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New York

Simple warning doesn’t constitute retaliation

10/17/2018
A mere warning that one is facing potential disciplinary action doesn’t amount to retaliation for filing a discrimination complaint.

Discrimination claims must be based on good faith

10/17/2018
Complaining about discrimination is considered protected activity. Punishing employees for com­plaining may be retaliation even if it turns out that the original claim was meritless. However, the original complaint must have been made in good faith.

Warn bosses to avoid retaliation when dealing with employees who constantly complain

10/17/2018
Even if it turns out that most of an employee’s complaints aren’t serious enough to be considered unlawful under federal, state or local laws, that doesn’t mean the employee won’t have a retaliation case if her supervisor finds ways to make the employee pay for complaining.

Never bring up relative’s disability when discussing reasons for absenteeism

10/17/2018
Warn New York City supervisors against mentioning possible reasons for absenteeism when disciplining workers for missing work. It can badly misfire, especially if the reason for missed work is taking care of a disabled relative.

Do you have staff in New York City? Beware unique threat of sexual harassment claims

10/17/2018
New York City employers face a double-whammy when it comes to harassment: First, the city has its own specific sexual harassment training requirements. Second, New York City has a far lower standard for what constitutes sexual harassment than the state of New York or Title VII does.

Harassment report begets retaliation charge in Queens

10/17/2018
Foodtown, a supermarket in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, faces charges it failed to stop a supervisor from sexually harassing two female employees and retaliating against them when they complained.

Inconvenient assignment isn’t adverse action

10/17/2018
Things like being fired, demoted or denied a promotion all qualify as adverse employment actions. But what about other workplace events like having a schedule change, being denied overtime or getting transferred to a similar position?

During review, don’t ignore harassment claim

10/17/2018
If, during a review, an employee blames recent poor performance on some sort of harassment, be sure to thoroughly investigate.

New York employers face imminent sexual harassment changes

10/17/2018
The New York State Department of Labor and Division of Human Rights has issued model sexual harassment policy and training guidelines to help employers comply with the new sexual harassment legislation.

Disloyal executive? Claw back pay from ‘faithless servant’

09/24/2018
Employers faced with a high-level “disloyal” employee may be able to recover compensation and costs associated with litigating that employee’s disloyalty in court. Here are two recent examples of such “claw backs.”