The Second Circuit issued a decision on March 16, 2018, that will make recovery of punitive damages by people suing for discrimination under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) easier than under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Law. The decision, Chauca v. Abraham, involved an appeal...
On Tuesday, March 6, 2018, the United States Department of Labor (DoL) introduced the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, a new pilot program concerning the process for resolving certain overtime and minimum wage violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under this program the Wage and Hour Division of...
RPJ Partner Deena R. Merlen will moderate a Continuing Legal Education program on employment and labor law presented by the Fairfield County Bar Association on Wednesday, April 3, in Stamford, Connecticut. The program will cover a range of topics, including developments in overtime rules, the drug-free workplace in light of medical marijuana, opioids and...
In the March 2018 edition of Vanity Fair, writer Bethany McLean addresses how the #MeToo movement is being addressed on Wall Street and the world of finance. While several industries have begun to publicly contend with sexual harassment allegations of major figures, Wall Street, a professional environment known for marginalizing women,...
In an important employment discrimination case, the en banc Second Circuit held that “sexual orientation discrimination constitutes a form of discrimination ‘because of…sex,’ in violation of Title VII.” This decision overturns prior Second Circuit precedent and now allows claimants to assert sexual discrimination claims based on sexual orientation under federal...
On January 1, 2018, New York’s Paid Family Leave (“NYPFL”) law went into effect, requiring employers to provide paid family leave for their employees. NYPFL takes the basic concept of the federally enacted Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), which provides 12 weeks of unpaid, but fully job-protected leave, several steps...
The United States Supreme Court has recently issued a decision which gives plaintiffs who bring both state and federal claims in federal court something of a breather. In Artis v. District of Columbia, a five-four majority held that the statute of limitations for state claims is tolled (i.e., stops running) during...
As the rate of sexual harassment claims in the entertainment industry continues at a breakneck pace, artists gained a new avenue last week for resolving disputes surrounding such claims. The HR4A Mediation Pilot Program opened its doors on January 16, 2018, and offers a free and confidential mediation program platform for...
The United States Department of Labor rescinded its 2010 guidance for assessing whether persons qualify as interns rather than employees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Instead, the DOL aligned itself with the so-called “primary beneficiary” standard announced by the Second Circuit in its 2015 Glatt v. Fox Searchlight...
The past few months have been the among the most thought-provoking of my career. I am a litigator and employment lawyer who started practicing in the early 1980s when, for the first time in American history, women were entering the legal profession in large numbers. In law school, feminism was...