Information and guidance on every phase of employment
Q: I heard New York prohibits employers from discriminating based on hairstyle. What does that mean?
A: In July 2019, New York State passed legislation that amended the definition of race under the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”) to include “traits historically associated with race, including, but not…
Q. A client of my company asked whether it could offer production bonuses to our employees who deliver their work product prior to the deadline. Does the FLSA require my company to account for these third-party bonuses when calculating the regular rate of pay for overtime purposes?
A. The answer…
Q. Has the salary threshold increased for exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act?
A. On September 24 — more than five years after the Obama administration first proposed updating the overtime regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) — the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released the…
On September 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into effect the much-anticipated AB-5 Bill, which imposes heightened standards when assessing whether to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees. AB-5 will drastically affect California employers with workforces heavily reliant on independent contractors by forcing them to re-classify…
On September 12, 2019, the California Supreme Court ruled that an aggrieved employee bringing a representative action under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) cannot recover unpaid wages. In ZB N.A. v. Superior Court, the plaintiff, Kalethia Lawson, brought a lawsuit alleging a sole cause of action under PAGA.…
Q. Is my company allowed to inquire about an applicant’s salary history when considering him or her for employment?
A. The growing trend to eliminate inquiries into a job applicant’s salary history continues. In July, New York and New Jersey became the latest states to enact legislation that will restrict…
Q: I am a New York employer. What are the key parts of the new amendments to the New York Human Rights law and when do they go into effect?
A. As we detailed in an earlier post, New York state recently passed a bill that makes numerous changes to the New York Human Rights Act (“NYHRL”). Governor Cuomo signed the bill on August 12, 2019, and most of the amendments go into effect on October 11, 2019.
Q. Does a consumer need to actually try to buy a product or service at a store to have standing to sue under the ADA for failure to maintain an accessible website?
A. Evolving case law regarding website accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and comparable state laws…
As of July 2019, the Washington Supreme Court has ruled that obesity is considered a disability protected under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”). The landmark ruling makes it illegal for employers in Washington to refuse to hire qualified potential employees because the employer perceives them to be obese.
The…
Q: What do New York employers need to know about the recent amendment to the state’s pay equity law?
A: In November 2015, New York became one of the first jurisdictions to pass a pay equity law that was more extensive than the federal equal pay laws. On July 10, 2019, Governor Cuomo signed an amendment to New York Labor Law Section 194, further expanding its scope.
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