Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo

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New York Releases Latest Model Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy and Training

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo and Fanny Ferdman on April 18, 2023 Posted in New York

On April 11, 2023, the New York State Department of Labor, in collaboration with the New York State Division of Human Rights, released an updated model anti-sexual harassment policy and an updated model training. Among other things, the new model policy adds further context to the purpose of the law, considerations individuals should have when … Continue Reading

Giving Birth to Federalized Pregnancy Accommodation Standards: Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo and Delores Chichi on January 25, 2023 Posted in ADA, EEOC

Modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) was passed with bipartisan congressional support as a component of the 2023 omnibus spending bill and signed by President Joe Biden on Dec. 29, 2022. The PWFA expands and federalizes pregnant employees’ … Continue Reading

Just in Time for the Dreaded Recession – Mandated Severance Payments in New Jersey for Mass Layoffs and Closings

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo and Marc Antonetti on January 17, 2023 Posted in New Jersey

I Remember Something About This. Remember back before COVID-19 arrived in the United States – can you remember that far back? Way back then, New Jersey passed amendments to the New Jersey WARN Act that would require employers to provide extended notice and severance to any employee displaced during a mass layoff or closing. Once … Continue Reading

Issue Spotting for Employers in a Post-Roe Era

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo and Amy J. Traub on July 1, 2022 Posted in Health & Wellness, Healthcare, Supreme Court

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a 5-1-3 opinion that Roe v. Wade – a nearly 50-year-old Supreme Court opinion providing the right to an abortion in this country – should be overturned. See Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (available at www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf). Irrespective of whether an employer agrees with the … Continue Reading

You Think #MeToo Is Over? Think Again.

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on February 15, 2022 Posted in Harassment

On Feb. 10, 2022, the Senate passed HR 4445, which, upon President Joe Biden’s expected signature, will amend the Federal Arbitration Act to allow an individual who is alleging sexual harassment or a sexual assault to elect to bring their claims to court, notwithstanding an arbitration agreement to the contrary. The amendment will be effective … Continue Reading

Screening Employees for Marijuana in New York Goes Up in Smoke

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on May 5, 2021 Posted in New York

Last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), which legalized adult (21 years of age and up) use and possession of up to three ounces of marijuana (or 24 grams of concentrated marijuana). This legalization spurs questions for employers: Are they allowed to prohibit the use of marijuana? Can they … Continue Reading

EEOC Releases Technical Assistance Documents Regarding Opioid Addiction and the ADA

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo and Priya Amin on August 11, 2020 Posted in ADA

On August 5, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released two technical assistance documents addressing opioid addiction and employment. The EEOC defines opioids to include prescription drugs such as codeine, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, meperidine, buprenorphine and methadone, as well as illegal drugs like heroin. Employee Guidance The first document is guidance for employees … Continue Reading

Ahead of 2020 Election, New York City Issues Enforcement Guidance on National Origin and Immigration Status Discrimination

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo and Marc-Joseph Gansah on October 21, 2019 Posted in Discrimination, Immigration, New York

Immigration has been at the forefront of news reports and court cases recently, and has already proven to be a hot button issue for the 2020 election candidates to debate. As we move closer to the election, such political conversation may find its way into the office. If it does, employers should ensure that they … Continue Reading

UPDATE: New York State Expected to Vastly Overhaul Harassment/Discrimination Laws Again

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on August 14, 2019 Posted in Discrimination, Harassment, New York

As we reported in our blog post, and our summer newsletter, in late June, the New York Legislature passed a bill that vastly changed the discrimination and harassment landscape for employers. Today, Gov. Cuomo signed that bill into law. As a result, employers likely now need to change their New York state-required anti-harassment policies and training. … Continue Reading

New York State Expected to Vastly Overhaul Harassment/Discrimination Laws Again

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on June 21, 2019 Posted in Discrimination, Harassment, New York

Late on June 19, New York lawmakers passed a bill that makes wide-sweeping changes to New York State discrimination and harassment law. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has indicated that he will sign the bill, but he has not done so at this point. The bill implements changes related to the construction, definitions, proofs, affirmative defenses, policies … Continue Reading

Panic Buttons for New Jersey Hotel Housekeepers

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on June 12, 2019 Posted in Harassment, New Jersey

On June 11, Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., signed into law legislation that will require hotels that have 100 or more guest rooms to provide their housekeepers and room service employees with panic buttons effective January 2020. Panic buttons have gained widespread attention as a result of the #MeToo movement – the idea being that a … Continue Reading

NYC Releases Anti-Harassment Training Video

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo and Amy J. Traub on April 16, 2019 Posted in Harassment, New York

As discussed in our New York Quarterly Newsletters, employers in New York City who have 15 or more employees (inclusive of independent contractors) are required to provide anti-sexual harassment training on or before December 31, 2019 to all employees who work in New York City (this includes employees who only work part time in New … Continue Reading

