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New York

Failure to renew contract can be basis for lawsuit

08/13/2015
Some employers mistakenly believe that if they offer annual contracts, they can’t be sued for not renewing a contract. That’s just not true if the former employee can prove she wasn’t rehired for a discriminatory reason.

Being yelled at isn’t grounds for quitting

08/13/2015
Not all workplaces are civil and pleasant environments. Supervisors and co-workers sometimes lose their tempers and raise their voices. If it doesn’t happen often and isn’t related to a protected characteristic such as race, occasional yelling  doesn’t justify quitting.

Don’t punish absences by taking away more leave than employee used

08/13/2015

You can punish employees who don’t show up as scheduled with a poor performance review or even discharge. But you cannot take away pay, either in the form of wages or by deducting days from the employee’s leave bank. Doing so may violate New York State’s Labor Law.

Electronic trouble: Subscription-based hiring software carries defamation risk

08/13/2015
Do you use software for hiring employees that shares candidates’ basic information with other employer-subscribers? If that software also allows you to mark candidates or former employees as not eligible for hire, be aware that doing so may subject you to defamation claims. That’s what one major bank just learned.

Rules aren’t made to be broken! Insubordination is grounds for demotion

07/23/2015
If you have employees like that, carefully document the behavior. Then apply appropriate discipline, especially if the employee is insubordinate. Just make sure that everyone else with a similar work record is also punished the same way.

OSHA publishes guidance on restroom access for the transgendered

07/13/2015
OSHA’s role is expansive and includes regulating everything from heat breaks to bathroom access. It issued “A Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers” on June 1.

CBS reporter sues bosses for sexual harassment

07/13/2015
Former CBS News entertainment reporter Ken Lombardi claims two male bosses groped him and made unwanted advances, and a female boss refused to investigate his charges. According to lawsuit documents, Lombardi claims that Duane Tollison, then a senior producer, drunkenly groped him and kissed him on the neck at a holiday party.

NYC to send out employment testers to spot hiring bias

07/13/2015
Under recently signed legislation, New York City will begin a year-long employment tester program in which paired job applicants with similar experience and qualifications will express interest in the same job. One will belong to a protected class and one will not.

Make sure testing is related to actual job duties

07/13/2015
Employers that use general tests to screen applicants run the risk of facing a disparate-impact discrimination lawsuit. If that happens, you will have to prove that the test measures qualities that relate to actual job duties.

Boss at unemployment hearing? That’s not retaliation

07/13/2015
Generally, employees can’t sue their employers because of a personality conflict with a supervisor. Nor can they allege that it’s a form of retaliation for a disliked supervisor to show up in court in order to “torment” the employee.