The Bottom Line Before March 18, 2019, New York City employers with four or more employees should review their written policies and HR practices in advance to ensure that they have the appropriate space to satisfy the law’s lactation room requirements and that they provide a compliant lactation Continue Reading
California Employers Required to Provide Sexual Harassment Prevention Training to All Employees by January 1, 2020
Update as of September 2019 The Bottom Line In further statutory recognition of the #MeToo movement, California — like New York — has implemented more stringent training requirements for employers. On September 30, 2018, California passed SB 1343, a bill requiring all California Continue Reading
Beginning October 29, 2018, New Jersey Employers Must Provide Paid Sick Leave
The Bottom Line On October 29, 2018, New Jersey employers will be required to provide eligible employees with up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year under the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act (the Act). The Act, which preempts all New Jersey sick leave ordinances, follows the trend Continue Reading
New York City Law Requiring “Cooperative Dialogue” for Reasonable Accommodation Requests Goes into Effect on October 15, 2018
The Bottom Line New York City employers should act quickly to ensure compliance with new laws that expand employee reasonable accommodation and disability rights. At a minimum, employers should update employee handbooks to: (1) explain the procedures that eligible employees should follow when Continue Reading
New York State Publishes Final Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy and Training Materials
As we previously reported in April 2018, New York State lawmakers recently passed legislation aimed at combating workplace sexual harassment. The changes called for in the legislation include requiring employers to implement sexual harassment prevention policies and training. More than Continue Reading
New Massachusetts Law Specifies Requirements for Noncompetition Agreements
The Bottom Line With this Act going into effect on October 1, 2018, it is critical that employers in Massachusetts: review their existing restrictive covenant agreements to ensure that they are enforceable, and update their form documents to comply with the Act going forward. The Massachusetts Continue Reading
Employers May be Required to Accommodate Employees Who Request to Work Part Time Due to a Disability, Even if They had Previously Worked in Full-Time Roles
The Bottom Line The fact that less than half of disabled individuals of typical working age report having jobs, despite protective laws like the ADA, means that courts are increasingly sympathetic to the requests of the disabled for accommodations. The Hostettler decision highlights a common Continue Reading
Stop Sexual Harassment Act Poster and Information Sheet Issued by NYC Commission on Human Rights
The Bottom Line To prepare for the new sexual harassment prevention requirements imposed by New York City law, employers should post the mandatory anti-sexual harassment rights and responsibilities poster in both English and Spanish. Employers should also incorporate the mandatory information Continue Reading
Second Circuit Rules That Title VII Prohibits Discrimination on Basis of Sexual Orientation
The Bottom Line The Zarda decision deepens the growing split between the circuit courts on the issue of whether discrimination based on sexual orientation is prohibited under federal law. It is now more likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately have to determine whether federal law should Continue Reading
New Jersey Enacts New Equal Pay Protections Effective July 1, 2018
The Bottom Line Effective July 1, 2018, New Jersey's equal pay law will provide several new measures aimed at preventing unequal pay among employees performing substantially similar work. New Jersey employers must re-examine employee salaries to make sure any existing pay differentials are Continue Reading