Reminder: NJ Sick Leave Act Becomes Effective This Month

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on October 22, 2018 Posted in Leave of Absence, New Jersey

Reminder – Earlier this year (as we reported in this post), the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act (NJPSLA) was approved. The NJPSLA mandates that employees will accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours of sick leave time during a consecutive 12-month period. … Continue Reading

New York State Sexual Harassment Guidance Finalized

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo and Amy J. Traub on October 2, 2018 Posted in Harassment, New York

UPDATE – On Oct. 1, 2018, the state of New York released final guidance on the anti-sexual harassment measures that were passed in the 2018-2019 New York state budget. Perhaps the most important (and welcomed) change in the guidance is that employers now have until Oct. 9, 2019, to provide employees with the mandated training.… Continue Reading

In the Recent Flurry of New Laws, Don’t Forget Salary History Bans

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on September 18, 2018 Posted in Wage and Hour

As the year winds down and many employers scramble to ensure that they are on top of the many new laws that have been passed/enacted in the past year, we want to bring to your attention a few more related to salary history. Perhaps with all the attention on the flurry of anti-sexual harassment bills … Continue Reading

Reminder: Beginning July 18, NYC Employers Are Required to Accommodate “Personal Events”

By Amy J. Traub and Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on June 8, 2018 Posted in New York

Most New York City employers are probably familiar with the Fair Workweek Law that went into effect Jan. 1, 2018, but surely not all New York City employers are. That is likely because until now, that law applied only to fast-food restaurants and retail employers. But all that will change come July 18, 2018, when … Continue Reading

New Jersey Government Approves Two New Laws Affecting Employers

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on May 1, 2018 Posted in Leave of Absence, New Jersey

New Jersey, presumably fueled by promises from the new governor, passed two bills affecting employers in the past two weeks. New Jersey now has a Paid Sick Leave Bill, which is headed to the governor for his signature, and an Equal Pay Act, which is now law, and which carries some of the most employee-friendly … Continue Reading

Budget Bill Imposes Sweeping Requirements on Employers Related to Sexual Harassment

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on April 23, 2018 Posted in DOL, Harassment

The #MeToo movement is not finished making waves just yet. Governor Cuomo signed a 2019 Budget Bill on April 12, 2018, but the bill did not limit itself to budgetary issues. Instead, it included sweeping revisions to several statutes, resulting in several new requirements for employers doing business in New York State: Anti-Sexual Harassment Policies … Continue Reading

UPDATE: The Second Circuit Finds Title VII Protects Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on February 27, 2018 Posted in Discrimination, New York

As we discussed in our May 22, 2017 blog post, the Second Circuit agreed to hold an en banc hearing to determine whether an estate for a gay man, who alleged he was terminated as a result of a customer complaint related to his sexual orientation, may revive its previously dismissed case against the deceased’s … Continue Reading

Hope for Employers on the Wage and Hour Front: The Department of Labor Brings Back Opinion Letters

By Amy J. Traub and Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on June 29, 2017 Posted in Wage and Hour

Given the exponential uptick in wage and hour lawsuits during the Obama administration and the United States Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) continuing aggressive enforcement of wage and hour laws, many employers have felt the risk of a potential lawsuit looming over their heads for pay violations they may not even know exist. Before 2010, Opinion … Continue Reading

New York District Court Holds That Title VII Protects Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination

By Saima Sheikh and Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on May 16, 2017 Posted in Discrimination, New York

UPDATE: On May 22, 2017, in Melissa Zarda et al. v. Altitude Express d/b/a Skydive Long Island et al., the Second Circuit agreed to hold an en banc hearing to determine whether an estate for a gay man, who alleged he was terminated as a result of a customer complaint related to his sexual orientation, … Continue Reading

Recent Developments in Transgender Issues

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on May 3, 2017 Posted in Discrimination

UPDATE: Transgender Individuals Have Right to Choose Their Gender Appropriate Bathroom On May 30, 2017, in Ashton Whitaker v. Kenosha Unified School District et al., the Seventh Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction requiring a Wisconsin school district to permit a trans male individual to use the men’s restroom. In so doing, the Seventh Circuit ruled … Continue Reading

Employers Will No Longer Be Permitted to Ask About Previous Pay in New York City

By Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo and Amy J. Traub on April 16, 2017 Posted in New York

On Wednesday, April 12, 2017, the New York City Council passed a law amending the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) to add a protective class – salary history. The NYCHRL applies to all employers with four or more employees. The amendment prohibits employers in New York City from asking about or using a … Continue Reading

A Shift Toward Employers?

By Elliot Azoff and Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on March 9, 2017 Posted in NLRB

As most employers are now aware, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB, or the “Board”) in recent years has adopted more restrictive, non-employer-friendly approaches to what it will permit in workplace policies. These rules have been applied to union employers and just as vigorously to unorganized employers. Management labor lawyers have been placing their clients … Continue Reading