Tag: notice

Employee Rights Poster

EEOC Issues New Employee Rights Poster

On October 19, 2022, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new employee rights poster that updates and replaces the previous “EEO is the Law” poster. The EEOC asserts that the new posting makes it easier for employers to understand their legal responsibilities and for workers to understand their legal rights. Covered employers must display the poster in the workplace.

EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows offered, “The poster advances the EEOC’s mission both to prevent unlawful employment discrimination and remedy discrimination when it occurs.”

Employee Rights Poster Contents

The “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal”  poster summarizes federal laws prohibiting job discrimination. It includes the process for filing a charge if one believes they have experienced discrimination. It also includes a QR code with a direct link to instructions on how to file. The poster addresses employee protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Equal Pay Act (EPA), and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

Covered Employers

Employers are covered by these statutes and must display the poster if they employ 15 or more employees. (Note, however, that the ADEA only applies to employers with 20 or more employees.)

A second page of the poster only applies to certain covered federal contractors and programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.

Posting Requirement

Federal law requires employers to display the employee rights poster in a conspicuous location in the workplace where notices to applicants and employees are customarily posted. The EEOC also encourages covered employers to post the notice digitally on their websites. The agency advises that the ADA requires that notices of federal laws be available in a location accessible to those with disabilities that limit mobility or in an accessible format for those with limited ability to see or read. The poster is currently available in English and Spanish; additional languages are forthcoming.

 

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Whistleblower Notice

New York Employers Must Post Whistleblower Notice

New whistleblower protections for New York employees took effect on January 26, 2022. The statutory amendments included a requirement that employers post notices informing their employees of the legal protections. The New York Department of Labor issued a model whistleblower notice for this purpose on February 14, 2022. Employers should now have this notice posted “conspicuously in easily accessible and well-lighted places customarily frequented by employees and applicants for employment.”

New York Whistleblower Protections

For a full discussion on the recent changes to New York’s workplace whistleblower laws, read our previous article.

What’s in the Whistleblower Notice?

The Department of Labor didn’t get very creative in preparing the model whistleblower notice. It’s essentially just a word-for-word recitation of the whistleblower statute. It doesn’t even have a clever name. It’s just the “Notice of Employee Rights, Protections, and Obligations Under Labor Law Section 740.”

Next Steps

If you haven’t already, post the whistleblower notice in your workplaces along with other employee rights notices. You can download the notice from the DOL here.

But, you may not want to stop at just posting the notice. Note that the new whistleblower protections are a significant expansion of previous employee rights. They substantially increase the scope of potential claims, as employers are prohibited from engaging in a limitless scope of “retaliatory action” against employees who engage in any covered activities. Consider appropriate training of supervisors to reduce the risk of conduct that could produce whistleblower complaints.

New York Paid Voting Leave

New York Extends Paid Voting Leave

In its 2019-2020 budget, New York made several changes to the state’s election laws. This includes a major expansion of the law regarding time off from work to vote. Employers must now allow up to 3 hours of paid voting leave for registered voters for every election.

Old Voting Leave Law

In the past, New York employers had to give some registered voters 2 hours of paid time off. Employees could only insist on paid voting leave if they did not have 4 consecutive hours between either the opening of the polls and the beginning of their working shift or the end of their working shift and the closing of the polls.

Employees who had less than 4 consecutive hours before or after their shifts to vote could take off so much
working time as would when added to their voting time outside their working hours enable them to vote. But employers would never have to pay an employee for more than two hours of the time off to vote.

New Paid Voting Leave Obligations

Now employers have to give more paid voting leave to more employees.

The “4 consecutive hours” criteria are gone. All employees now apparently have a legal right to paid voting leave.

And the 2-hour maximum has increased to 3 hours.

The law still retains language suggesting employees may only take so much time as necessary to enable them to vote. And they only have the right to take time either at the beginning or end of the shift, unless they agree otherwise with the employer.

Employees must notify their employers at least two days in advance that they “require” time off to vote to invoke the law’s protections.

Notice of Employee Rights

As before, employers must post a notice containing the paid voting leave law’s provisions at least 10 days before every election. Some employers choose to keep the notice posted at all times to ensure compliance. That is an acceptable practice. The notice must at least remain up until the polls close on election day.

Click here for a copy of the law for posting.

Covered Elections

The paid voting leave law applies to all elections in New York where voters nominate or elect people to any federal, state, county, city, town, or village office.

Penalty for Violation

Any person or corporation who does not allow an eligible employee to take time off or who reduces an employee’s pay for taking time off to vote as required can be found guilty of a criminal misdemeanor.

An employee who loses pay required under the law may be able to recover it through the Department of Labor or a lawsuit. Additional penalties might apply.

What Employers Must Do

Many employers will have to give employees time off to vote where they didn’t before. The law is now vague enough that virtually any employee could request paid time off to vote. Employers will have to get more information from some employees to determine their obligations under the law.

In the meantime, employers should obtain copies of the new law (available here) to post in advance of elections. You should also review your employee handbook or other policies and revise them as necessary.

 

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