Discrimination / Harassment

Never bring up relative’s disability when discussing reasons for absenteeism

10/17/2018

Warn New York City supervisors against mentioning possible reasons for absenteeism when disciplining workers for missing work. It can badly misfire, especially if the reason for missed work is taking care of a disabled relative.

Do you have staff in New York City? Beware unique threat of sexual harassment claims

10/17/2018

New York City employers face a double-whammy when it comes to harassment: First, the city has its own specific sexual harassment training requirements. Second, New York City has a far lower standard for what constitutes sexual harassment than the state of New York or Title VII does.

Harassment report begets retaliation charge in Queens

10/17/2018

Foodtown, a supermarket in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, faces charges it failed to stop a supervisor from sexually harassing two female employees and retaliating against them when they complained.

Inconvenient assignment isn’t adverse action

10/17/2018

Things like being fired, demoted or denied a promotion all qualify as adverse employment actions. But what about other workplace events like having a schedule change, being denied overtime or getting transferred to a similar position?

During review, don’t ignore harassment claim

10/17/2018

If, during a review, an employee blames recent poor performance on some sort of harassment, be sure to thoroughly investigate.

New York employers face imminent sexual harassment changes

10/17/2018

The New York State Department of Labor and Division of Human Rights has issued model sexual harassment policy and training guidelines to help employers comply with the new sexual harassment legislation.

Snapshot: EEOC monetary awards for sexual harassment

10/16/2018

Last year, the EEOC dramatically increased the amount of money collected for victims of sexual harassment.

Religious objections thwart flu shot mandate

10/11/2018

Employers should be mindful that some employees may object on religious grounds to being vaccinated. Mishandling that scenario could result in an employee lawsuit.

Court gives go-ahead to cultural bias case

10/10/2018

Treating individuals differently based on cultural bias can backfire for foreign corporations with a presence in the United States.

Facebook comments don’t create hostile environment

10/10/2018

A woman who sued her employer over Facebook comments has lost her hostile environment lawsuit.