New York employers cannot have blanket policies against hiring employees with criminal records. Instead, they must carefully consider several factors before using an applicant’s criminal record to deny employment. (Some cities in New York have passed “ban-the-box laws” that prohibit employers from asking about criminal convictions on job applications. Read more about that topic here.) … Read more
The federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) took effect in 2009. Today, most employers have still never heard of the law, which makes it illegal to discriminate against employees and applicants because of genetic information. Those employers who have heard of GINA probably don’t understand how expansive its protections are. First, the law defines “genetic … Read more
Most employers know of the employment discrimination laws protecting race, sex, disability, age, religion, etc. In New York, there is also an additional law that prohibits discrimination against employees based on their lawful off-duty conduct. Like all good laws, there are exceptions. Section 201-d of the New York Labor Law applies to all employers with … Read more