Photo of Cindy Schmitt Minniti

Cindy Schmitt Minniti

Subscribe to Cindy Schmitt Minniti's Posts
Contact:Read more about Cindy Schmitt Minniti

New York City’s Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) is one of the broadest anti-discrimination statutes in the country. But does it apply to all Big Apple employers, regardless of size? A recent amendment passed by the City Council clarifies precisely which entities are considered “employers” for purposes of the NYCHRL.

In its current incarnation, the NYCHRL simply states that it does not apply to any employer with fewer than four persons in its employ. This definition has been subject to debate, however, due to the statute’s broad definition of employee, which currently encompasses employees that are full- or part-time, permanent or temporary, paid on or off the books, or are paid or unpaid interns. However, the amended law expands these protections to (1) independent contractors, (2) freelancers and (3) an employer’s parent, spouse, domestic partner or child, if employed by the employer.Continue Reading NYC Council amends the New York City Human Rights Law definition of covered employer

For decades, the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) has provided protections against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation on the basis of an individual’s actual or perceived immigration status or national origin. However, last week, New York City’s Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) issued new guidance (the Guidance) that greatly expands the basis on which an employer can be penalized under the law. The Guidance provides examples to illustrate prohibited harassment and retaliation against individuals, based on their immigration status or national origin. Below is a list of the hiring practices and employee policies which can often lead employers to inadvertently violate the NYCHRL.
Continue Reading New York City’s Commission on Human Rights issues new guidance on immigration status and national origin discrimination

New York lawmakers had a busy summer overhauling many of the state’s existing workplace laws. Many of the newly enacted changes, as well as others enacted within the past year, become effective in October 2019. Below we will highlight the new laws taking effect in October and discuss measures employers should take to ensure their workplaces are compliant.

Already in effect:

  • All New York State employers must provide new hires with a notice containing the company’s sexual harassment policy. In addition, at the required annual sexual harassment prevention training sessions, employers must again furnish to all employees a notice containing the sexual harassment policy and, also, the information presented at the training.

While the law does not indicate precisely what information presented during the training must be provided, we recommend that employers provide new hires with the handouts and a copy of   the presentation (presumably, PowerPoint slides) used at the training program.Continue Reading Fall to bring more than just foliage for New York employers

Following New York City’s lead, New York state and Westchester County have each enacted laws providing additional workplace protections to victims of domestic violence. In this post, we will discuss these new laws and their impact on your business.

New York state:

Last month, Governor Cuomo signed legislation amending the state’s antidiscrimination laws with respect…

New York lawmakers have been busy this summer. First, in June, they passed a suite of bills significantly expanding the protections afforded by the state’s antidiscrimination law and adding remedies for employees asserting unpaid wage claims. Then in July, they loosened the definition of retaliation under the state’s labor law. They apparently were not done.…

Connecticut has joined New York, New Jersey, and several other states in adopting measures to combat sexual harassment in the workplace. Effective October 1, 2019, Connecticut employers will have a host of new training, notice, and human resources requirements with which to comply — and will now face new, substantial categories of damages for violations. This post will discuss these new changes, as well as the other expanded employee protections afforded under this new legislation.

Mandatory training for employees and supervisors

Under Connecticut’s new law, employers with three or more employees must provide all employees with two hours of sexual harassment prevention training. Existing employees must be trained by October 1, 2020, and employees hired on or after October 1, 2019, must be trained within six months of hire. In addition, all employers regardless of size will be required to provide sexual harassment training to supervisors. Supervisor training must be provided by October 1, 2020, or within six months of an employee assuming a supervisory role. (Previously, supervisor training was required only for employers with more than 50 employees in Connecticut.) While the new law does not require annual training, Connecticut employers must provide supplemental training not less than every 10 years.

That training must include information concerning the federal and state statutory provisions concerning the illegality of sexual harassment and remedies available to victims of harassment. The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) has been tasked with creating training resources employers may use to satisfy this requirement, as well as general resources on sexual harassment.Continue Reading Connecticut enacts expansive sexual harassment prevention measures

This is the second installment of our two-part blog series on recent wage-related changes to New York state law. In part one, we covered the expanded definition of retaliation under the New York Labor Law. Today, we will discuss a bill that permits employees to place wage liens on their employer’s property.

Employees in New York have long been able to seek recourse for wage claims through litigation in federal and state court, as well as through the federal and state Departments of Labor. Under this new legislation, employees will also be able to place a lien on an employer’s real or personal property for the value of an alleged wage claim and related liquidated damages. A “wage claim” under the bill includes federal and state claims related to minimum wage, overtime, spread of hours, unlawful deductions, withheld gratuities, improper tip and meal credits, and compensation under employment agreements. Employees of all classifications and pay rates will be able to obtain wage liens within three years after their employment ends.Continue Reading New York Continues Expansion of Worker Wage Protections (Part 2)

The New York state legislature recently passed two bills providing additional protections to employees asserting unpaid wage claims. These changes are the latest in the state’s overhaul of its employment law landscape this summer. As we discussed in previous posts, New York recently enacted limitations on the use of nondisclosure provisions in settlement and separation agreements, new standards for litigating and defending harassment claims, expanded equal pay protections, a statewide ban on salary history inquiries, and additional changes to the state’s anti-discrimination laws. We will address the two new laws and their implications in this two-part series.

The first bill expands the definition of retaliation under the New York Labor Law. By way of background, New York has long prohibited retaliation against employees who complain of alleged wage violations or otherwise cooperate with state regulators regarding an alleged violation of wage and hour laws. Specifically, an employer cannot “discharge, threaten, penalize, or in any other manner discriminate or retaliate against any employee” for complaining about wage practices such as minimum wage violations, unpaid overtime, improper deductions, and the like.Continue Reading New York Continues Expansion of Worker Wage Protections (Part 1)

New York State and City legislators have enacted a flurry of new workplace-related regulations in the past few years. The new laws touch upon everything from high-profile issues like sexual harassment prevention and paid family leave, to seemingly more mundane matters like paid time off to vote. With this bustle of legislative activity, it is entirely possible that one or more of the new laws flew under your radar. With that in mind, we want to flag some of the more important New York State and City legislative developments from the past few years (with corresponding links to our prior posts on these topics):
Continue Reading Don’t Fuggedaboutit: Keeping up with the ever-changing New York State and City employment law landscape

Effective April 10, 2019, certain employers must comply with Westchester County’s Earned Sick Leave Law (WESLL). Westchester County’s Human Rights Commission recently released additional guidance about the new law, which can be found here.

Eligibility, accrual and carryover

Generally, under the law, full- and part-time Westchester County employees who work 80 hours or more during a calendar year are eligible to use sick leave for the care and treatment of themselves or a family member. The law requires employers with five or more employees to allow eligible employees to accrue one hour of paid sick leave per every 30 hours worked, with a cap of 40 hours of leave per calendar year. Employers with one to four employees must provide the same benefits, but the leave may be unpaid. WESLL leave begins accruing on the later of July 10, 2019, or the first date of employment.

Employers have the option of applying the WESLL or, alternatively, the employer can front-load sick and personal time equal to 40 hours or more, at the beginning of a calendar year. In addition, employees are permitted to carry over a maximum of 40 hours of unused sick leave at the end of the year.Continue Reading Attention employers: Westchester’s earned sick leave law is now in effect