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New York

3 former female execs sue Goldman Sachs

09/27/2010
Only on Wall Street can you make $800,000 a year and claim that you’re underpaid. But three women who used to earn big bucks at Goldman Sachs are suing because they could have earned even more if they were men.

When duty calls: Don’t interfere with employees’ jury duty

09/01/2010
The Federal Jury Act makes it clear that employers may not “discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate, or coerce any permanent employee by reason of such employee’s jury service, or the attendance or scheduled attendance in connection with such service, in any court of the United States.” Two recent cases show that courts won’t turn a blind eye to employers that fire workers because of jury service.

Rochester roofer settles race bias claims for $1 million

09/01/2010
Elmer Davis Roofing, the largest roofing contractor in New York state, will pay $1 million to settle an EEOC race bias lawsuit, following what the commission called “decades of ugly and unlawful discrimination against African-American employees.”

Was N.Y. union staffer fired for trying to organize a union?

09/01/2010

Until recently, Jim Callaghan was a writer for the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the union that represents New York City teachers and that has made its name by actively opposing city officials’ power to fire teachers without due process. Now Callaghan is claiming UFT employees have no such protection themselves. He says he was fired after he began looking into unionizing UFT editorial employees.

Novartis settles class-action sex bias suit–for $175 million

09/01/2010

Novartis Pharmaceuticals has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by female sales reps just two months after a federal jury awarded the plaintiffs $250 million in punitive damages. Novartis challenged that verdict, and the court had scheduled a hearing for November. Under the settlement, Novartis will pay $152.5 million in return for dropping its appeal.

NYC law: Telecommuting may be an accommodation

09/01/2010
New York City law requires employers to consider whether injured or ill employees who want to work from home are entitled to such an accommodation.

For hourly employees, unauthorized extra time counts toward FMLA eligibility

09/01/2010

Employees have to work at least 1,250 hours in a year to qualify for FMLA leave. They also must have been employed for a total of one year. Thus, while many part-time employees may qualify for FMLA leave, others won’t because they haven’t met those thresholds. But now some hourly employees and their attorneys are trying a new approach.

It’s a buyer’s market: Hire the best candidates over those who meet minimum requirements

09/01/2010
Many employers are discovering they have many—perhaps dozens—of well-qualified applicants for each opening. That may leave some perfectly qualified applicants wondering why they weren’t picked. Don’t fret about selecting the applicant with the best résumé. While you may be sued by another applicant who believes some form of discrimination must have been at work in the selection process, that lawsuit won’t go far.

Promoting employees from rank-and-file to boss? Make sure their training includes retaliation

09/01/2010

Sometimes a newly minted supervisor takes the opportunity to settle old scores with former co-workers. That can create liability for the employer. That’s why—before the promotion goes into effect—you must train the candidates on sensitive issues such as harassment and retaliation.

DOL to study FMLA usage

09/01/2010
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced it plans to study how employees use leave under the FMLA, a move that may signal that more regulatory changes are on the way.