Articles Posted in Uncategorized

Vaccine and mask mandates were a divisive, hot button issue for all of 2021. Today, in the early part of 2023, the issue seems to have been largely resolved in the court of public opinion. In federal Courts, however, the issue is just starting to heat up. Most recently, Allison Williams and Beth Faber brought…

Over the last few decades, the American legal system has recognized greater protections for minority employees. Alongside this has come a growing understanding of what ‘racism’ really constitutes and why it stems beyond the color of a person’s skin. Courts have also begun to interpret ‘race’ as more than only the color of someone’s skin,…

Several New York City municipal worker’s unions are suing to stop New York City from terminating unvaccinated employees slated to lose their jobs. The suit is brought by more than two dozen unions, including the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), Uniformed Fire Officers Association and the Police Benevolent Association. The plaintiffs argue that the city’s…

On January 26, 2022, amendments to New York’s whistleblower protection law went into effect. These amendments, codified at section 740 of the New York Labor Law, include updates requiring the implementation and enhancement of employee support structures, robust reporting mechanisms, and access to regular training for employees, employers, and managers through human resources. Although these…

On Friday, February 25th, 2022, President Biden announced his nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman to sit on the country’s highest court. The President’s decision fulfilled his campaign promise to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.…

After a long and tumultuous period in our city’s history, New York City is taking a big step towards normalcy. Governor Kathy Hochul announced masks will no longer be required in schools as of March 2, 2022, after previously ending New York’s statewide mask mandate for most indoor settings. Changes to state mask policies follow…

Starting on January 2, 2023, New York City will require employers and employment agencies to complete a bias audit before implementing automated employment decision tools to screen job candidates or evaluate employees for internal promotions. Any hiring tool that involves a computational process derived from machine learning, statistical monitoring, data analytics or artificial intelligence, will…

In early February 2022, Congress passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (H.R. 4445). The new federal law restricts arbitration agreements for sexual assault and sexual harassment claims. The law amends the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to allow employees who are parties to arbitration agreements with their employers…

According to Jim Trotter, an NFL.com Columnist, “the National Football League has a long and troubled history when it comes to race and head coaches” and of the thirty-two (32) NFL teams, “13 franchises had never hired a Black non-interim head coach and 11 others had only installed one.” American professional sports have an interesting…

On May 15, 2022, a new law will go into effect in New York City that will change the way employers recruit and advertise positions to prospective employees. Under NYC law, employers will be required to include salary ranges in job postings and advertisements. The bill was initially approved by a 41-7 vote in the…