In Staub v. Proctor Hospital, a decision rendered on March 1, 2011, the United States Supreme Court concluded that an employer can be held liable for the discriminatory animus of an employee who simply influenced the employment decision, even if that employee did not make the ultimate employment decision. In this case, the fired employee […]
A California state appeals court recently ruled that a woman who sued her employer claiming discrimination cannot shield the e-mails she sent to and received from her lawyer in the litigation because they were sent from her work e-mail account. The court concluded that the e-mails were not a protected confidential communication (in other words, they
In January, 2011, the United States Supreme Court, in Thompson v. North American Stainless, held that an employee can claim retaliation even for simply being associated with another employee who engaged in protected activity. The case involved an employee of North American Stainless, Miriam Regalado, who was engaged to another employee, Eric Thompson. Three weeks
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT RECOGNIZES RETALIATION AGAINST THIRD PARTY Read More »
A recent report from the EEOC shows that claims of discrimination in the workplace, whether based on gender, race or other so-called “protected classes”, soared to 99,922 in the year ended September 30, 2010. This represents a 7.2% increase over the 93,277 claims brought in the prior year, and is the highest level of new
THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEOC) REPORTS AN INCREASE IN DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINTS Read More »
The United States Labor Department’s December, 2010 survey showed an increase of 7.6% in the number of people over the age of fifty-five (55) who held jobs, compared to the same time period in 2007, when the recession was beginning. By contrast, there were fewer jobs held by people in all age groups
THE AMERICAN WORK FORCE IS GETTING OLDER Read More »
On December 13, 2010, New York Governor David Paterson signed into law the “Wage Theft Prevention Act”, which provides new and expanded protections for workers under the New York State Labor Law. The new law will become effective in 120 days, or on or about April 12, 2011. New York State Labor Law
NEW YORK’S NEW “WAGE-THEFT PREVENTION” ACT Read More »
Under a new rule adopted by the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York, effective January 3, 2010 all employment discrimination cases, except those brought pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), will be automatically referred to the court’s alternative dispute resolution program. The magistrate judge overseeing a particular case
Unfortunately, it seems that incidents of workplace violence are becoming more and more common these days. While a company can never fully protect itself from such incidents, having a comprehensive workplace violence plan in place, and disseminating it to employees, may help prevent many such incidents. While such a plan should be carefully
THREE THINGS EVERY WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PLAN SHOULD CONTAIN Read More »
The New York State Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which went into effect on February 1, 2009, requires employers to provide 90 days notice prior to a plant closing, mass layoff or relocation. Notice must be provided to affected employees and their representatives (i.e. their collective bargaining unit), the New York Department