On-the-Job Issues explained by New York Employment Lawyer Steven Mitchell Sack
Already in the first half of this year (2014), the New York Department of Labor has recovered and dispersed over 16.4 million in wages, interest, and damages, on behalf of workers who were improperly subjected to unfair wages and insufficient benefits.
According to the Department of Labor (DOL), officials have completed approximately 5000 cases in 6 months alone, representing a nearly 50% increase from the amount of cases completed within the same time frame last year.
New York’s annual wage notice requirement has been discarded, however other employee protections are in the process of being strengthened
Beginning in 2015, New York employers will no longer be required to provide annual wage notices to existing employees. The annual Wage Notice duty was imposed on employers as part of the Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA or Act), passed in 2010 to remedy supposed abuses of the state’s wage payment laws.
In particular, the WTPA required that all NYS employers provide written notice to existing employees detailing certain wage-related information between the time frame of January 1 and February 1 of each year.
Continue reading “New York Annual Wage Notice Requirement to be Discarded”
In an effort to emphasize the fact that employers are legally prohibited from discriminating against workers because of past, present, or future pregnancies, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently introduced new enforcement guidelines on pregnancy discrimination in the workplace. This is the first time the guidelines have been updated since 1983.
Continue reading “Rights of Pregnant Workers Clarified by the EEOC”
Discrimination at work can often manifest itself well before a job seeker has had the opportunity to even secure full- or part-time employment.
Recently, the Office of the New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, came to a series of agreements with five New York City-based employment agencies in an effort to resolve allegations of unlawful discrimination and predatory business practices.
Continue reading “NY Attorney General Addresses Job Recruitment Discrimination”
President Obama announced on June 20, 2014 that he has signed an executive order to end discrimination in hiring based upon sexual orientation for federal contractors. The executive order will apply to any private businesses that enter into a contract with the United States government.
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits employers from discriminating against workers and job applicants based on sex, race, color, religion, or national origin. However, the act doesn’t expressly prohibit employer discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity bias.
Continue reading “Executive Order Issued Banning Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation”
In a combined effort to ensure overtime protections for low- and mid-wage salaried workers, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, along with eight Senate officials, recently introduced the Restoring Overtime Pay for Working Americans Act.
Presently, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guarantees a minimum wage and overtime pay for private-sector U.S. workers. However, many workers are considered “exempt” from the law, partly because of a salary threshold, $23,660 per year or $455 per week, which is specifically directed at managers and “professional” employees.
Continue reading “Federal Bill Proposal Seeks To Raise Overtime Threshold”
A Melville insurance brokerage has agreed to pay $300,000 in back wages to settle a lawsuit accusing it of age-based harassment, discrimination and retaliation against three former employees. The suit was filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in July 2013.
The EEOC’s lawsuit charged that the company’s management made discriminatory age-related comments and refused to promote one of the claimants based on her age.
Continue reading “Age Discrimination: L.I. Based Company Forced to Pay”
At the start of the new year (2014), the Pregnancy Accommodation Law acted as a new amendment to the already-expansive New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). The law took effect on January 30, 2014, for newly-hired employees and is about to take effect for existing and current employees on May 30th.
Continue reading “New York City Employers Must Give Notice on Pregnancy Rights”
Recently, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) showed they meant business when they ruled that nine workers who decertified their union in 2012 still had to pay it another year’s worth of membership dues because they sent in some of the paperwork too early. The NLRB ruling sent out a warning by the Federal government message was loud and clear: if you are a worker who is trying to exit your union, dot every “i,” cross every “t” and double- and triple-check everything you do. Otherwise, it may cost you a lot.
Continue reading “National Labor Relations Board Imposes Decertification Penalties”
Over the past century, labor laws have evolved to protect many classes of individuals — including men, women and children. US labor laws protections regulate workplace conditions including: harassment and discrimination in the workplace, workers’ health, and minimum pay. However, in recent years, the social progress of employment protections have come under question regarding a specific group of people….interns. In late March 2014, interns in New York City were granted the rights and protections that they argue they so rightfully deserve.
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