The #TimesUp and #MeToo movements continue to be a force of national reckoning over sexual assault and harassment. This month, the New York City Council harnessed the energy from those social movements and transformed it into legislative action by introducing a series of bills aimed at preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. The Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act is a package of eleven bills that would significantly expand the obligations of many employers to prevent sexual harassment. Continue Reading New York City Council Introduces Package of Legislation Aimed at Strengthening Anti-Sexual Harassment Policies
Attorneys General Support Ending Arbitration of Workplace Sexual Harassment Claims
Last week, the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) sent a letter to leaders in Congress, urging the passage of legislation that would prohibit mandatory arbitration of workplace sexual harassment claims. In the letter, 56 attorneys general of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands called on Congress to allow victims of workplace sexual harassment claims to have their days in court and be afforded the “procedural and substantive due process” that comes with proceeding with a lawsuit. Continue Reading Attorneys General Support Ending Arbitration of Workplace Sexual Harassment Claims
NYC Council Obligates Employers to Engage in “Cooperative Dialogue” for Reasonable Accommodation Requests
Apparently believing that employers are not capable of considering employees’ requests for reasonable accommodation on their own, the New York City Council has decided to dictate how those requests should be handled. Continue Reading NYC Council Obligates Employers to Engage in “Cooperative Dialogue” for Reasonable Accommodation Requests
Labor & Employment Webinar: HR’s Role in Natural Disasters
It is critical that organizations have a plan of action in place to manage operations during natural disasters in order to keep business going and disruptions to a minimum. In addition to preparing and implementing a disaster plan, it is important for business owners and human resource professionals to be aware of the employment laws that may be implicated as a result of these disasters. We will review possible steps in managing disasters in the workplace and discuss the employment law and wage and hour issues that arise when employees are prevented from working as a result of natural disaster. Continue Reading Labor & Employment Webinar: HR’s Role in Natural Disasters
Mainstream Recognition of Sexual Harassment Prompts Bill Prohibiting Arbitration
Allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against business leaders, politicians and artists, have become a front page staple of newspapers across the country. Many are shocked by the allegations and claim to wonder how they could have stayed secret for so long. Despite the numerous cases of sexual harassment filed each year in courts throughout the country, rendering the allegations a matter of public record, a bipartisan group in Congress is blaming the increased use of nonpublic arbitrations for keeping allegations quiet. As a result, they seek passage of a bill intended to prohibit sexual harassment and gender discrimination cases from being resolved privately in arbitration. Continue Reading Mainstream Recognition of Sexual Harassment Prompts Bill Prohibiting Arbitration
New York City Council Amends Earned Sick Time Act to Permit Employees to Use Paid Time Off for “Safe Time”
On October 17, 2017, the New York City Council passed a bill amending the New York City Earned Sick Time Act (which took effect on April 1, 2014) to require paid time off for victims of family offense matters, sexual offenses, stalking and human trafficking, and their family members. The amendment would take effect 180 days after Mayor Bill de Blasio signs it into law, which he is expected to do. Continue Reading New York City Council Amends Earned Sick Time Act to Permit Employees to Use Paid Time Off for “Safe Time”
Should New York Employers Care that the Obama Administration’s Final Rule is No More?
To be exempt from state and federal overtime requirements, an employee must satisfy both a salary test and a duties test. In May 2016, we blogged about the Department of Labor’s issuance of a Final Rule modifying the so-called “white-collar” employee exemptions to overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The proposed Final Rule increased the minimum salary that must be paid to exempt employees from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to approximately $913 per week ($47,476 per year), and provided for subsequent annual revisions/increases. The Final Rule did not make changes to the duties test, which still must be satisfied for the exemptions to apply. The Final Rule was supposed to be effective on December 1, 2016, but on November 22, 2016, a federal court in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the Final Rule from taking effect. On September 6, 2017, that injunction was made permanent, and the minimum salary threshold under federal law will remain at $455 per week at least until new regulations are issued by the Trump administration’s Department of Labor. Continue Reading Should New York Employers Care that the Obama Administration’s Final Rule is No More?
Justice Department Switches Sides on Class Action Waivers
Earlier this year, we blogged about the United States Supreme Court’s decision to consider whether requiring employees to agree to arbitration and a waiver of their rights to assert claims through class actions violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). During the Obama administration, the U.S. Department of Justice supported the position of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that requiring class action waivers as a condition of employment violated the NLRA. Now, the Justice Department has switched sides and is supporting business, acknowledging in an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court on June 16 that “[a]fter the change in administration, . . . [it] reconsidered the issue and has reached the opposite conclusion.” Continue Reading Justice Department Switches Sides on Class Action Waivers
Employer No-Recording Policies May Violate NLRA Says the Second Circuit
On June 1, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which covers Connecticut, New York and Vermont, upheld a National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) finding that Whole Foods Market Group, Inc.’s no-recording policy was overbroad and violated the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).
In Whole Foods Market Group, Inc. v. NLRB, Whole Foods’ employee handbook contained a provision that prohibited employees from recording conversations, phone calls, and meetings, without first obtaining managerial approval. The court concluded that this no-recording policy violated the NLRA. The NLRA deems it an unfair labor practice “to interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights [to, among other things, engage in concerted activities for the purposes of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.] Whole Foods insisted that its policy was not intended to interfere with employees’ rights to engage in concerted activity or to prevent them from discussing their jobs, and that it was merely a general prohibition against recording in the workplace. Whole Foods argued that its policy was “to promote employee communication in the workplace” by assuring employees that their remarks would not be recorded.
Continue Reading Employer No-Recording Policies May Violate NLRA Says the Second Circuit