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New York

Discovered hostile environment? Fix the problem, ensure there’s no repeat … and rest easy

07/08/2010

Sometimes despite your efforts to prevent it, a complaint leads to solid evidence that a female employee has endured severe sexual harassment at the hands of co-workers. What’s your next move? And will that move enable you to prevent a successful lawsuit? If you correct the problem and prevent any further similar harassment, your company will be in the clear after 300 days.

New Yorkers’ per capita state tax burden holds steady

07/08/2010
New Yorkers paid the 7th highest rate of per capita state taxes in the country in 2009, according to the taxpayers’ watchdog web site Taxadmin.org. New York had the 11th highest state tax burden in 2008.

Long Island firefighters win benefits in age-bias settlement

07/08/2010
Long Island’s Bayville Fire Department will allow volunteer firefighters to accrue length-of-service credit past age 65 as part of an age discrimination settlement with the EEOC. The volunteers accrue service time and then receive bonuses based on that time. The payments essentially amount to a pension.

Don’t ask for unlimited medical exam consent

07/08/2010
Under the ADA, medical exams are allowed only if needed to determine whether an employee requires a reasonable accommodation or if the employer believes the employee will be unable to safely perform the job. But can employers require employees to agree to more extensive medical examinations as a condition of employment? Probably not.

Accommodation denied? Beware retaliation suit

07/08/2010

Employers sometimes forget that merely asking for a reasonable accommodation may be a protected activity. That’s true even if it turns out that the employee isn’t disabled and therefore isn’t due an accommodation. Anything an employer does that could be construed as punishment for requesting help could spell trouble—and a retaliation lawsuit.

Know the law governing background criminal and credit checks

06/02/2010
No law bars employers from conducting criminal background checks. However, conducting checks when it isn’t necessary not only wastes resources, it may increase the risk of being sued. The same is true of credit checks. Two lawsuits challenging the fairness of background checks serve as cautionary tales for employers.

U.S. Supreme Court opens door for more class-action suits

06/02/2010

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that class actions barred by many state laws may proceed in federal court. The case in question (Shady Grove Orthopedic Associates v. Allstate) dealt with a New York state law that limited claims in certain class-action cases.

Repeated bra snapping leads to resignation and lawsuit

06/02/2010

Bical Chevrolet in Queens is facing a sexual harassment lawsuit for what sounds like something out of junior high. Katherine Salas accuses two Bical managers, Charlie Albanese and Michael Inserillo, of snapping her bra up to six times a day and smacking her bottom with a wooden backscratcher.

Liability for aiding, abetting possible under state law

06/02/2010
You may not be liable personally under the ADA, but that doesn’t mean you are entirely off the hook. Under the New York State Human Rights Law, an individual who “actually participates in the conduct giving rise to the discrimination claim” can be held liable for the consequences.

Court rejects bid for personal liability under ADA

06/02/2010
Good news for those worried about being on the hook personally for ADA violations: A federal court considering a New York case has rejected an employee’s bid to hold supervisors personally liable for alleged disability discrimination.