Wrongful Termination

A business located in Manhattan,New York City must abide by anti-discrimination laws in refusing to retain or ceasing to retain an independent contractor. By contrast, a company located in New York State, but outside the five boroughs of New York City, need not, in declining to retain or ceasing to retain an independent contractor, conform to laws prohibiting employment discrimination. The…Read More

Random testing means choosing workers for tests at random, without suspicion, and without advance notice of when the test will take place. Random testing may also encompass the testing of all employees in a company (or a given division of a company) when the date of the testing is not announced, and is more properly called “suspicionless” testing. In New…Read More

Suppose that an employer in Manhattan, NYC has decided (for a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason) to end its working relationship with a particular worker. Is the employer best off firing the worker outright or, instead, offering the worker the opportunity to quit rather than be fired? In Manhattan, it makes little or no difference whether an employer discharges an employee or, instead, gives the employee…Read More

Yes, up to a point.  Regardless of the workers' gender, workers in New York State are eligible for up to twelve (12) weeks of family care leave at 67% of the employee’s average weekly wage, up to a maximum of 67% of New York State’s average weekly wage.  Among the circumstances in which a worker in New York State may…Read More

On March 13, 2013, the New York City Council, by a vote of 43 to 4, overrode then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s February 22, 2013 veto of Local Law 14 of 2013 (“Local Law 14” or the “Act”). Effective June 11, 2013, Local Law 14 prohibits any employer in New York City (including the borough of Manhattan) from basing an employment decision…Read More

Potential clients often ask me questions along the lines of: “My company is just a small employer. Does this [New York State or New York City] statute apply to me?” That is, prospective clients often inquire whether, in light of the number of workers that their businesses employ, their businesses must comply with a particular, labor-related statute enacted by, or a given,…Read More

Effective January 30, 2014, a new statute in Manhattan, NYC requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to the needs of an employee for her pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition. It is an affirmative defense “that the person aggrieved by the alleged discriminatory practice could not, with reasonable accommodation, satisfy the essential requisites of the job.” Specifically, on October 2, 2013, then-New…Read More

On July 7, 2014, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the New York Compassionate Care Act, N.Y. State Senate Bill S07923, N.Y. State Assembly Bill A06357E (the “NYCCA” or the “Act”), which, effective immediately, legalizes and comprehensively regulates the manufacture, sale and use of medical marijuana in New York State. The New York State Assembly had passed the…Read More

On October 22, 2015, the New York State Division on Human Rights (the “Division on Human Rights,” the “Division,” or the “NYSDHR”) issued a then-proposed regulation prohibiting employers with four or more employees from firing or refusing to hire an individual, and from discriminating against an individual in compensation or in the terms and conditions of employment, because of the…Read More

Effective September 3, 2015, a new statute prohibits most employers in New York City, other than employers in the securities industry, from requesting or using an employee’s or a job applicant’s consumer credit history in making employment decisions. Specifically, on May 6, 2015, then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed, into law, Local Law 37 of 2015 (“Local Law…Read More