NEW ADMINISTRATION UPDATE
With the election of President Obama and the expansion of the Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, there is cause for celebration among labor groups. The new political landscape will unquestionably provide significant changes in the areas of labor and employment law.
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HARASSMENT LAW GREATLY EXPANDED FOR NEW YORK CITY EMPLOYERS
In Williams v. NYCHA, a New York appeals courts ruled that the most recent (2005) amendments to the New York City human rights ordinance more broadly protects employees than the state and federal laws and along the way criticized other decisions that did not see the same distinctions. In Williams, “severe and pervasive” is relegated to a damages issue and liability can be established under the City law by a much lower showing -- only “petty slights and trivial inconveniences” are insufficient to establish a harassment claim under Williams.
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NEW YORK ENLISTS PRIVATE GROUPS TO HELP FIGHT WAGE & HOUR LAW VIOLATIONS
New York’s Labor Commissioner announced a unique program this week aimed at educating workers and curbing labor law violations in New York. The program is dubbed New York Wage Watch. It is a first-of-its-kind model that empowers advocacy groups, including labor unions, to train workers, distribute information to employers, and facilitate the reporting of suspected pay practice violations to the Department of Labor.
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