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New York

New N.Y. ‘wage theft’ law imposes stiff penalties on employers

01/07/2011
The Wage Theft Prevention Act, a law designed to end what workers’ rights advocates term “wage theft,” takes effect April 12, but the time to plan is now. The new law has teeth. It expands the New York Department of Labor’s enforcement powers, and as much as quadruples penalties on employers that violate the law.

ACLU says tracking state employee was unconstitutional

01/07/2011
An American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed on behalf of a worker fired by the New York Department of Labor for falsifying time sheets may test the limits of employer surveillance of employees.

Lawsuit: NYC watch seller had no time for crucifix

01/07/2011

A workplace conflict that started with jewelry has escalated into a case of dueling lawsuits. On one side: Jamie Errico, former vice president of sales for Manhattan watch retailer Concepts in Time, who has filed a gender and religious discrimination suit against her former employer. On the other: The store’s owners, who are suing Errico for trying to poach customers.

Asking worker to stay can counter constructive discharge

01/07/2011
Employees who believe they work in a hostile environment can quit and claim they were “constructively discharged,” arguing that no reasonable person would stay and suffer intolerable conditions. But when an employer responds to a resignation with entreaties to stay, chances are the employee will have a hard time arguing things were so terrible she had to quit.

Be sure to document all employee complaints

01/07/2011
If you don’t already have a system in place to track all employee complaints, develop one now. You simply never know when someone will sue. When a lawsuit claims that an employee worked in a hostile environment, a record of those complaints—or the lack thereof—will come in handy.

Court limits reach of obscure bias law: Discrimination case must stay in state court

01/07/2011
Here’s a bit of good news for employers that would prefer to keep New York discrimination claims in state court. A federal court has refused to let a former employee use Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act to move state claims to federal court.

After worker complains of bias, beware even small job changes–such as less overtime

01/07/2011
Employees who complain about discrimination are protected from retaliation. Anything that would cause a reasonable employee to rethink the original complaint is fair game for a retaliation lawsuit, including such seemingly minor consequences like losing a few hours of overtime pay.

Get workers back fast from FMLA leave: Run FMLA concurrently with other leave

01/07/2011
You can and should use the FMLA rules to encourage employees to return from FMLA leave as soon as possible. One of the most effective ways is to run their unpaid FMLA leave time concurrently with any paid leave they may have coming. That way, they can’t use up that paid time first and get another 12 unpaid weeks.

‘Wage theft’ law goes into effect April 12

01/07/2011
Employers will have to keep more records and regularly explain wage and pay details to their employees under a new law signed by Gov. David Paterson in December.

Request medical clearance for chronic condition

01/07/2011

It’s not always easy to accommodate disabled employees. You want to follow the law, but you also want to make sure that the employee isn’t a danger to herself or others if she has a serious condition like epilepsy. But it is possible to handle these tricky situations right—as the employer did in this case.