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Employment Law

Settlement ends 37-Year-Old union discrimination case

03/01/2008

A federal judge has approved a $6.2 million settlement for more than 150 sheet metal workers in a 37-year-old lawsuit against a union notorious for racial discrimination …

Madison Square Garden back in the penalty box

03/01/2008

Still reeling from a protracted, embarrassing trial and punishing verdict in Anucha Browne Sanders’ sexual harassment suit against New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, Madison Square Garden (MSG) has quietly settled a sexual harassment lawsuit with former New York Rangers cheerleader Courtney Prince for an undisclosed amount …

Carwashes take a bath over unpaid wages

03/01/2008

Two Bronx carwashes, Tremont Car Wash and Webster Car Wash, and their corporate president have agreed to pay $707,298 in back wages and damages to 237 employees. U.S. Labor Department investigators found that employees at both carwashes were required to work more than 70 hours per week without being paid the federal minimum wage or overtime …

New York’s new employment laws hit employers hard

03/01/2008

Last year, while you were hard at work, so was the New York Legislature. Lawmakers passed a record number of laws affecting employers in 2007. Some laws you may have read about, while others you may have missed. Make sure you’re up to speed on new state laws that surely will impact how you manage employees in 2008 and beyond …

Do employees have the right to access their personnel files?

03/01/2008

Q. One of our employees is having disagreements with his supervisor over performance issues. The employee has asked to see his personnel file. Does he have a legal right to see his file? …

What goes into a personnel file?

03/01/2008

Q. What kinds of information and documents should we keep in our personnel files? …

CVS fined for child labor, overtime and timecard violations

03/01/2008

CVS Caremark Corp. was fined $226,000 by the U.S. Labor Department for changing employee timecards and violating child labor laws. The department found 43 violations at stores in New York and six other states …

New York partners with IRS on employment tax enforcement

03/01/2008

New York is one of 29 states that have signed memoranda of understanding with the IRS to share enforcement information on employment tax collection matters. The move is part of the IRS’ Questionable Employment Tax Practices initiative …

If possible, manager who hired should be the same one who fires

03/01/2008

It stands to reason that a manager who thinks enough of an applicant to hire her won’t turn around and fire her a few months later in a fit of discrimination, especially if the applicant belonged to a protected class. That’s why it makes sense to have the same people who made the hiring decision be part of the termination process if the need should arise …

Check bankruptcy filings—You just might dodge a suit

03/01/2008

In Michigan’s current tough economy, many laid off or fired workers are filing for bankruptcy. But that doesn’t mean former employees have given up on filing employment-related lawsuits. But these tight times have given employers an additional tool for finding out what they’re up against if they are sued …