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New York

Count on being sued if you fire employee who has complained about harassment

03/05/2013

Some things in life are certain. Like death and taxes, litigation follow­ing a firing after a discrimination complaint will happen. The reason: Judges are reluctant to toss out retaliation claims without first hearing all the evidence.

When you have no control over harasser, treat it like co-worker harassment

03/05/2013
According to a recent 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, when the alleged harassment comes from customers and others over whom the employer has limited control, the rules regarding co-worker harassment apply.

Mother Monster’s personal assistant seeks more OT pay

03/05/2013
Lady Gaga’s former personal assistant wants the flamboyant performer and cultural phenomenon to cough up another $400,000 in back overtime pay. Claiming she was on call 24/7, the assistant’s lawsuit says she should have been paid overtime for 128 hours per week in addition to her $75,000 a year salary.

Isolated sexist remark alone won’t lose lawsuit

03/05/2013

Some managers are just clueless about how to treat employees. You certainly don’t want to encourage boorish behavior. At the same time, you shouldn’t worry that a relatively harmless verbal blunder will land you on the losing end of a discrimination or harassment lawsuit. Just make sure your core HR processes are solid.

RIF looming? Base layoffs on logical criteria

03/05/2013

When business is down and you need to make cost-saving cuts, it can be tempting to use that as an excuse to shed a “troublemaking” employee. Don’t do it.

NLRB clarifies position on handbooks, at-will employment

02/28/2013
Late in 2012, the NLRB left many employers scratching their heads—and pulling their employee handbooks off the shelf. Until recently, the NLRB pretty much limited itself to dealing with labor unions and the right to organize, leaving employers alone as long as no union activity was involved. That’s all changed in the past year.

Supreme Court to decide burden of proof in Title VII retaliation cases

02/07/2013
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could answer a crucial question when an employee who is a member of a protected class alleges retaliation: Must he prove his protected status was the sole motive for retaliation, or can it be just one of many possible reasons?

Long Island restaurants can’t duck fair pay

02/07/2013
A chain of three Long Island Asian restaurants will pay more than $1 million in back wages and penalties to 255 current and former employees who were underpaid.

Court: ‘Depression’ no excuse for late filing

02/07/2013
A federal court recently decided to strictly enforce filing deadlines for employment discrimination claims in­­stead of extending them for employees electing to represent themselves. It’s a step toward limiting late claims.

Conditions intolerable? Employee may quit and sue

02/07/2013
An employee who works in outrageous conditions can sometimes quit, claiming she had no choice, and then sue for her “discharge.” However, most of those suits don’t get very far.