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New York

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 …

No unemployment compensation for co-Worker’s offensive comments

09/01/2007

Employees who quit their jobs because they can’t get along with a co-worker usually aren’t entitled to unemployment compensation payments. But what if the difficult co-worker is actually making offensive and possibly discriminatory comments? …

Outside complaint can be misconduct, meaning no unemployment

09/01/2007

Employees who break company rules can be fired for misconduct and aren’t eligible for unemployment compensation. But what if the “misconduct” involves taking a complaint outside the company? If your policy clearly states that complaints should be raised internally first, then you probably won’t have to pay unemployment for employees who are fired because they ignored your rule …

Merrill Lynch faces suit over trading-Floor access

09/01/2007

The EEOC has filed suit against Merrill Lynch, claiming the brokerage firm discriminated against Majid Borumand, a former employee who is an Iranian Muslim. So far, the two can’t agree even on Borumand’s job title …

Celeb French chef Boulud cooks up discrimination daube

09/01/2007

Ingredients: The Manhattan restaurant scene’s need for beautiful faces out front; an immigrant back-of-the-house work force; one superstar chef. Mix well and stand back. The dish: A discrimination stew too good for the EEOC to resist …

Morgan Stanley gains yet more bad publicity over sexual harassment

09/01/2007

A lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court in July describes a lurid and hostile scene at Morgan Stanley. A former client-services associate in the Melville, Long Island, office alleges her boss, a broker, stuck his hand up her skirt, stole underwear from her gym bag, sent her offensive notes and suggested they have sex. The lawsuit is the latest in a string of sex-bias suits that have already cost the firm $100 million …