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New York

Downsizing and FMLA leave

10/01/2007

Q. Our company is in the process of going through a reduction in force. One of the positions that has been selected for elimination belongs to an employee on FMLA leave. Can we still eliminate the position? …

Religious accommodations

10/01/2007

Q. An employee of ours is requesting a personal day off for religious observance. He is salaried and has exhausted all vacation and personal time. Are we required to give him the day off? …

Are you overpaying staff for pre- and post-Work activities?

09/25/2007

The good news: Recent court rulings say you generally don’t have to pay for the time employees spend preparing for their workday, such as waiting in security lines or putting on generic headgear and work boots. The bad news: These kinds of cases continue to find their way into court, and the issue seems far from settled. Keep your lawyer’s phone number handy.

Best bet: Always investigate hostile environment claims

09/01/2007

You’ve heard a rumor that one of your employees is looking for or has already accepted another job. Then you call him into a meeting to discuss the matter. You ask whether the rumor is true. That’s when the employee admits the job hunt, but hits you with the reason: He claims the work environment is so hostile that he has no choice but to look. What’s your next step? Do you fire him since he’s looking for other work? Or do you tell him you will investigate his claims and then follow up? …

NYSHRL assigns personal liability to those who harass

09/01/2007

Having trouble finding the best way to explain to employees that it’s in their best interest to maintain a harassment-free environment? Try this persuasive sentence: Co-workers who participate in discriminatory conduct can be held personally liable for damages. Or explain it this way: If co-workers name-call, harass or otherwise discriminate against another co-worker, their assets—house, car and personal possessions—are on the line …

Instruct supervisors: No work before official hire date

09/01/2007

Make sure all supervisors who have direct contact with job applicants understand this simple rule: No new employee performs any work until HR approves the hiring and provides a start date. Otherwise the applicant’s time spent “working” may become the basis for a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claim. Then, it will be your word against the applicant’s as to how many hours he or she actually worked …

Personality clash? Don’t automatically transfer complainer

09/01/2007

Employees who complain of harassment may actually be experiencing a personality conflict. Circumstances that lead someone to see harassment based on race, disability or gender may be nothing more than the result of difficulty getting along with others. If your internal investigation reveals no real discrimination, you may be tempted to move the feuding parties as far away from each other as possible. But that may backfire, especially if the person you transfer is the one who complained of discrimination in the first place …

Provide training when promoting into management ranks

09/01/2007

When promoting someone from the rank-and-file to first-level management, be sure to provide harassment and discrimination training. Here’s why: If the employee you have selected as a supervisor has a hidden history of discriminatory behavior, you’ll want to make sure that’s all in the past …

Complaint process no defense against discrimination claim?

09/01/2007

It’s well-established that employees who claim they have been subjected to a hostile work environment but don’t take advantage of their employer’s complaint process won’t get a chance to take their cases to court. Ever since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the Faragher and Burlington Industries cases, employers can use their complaint processes as a defense against co-worker harassment. But what about under state laws, such as the New York State Human Rights Law? …

Ending employee ‘Lease’ agreement? Timing can save money

09/01/2007

If you have signed up with a “professional employer organization” as a way to outsource your HR headaches but are thinking of ending the relationship, consider this: If you end the contract midyear, you may be liable for additional payments into the state unemployment insurance fund …