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On July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage will increase by 70 cents to $7.25 per hour, up from the prior minimum of $6.55 per hour. This is the third and final increase provided for in the “Fair Minimum Wage Act of...
Jul 21, 2009
Employment Discrimination
New Civil Penalties in Employment Cases Under the New York State Human Rights Law
On April 7, 2009, Governor David Paterson signed into law the New York State 2009-2010 Budget Bill. In one of several provisions expanding the state’s authority to collect fines, the bill amends the New York State Human...
Jul 21, 2009
Labor Relations
D.C. Circuit Sets Aside NLRB Ruling that Expanded an Employer’s Ability to Restrict Employees’ Use of Company E-Mail for Union Solicitation Purposes
In a much anticipated decision in 2007, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) ruled that an employer may lawfully prohibit its employees’ use of company e-mail to solicit support for outside businesses and...
Jul 13, 2009
Labor Relations
Employee Free Choice Act Update
Debate over the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (“EFCA”) continues behind-the-scenes in the U.S. Senate. This controversial measure, a high priority of organized labor, would change the National Labor Relations Act...
Jun 28, 2009
Employment Discrimination
Supreme Court Holds Employee Interviewed in Harassment Investigation Can Claim Retaliation
On January 26, 2009 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an employee who provided information regarding a supervisor’s alleged sexual harassment, when interviewed by her employer during the investigation of other employees’...
Jun 19, 2009
Employment Discrimination
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Ease Plaintiffs’ Burden of Proof in Age Discrimination Cases
On June 18, 2009, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court made it significantly more difficult for plaintiffs to prevail in age discrimination suits under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. §§ 621...
May 20, 2009
Employment Discrimination
New York State Assembly passes Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act
The New York State Assembly recently passed a bill, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) (A. 5710/S. 2406) by a vote of 97-38. The proposed law would amend the New York State Human Rights Law to add...
Jan 05, 2009
General Employment Issues
New York Labor Law Now Bars Employers from Displaying Employee Social Security Numbers and from Disclosing Employees’ Personal Identifying Information to the General Public
Effective January 3, 2009, the New York Labor Law has been amended by the addition of a new Section 203-d, which prohibits employers from doing the following unless otherwise required by law: publicly posting or displaying an...
Dec 17, 2008
General Employment Issues
Department of Labor Releases New Family and Medical Leave Act Guidelines
On November 17, 2008, the United States Department of Labor (”DOL”) published new rules under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (“FMLA”). The new rules implement amendments to the FMLA enacted earlier this...
Dec 05, 2008
Employment Termination
New York Department of Labor Says Employers Should Prepare Now for February 2009 Lay-offs to Comply with New York WARN Act
As previously reported on this website, New York has enacted its own version of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining (“WARN”) Act, NY WARN §860-a(3), which is set to go into effect on February 1, 2009. (See New...