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
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.
Did the Hamilton Musical’s Casting Involve Reverse Discrimination?
Articles last March, posed a question about whether the ad for the casting of Hamilton, the New York Broadway Musical, violated New York City Human Rights.
CBS News brought up the fact that the Broadway Union took issue with the Hamilton casting call for “non-white performers.” Even though the play’s producer defended the casting notice, the union general counsel denied approving the wording for this ad. Policy at Actors’ Equity, the Broadway Union is that “…producers agree that auditions for all productions… will be conducted in such a manner as to provide full and fair consideration to actors of all ethnicities.”
What Happens Next with the Overtime Rule?
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) had issued a rule that would have doubled the maximum salary a worker can earn and still qualify for mandatory overtime pay. Workers earning less than $47,500 would have been eligible for overtime pay. The rule was scheduled to take effect on December 1.
However, 21 states and a coalition of business groups that included the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a motion that argued the rule was unlawful. U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzano in Sherman Texas found rule to be unlawful and issued a nationwide injunction regarding it.
In his ruling, the judge stated that federal law governing overtime does not allow the DOL to use salary alone to decide which workers qualify for overtime. He quoted in his ruling that the Fair Labor Standards Act, which states overtime exemption applies for executive, administrative or professional duties but said the rule “creates essentially a de facto salary-only test.”