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Employment Law

Flurry of year-end regulations affect New York wage-and-hour law

12/09/2015
The end of the year saw a flurry of activity from workplace reg­­ulators in New York. Employers should note several recent legal developments.

New York pizzerias sued for national origin bias

12/09/2015
Two restaurants in Fishkill and Wappingers Falls, N.Y. face charges that their owner regularly denigrated Hispanic employees and insisted they speak English on the job.

Show why schedule changed after FMLA leave

12/09/2015
If you have to make a schedule change after someone returns from FMLA leave, be sure you have legitimate business reasons.

Incident may be ‘creepy’ but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s harassment

12/09/2015
Here’s some good news: Just because a supervisor says or does something stupid or tasteless doesn’t mean the employer will suffer. Take an isolated incident that might be characterized as odd or creepy. While perhaps uncomfortable for the employees involved, most of the time it won’t result in a successful lawsuit.

Ignore sexual assault allegations, prepare to pay huge damages

12/09/2015

Here’s a cautionary tale about ignoring a young employee’s plea for help and also ignoring her lawsuit later. Both courses of action may cost dearly—in this case, well over a million dollars.

Winter turns up heat on pay compliance

12/09/2015
The Fair Labor Standards Act is generally a fairly straightforward law—for most of the year. But winter weather—and the delays and closures that sometimes accompany it—can make wage-and-hour compliance more difficult.

The legal risks of failing to track hours

12/08/2015

Employers that don’t track how many hours employees work face a real disadvantage. If an employee sues for unpaid overtime, he or she will be able to use inexact estimates as proof of work done but unpaid. What’s more, should the employee win the case, those estimated hours end up doubled as punishment.

Case in point: How to handle tip-pooling arrangements in Texas

12/07/2015

You may have heard that the Department of Labor has been focusing some of its enforcement efforts on low-wage service industries, particularly restaurants and fast- food outlets. That’s true. But federal courts are also stepping in to ensure that low-wage employees get every penny they are entitled to. That’s what recently happened when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a tip-pooling case that the employee who makes coffee in the back (the barista) should not be participating in the restaurant’s tip pool.

Doughnut shop in Katy settles pregnancy bias claim

12/07/2015
The Katy Shipley Do-Nuts franchise has agreed to settle charges it discriminated against pregnant employees.

Question in Dallas: Can elected official claim ADA protection?

12/07/2015
Dallas District Attorney Susan Hawk, who admits she has a history of mental illness and drug abuse, checked herself into an inpatient treatment facility. Now, she maintains she is back on the job and fully capable of performing it. Not everyone agrees.