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New York

Madison Square Garden back in the penalty box

03/01/2008

Still reeling from a protracted, embarrassing trial and punishing verdict in Anucha Browne Sanders’ sexual harassment suit against New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, Madison Square Garden (MSG) has quietly settled a sexual harassment lawsuit with former New York Rangers cheerleader Courtney Prince for an undisclosed amount …

Carwashes take a bath over unpaid wages

03/01/2008

Two Bronx carwashes, Tremont Car Wash and Webster Car Wash, and their corporate president have agreed to pay $707,298 in back wages and damages to 237 employees. U.S. Labor Department investigators found that employees at both carwashes were required to work more than 70 hours per week without being paid the federal minimum wage or overtime …

New York’s new employment laws hit employers hard

03/01/2008

Last year, while you were hard at work, so was the New York Legislature. Lawmakers passed a record number of laws affecting employers in 2007. Some laws you may have read about, while others you may have missed. Make sure you’re up to speed on new state laws that surely will impact how you manage employees in 2008 and beyond …

Do employees have the right to access their personnel files?

03/01/2008

Q. One of our employees is having disagreements with his supervisor over performance issues. The employee has asked to see his personnel file. Does he have a legal right to see his file? …

Must we release former employees’ files?

03/01/2008

Q. I recently got a form in the mail, signed by a former employee, authorizing release of her personnel file to her attorney. Must I honor it? …

Must we release employee files in response to a subpoena?

03/01/2008
Q. We recently received a subpoena to turn over an employee’s personnel file. The employee is a party to a lawsuit; the company is not. Do we have to comply? Should we tell the employee?

What goes into a personnel file?

03/01/2008

Q. What kinds of information and documents should we keep in our personnel files? …

What to do with the ‘Informal’ personnel files our managers keep

03/01/2008

Q. In addition to the official personnel files we keep in HR, our supervisors keep informal or working files. Is this allowed? Does this practice present any concerns? …

CVS fined for child labor, overtime and timecard violations

03/01/2008

CVS Caremark Corp. was fined $226,000 by the U.S. Labor Department for changing employee timecards and violating child labor laws. The department found 43 violations at stores in New York and six other states …

New York partners with IRS on employment tax enforcement

03/01/2008

New York is one of 29 states that have signed memoranda of understanding with the IRS to share enforcement information on employment tax collection matters. The move is part of the IRS’ Questionable Employment Tax Practices initiative …