.
The Issue with Tip Pooling with Non-Tipped Employees
The National Law Review discussed the case of Oregon Rest & Lodging Ass’n v. Perez, which was appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court.
The crucial question was whether employers have the right to share the tips of waitresses, bartenders and casino dealers, etc. (tipped employees) with non-tipped employees like busboys, hostesses and floor managers. When a tipped employee works hard to deliver great customer service and as a result of such efforts receives a large tip, then having to turn it over to other non-tipped employees seems rather unfair.
Vacation Pay Issues Clarified in Recent Case
Many business owners offer vacation pay as a job benefit. Sometimes issues arise as to whether employees are being treated fairly when receiving their vacation pay.
Vacation Pay Issues in McCaster, Clark v. Darden Restaurants
A recent case heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rendered a decision that favored employers in the case DEMIKO MCCASTER and JENNIFER CLARK, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. DARDEN RESTAURANTS, INC. Popular brand name restaurants operated by Darden Restaurants include Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Longhorn Ste
How Do Workers Feel About Overtime Pay?
The federal overtime rule has been put on hold, and employers are waiting to see whether the DOL will effectively appeal the injunction imposed by the U.S. District Court in Texas. However, it’s worth your while to consider what kinds of problems the rule sought to resolve and where today’s workforce stands on certain issues.
Today’s Workplace Issues with Overtime
With businesses using texting and emails, the line between work and home life continues to blur. Many workers don’t consider the time they spend on texts or emails outside of work as hours working off-the-clock. A Harris Poll conducted in 2016 showed that 63% workers would work-off-the-clock even if doing so was against company policy.