Although the criminal justice system is supposed to rehabilitate offenders and aid their reentry into society whenever possible, the reality is that many New York employers do not want to hire employees with a conviction on their record. This goes against the public policy of New York State, however, which
Pregnancy is a joyous yet stressful time for many women in New York. Juggling a full-time job and an expected new baby is never easy. Unfortunately, too many New York employers make things more difficult by failing to make the necessary pregnancy accommodations required by federal, state, and city laws.
Race discrimination in the workplace is not always overt. In many cases it comes down to an employer subtly but noticeably treating certain groups of employees differently. For instance, if an employer enforces certain workplace rules strictly against Hispanic employees but is more lenient with Caucasian workers, that may give rise
Most of us have, at one time or another, signed a legal agreement without reading the entire document or fully understanding its terms — a decision that can become costly if the contract is later enforced exactly as written. Unfortunately, such ignorance is not a defense when the other party
Sexual harassment in the workplace has come under renewed scrutiny due to a growing number of scandals involving high-profile business, entertainment, and political leaders. As we have learned from the seemingly daily news reports, sexual harassment covers a wide variety of conduct. Indeed, behavior that you might dismiss as harmless fun
Disability discrimination occurs under New York State law whenever an employer fails to provide a “reasonable accommodation” to an employee with a qualifying physical or mental impairment. If there is a disagreement between the employer and the employee over the reasonableness of a specific requested accommodation, the parties are expected to
On October 5, the New York Times published a bombshell article detailing three decades of sexual harassment by acclaimed Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The Times reported that Weinstein’s employers–the Weinstein Company and formerly Miramax–paid out “at least eight settlements with women” who accused Weinstein of illegal activity. A report published three days later by the New Yorker confirmed
New York City employment law currently requires all local businesses to offer sick leave to their employees. For employers with at least five workers, such leave must be paid at the employee’s hourly rate (but no less than the minimum wage). An eligible employee earns one hour of leave for every 30 hours
Tipping has long been an integral part of American restaurant culture–so much so that a “tip credit” is built into the minimum wage laws. In New York City, for example, employers with 10 or fewer workers may apply a $3.00 per hour tip credit towards the minimum wage paid to food