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New York

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.

Check the context: Are those words harassment?

09/01/2010

Some words are inherently racist, offensive or discriminatory regardless of the context in which they are spoken. When such words fly in the workplace, courts will almost always conclude the environment was hostile. Other words, however, require a close look at the context in which they were used. One such term: “bitch.” If used in a context that clearly is aimed at putting down women, the term creates a sexually hostile work environment.

Bias complaint, then discipline? Watch out!

09/01/2010

Some employers try to avoid the impression of retaliation by making sure that whoever makes disciplinary decisions doesn’t know about any discrimination complaints. That way, they can argue that if the decision-maker wasn’t privy to the complaint, he couldn’t be retaliating. It isn’t quite that simple.

When firing, choose words carefully, stick to performance

08/23/2010
Employees who have just lost their jobs usually leave their termination meetings in a foul mood. So, don’t give them any reason during that meeting to send them marching to a lawyer’s office. As you’ll see in the following case, one inflammatory phrase from a supervisor can spark a lawsuit.

In tight times, be prepared to handle whistle-blower complaints

08/05/2010
The sour economy has every company looking for ways to pinch pennies. If belt-tightening turns into illegality, employers can expect employees to alert the authorities. Virtually every law governing the workplace has a whistle-blower provision.

Appeals Court limits reach of N.Y. human rights laws

08/05/2010

In a victory for employers, the New York Court of Appeals has limited the reach of both the New York state and New York City human rights laws. The issue arose when Manhattan-based Parade magazine terminated Howard Hoffman, who claimed he was fired because of his age.