In Woods v. START Treatment & Recovery Centers, Inc., the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employee alleging unlawful retaliation under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), must prove that her exercise of FMLA rights was a "motivating factor" in an employer's adverse employment action. The "motivating factor" standard is a lower standard of causation than the "but for" standard typically used in the context of employment claims.
Read MoreI previously wrote about issues faced by employers when hiring employees. As I discussed, in order to comply with all legal requirements surrounding hiring, employers must be familiar with federal law as well as applicable state and local laws. As with New Jersey, New York has implemented specific requirements that an employer must understand in order to not run afoul of the law when hiring an employee. Employers in New York City have even more requirements they must comply with.
Read MoreDuring the application stage of the hiring process, New Jersey prohibits employers from making certain pre-employment inquiries of an applicant. For example, in an advertisement for a job opening or during an interview, employers cannot express any limitation, specification, or inquire about, an applicant's:
Read MoreIt is an exciting time for a growing business preparing to hire its first employees. However, failing to properly prepare for the legal and business issues that arise with hiring employees can expose a business to significant liabilities and jeopardize its growth.
Read MoreOn May 4, 2017, Mayor de Blasio signed legislation prohibiting employers from inquiring into, or relying on, an applicant's salary history at any stage in the employment process. This salary history inquiry ban will take effect October, 31, 2017 and continues a trend in New York City to enact local laws effecting the employment relationship. Other relatively recent New York City legislation includes the NYC Earned Sick Time Act and the NYC Commuter Benefits Law.
Read MoreProviding anti-harassment training to employees is a key component of implementing an effective anti-harassment policy. Yet many small and medium sized employers fail to provide necessary anti-harassment training to their managers and staff. This is a mistake that could potentially expose a company to significant legal liabilities, even if the company has a written anti-harassment policy.
Read MoreEmployers typically do not realize the amount of personally identifiable information (PII) that they maintain concerning their employees or that they can be held liable to employees for failing to adequately protect PII. The definition of PII varies by state. Thus, depending on the state (or states) in which a company has offices, or in which employees reside, protected PII can include employees':
Read MoreEmployers recognize that they typically must be familiar with and follow both federal and state laws in order to comply with applicable employment laws. The past few years have added an additional layer of regulation as there has been a growing trend for municipalities to pass local leave laws requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to employees.
Most employers understand that they should implement an employee handbook containing written employment and human resources policies. Unfortunately, many small and medium sized businesses delay implementing a handbook either due to mistaken concerns of cost, a sense that implementation of a handbook can be delayed, or a feeling that one is unnecessary because their workplace is very congenial. Such employers are missing out on very valuable advantages that handbooks create in the workplace. Five of these are outlined below.
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