• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly
Connection failed: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] No such file or directory

New York

Hell hath no fury like an English major scorned

08/13/2013
Publishing giant Condé Nast is being sued by two college students who allege they were illegally underpaid while interning at two of the company’s flagship magazines.

Just how many plaintiffs can one suit have?

08/13/2013
What if you get a hiring decision wrong, choosing someone from one protected category over another slightly better-qualified minority applicant? Fortunately, that misstep won’t open the door for hordes of minority applicants to sue. Only the slightly better-qualified applicant will have a claim.

Justify every firing with real business reasons

08/13/2013
Support any adverse job action, such as a demotion or termination, with solid business reasons. Clearly and contemporaneously document your decision to act. That way, you can come to court prepared to explain exactly why you did what you did and when you did it.

Court points way toward tracking employees with GPS

07/24/2013
A recent New York Court of Appeals case offers guidance to employers that want to slap GPS devices on employees’ cars to monitor their activities.

Set rules for promotion, insist on compliance

07/23/2013
Here’s a good reason to post all promotion opportunities and let employees know where they can learn about openings. Employees can’t sue over missed promotions if they never bother to apply—as long as it’s clear how the promotion process works.

Law firm employee convicted of true copycat crime

07/23/2013
A New York City man is headed to prison after being convicted of selling his employer’s copier toner on the black market.

Scrub protected-class info from résumés

07/09/2013
Here’s a simple way to keep many disappointed applicants from filing needless lawsuits: Make sure someone removes any application or résumé information that indicates race, national origin or other characteristics belonging to a protected class before the information is passed on to whoever makes the initial screening decision.

To pay or not to pay: Interns aren’t just a source of free labor

07/09/2013
It’s summertime, and college interns are filling corporate America’s cubicles. How many of those fresh-faced kids are wage-and-hour lawsuits just waiting to happen?

10 things you never want to have to admit in a retaliation case

07/09/2013

When an employee either complains internally about discrimination or goes to an outside agency like the EEOC to lodge a complaint, she has engaged in what’s called “protected activity.” She may not be right about the discrimination, but if her employer retaliated against her for complaining in the first place, she could win a large jury award anyway. You’ll want to avoid at all costs having to admit to any of these 10 things if you’re embroiled in a retaliation case.

Starbucks shift bosses tipped, assistant managers stiffed

07/09/2013
The New York Court of Appeal—the state’s highest court—has ruled that Starbucks baristas in New York must share tips with their shift supervisors. Assistant managers, however, are out of luck. The court said they don’t get a cut of the nickels, dimes and quarters left in the jars on the Starbucks counters.