New York Labor and Employment Law Report : New York Employment Lawyer & Attorney : Bond Schoeneck & King Law Firm : NY Labor Relations, Employee Benefits

Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division released three new Fact Sheets on unlawful retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act ("MSPA").  Although the Fact Sheets do not contain any new information on the prohibition against retaliation, they provide a good reminder to employers regarding the scope of the anti-retaliation provisions in these three statutes.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Arbitration agreements are a common tool that employers use to manage EEO and wage/hour litigation risk.  Those agreements often include a provision that an employee who wishes to submit an employment-related claim to arbitration may do so only on behalf of himself or herself, and may not do so as part of a class or collective action.  On January 3, 2012, Member Becker's last day on the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB"), Members Becker and Pearce dealt a blow to employers seeking to create or expand arbitration agreements that employees are required to sign as a condition of employment.  In D.R. Horton, Inc., the NLRB held that mandatory arbitration agreements that include a class action waiver are unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA").

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

A bill has been introduced in the New York State Legislature that would, if enacted, repeal the annual wage notice requirement imposed by the Wage Theft Prevention Act ("WTPA").  The bill would leave intact the requirement that employers provide a wage notice to all new hires, as well as the requirement that employers obtain signed written acknowledgments of the new hire wage notices.  At this point, the bill is in its infant stages, and no vote has been taken.

The Business Council of New York State has submitted a memorandum in support of the bill, and has created a web page for employers to join in the effort to convince the New York State Legislature to repeal the annual wage notice requirement.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

As New York employers should be aware, the first annual notice to employees required by the Wage Theft Prevention Act ("WTPA") must be distributed by February 1, 2012.  Although the requirements of the WTPA have been grabbing recent headlines, this post addresses one unavoidable by-product of the annual notice requirement -- the reality that the distribution of these annual notices is likely to lead to workplace discussions among co-workers regarding wage and salary information.  As a reminder, blanket rules -- whether formal or informal -- prohibiting employees from discussing their pay and benefits with their co-workers are unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA").

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs ("OFCCP"), recently issued a proposal to revise the regulations applicable to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which requires Federal contractors to take affirmative action to hire, retain, and promote qualified individuals with disabilities.  The proposed changes, if implemented, will substantially increase the obligations imposed on Federal contractors with respect to individuals with disabilities.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

As all public employers are aware, Section 72 of the New York Civil Service Law ("Section 72") provides both the procedure for placing a public employee on an involuntary leave when he or she is deemed unfit to perform his or her job due to illness or injury, and certain procedural protections to employees who are placed on such leave.  Specifically, any public employee who is placed on an involuntary leave is entitled to written notice of the reason for the proposed leave, the proposed date on which it is to begin, and his or her rights under the statute.  In addition, any such employee is entitled to a hearing concerning the employer's decision to place him or her on leave.

Historically, the protections of Section 72 have been applied only to employees who were placed on an involuntary leave from work.  However, a recent decision by the New York Court of Appeals extended those protections to public employees who are prevented by their employers from returning to work from a voluntary medical leave.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

On January 4, 2012, President Obama announced his intent to make three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), restoring the quorum that the NLRB had lost a day earlier when Member Becker’s recess appointment expired. The three recess appointees are: (1) Sharon Block, a Democrat who is currently the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor; (2) Richard Griffin, a Democrat who is currently General Counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers; and (3) Terence Flynn, a Republican who is currently Chief Counsel to NLRB Member Hayes.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Just in time for the Winter Solstice, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") issued a press release on December 21, 2011, advising that the agency launched a web page devoted to hazards workers may face during winter storm response and recovery operations.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link