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Employment Law

Government alleges Madoff made out with employee

09/06/2013
As prosecutors try to unravel Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, they are finding his personal life a tangled web as well.

Bill would provide leave for domestic abuse victims

09/06/2013
A bill before the New York Legislature would require employers to provide domestic or sexual abuse victims up to 90 days per year of unpaid leave to deal with the effects of the abuse.

Mere worker inconvenience doesn’t warrant a lawsuit

09/06/2013
Denying a request to work from home is just an inconvenience for an em­­ployee. It’s not grounds for a law­­suit since it’s not an adverse employment action, doesn’t create a hostile work environment or justify quitting.

No individual liability under federal, NY layoff notice laws

09/06/2013
Good news for supervisors who help determine who to cut in a reduction in force: Under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Noti­­fi­­ca­­tion Act (WARN) and the New York State version of the law, there is no individual liability for violations.

The clock is ticking: Note exact date employee learned of termination decision

09/06/2013
Former employees have deadlines for filing complaints over their termination or other employment discrimination claims. In most cases, they have to act within 300 days. Missing the deadline means they ­forever lose the right to sue.

Make arbitration agreements stick–even if there’s no employee signature

09/06/2013
If you use arbitration as a way to resolve employment disputes, you no doubt realize that you need the employee’s signature on that agreement in order to make it a binding contract. But what happens if that signature isn’t there or perhaps was faked?

Know the right way to request FMLA certification, fitness-for-duty notices

09/06/2013
When employees have a serious health condition that qualifies them for FMLA leave, employers have the right to some basic information. But you have to ask for it in the right way and at the right time.

Beware crackdown on complaining employee

09/06/2013
Tell super­­visors and managers to look out for co-worker antagonism. Avoid the appearance of retaliation by making sure bosses enforce all rules equally and fairly.

Assigning unpleasant work isn’t discrimination

09/06/2013
Supervisors don’t always manage to divide the workload evenly among employees. As long as the labor division isn’t obviously intended to demean a particular individual based on his or her protected status, workload assignments are within the purview of management and not something that will support a discrimination lawsuit.

When rude bosses spout off, expect little sympathy from juries

09/06/2013
A supervisor’s foul temper can do more than alienate employees and spike turnover. It can wind up costing your company big bucks in the courtroom. That’s why HR should keep its antenna up for bully bosses and respond quickly to hints of abuse or harassment. Simply hoping the bully improves won’t work.