LEL Blog

Even if Unintended, Businesses Can Be Liable for Discrimination in New York and New Jersey

March 12, 2026Harassment/Discrimination, New Jersey Employers, New York Employers

Countering a Trump Executive Order issued last spring, New York and New Jersey have each declared that the states’ laws against discrimination prohibit both overt, intentional discrimination, and behaviors that have the effect of discriminating ag... Read More..

New and “Improved” NYS Trapped at Work Act Lets Employees “Take the Bag and Run”

February 19, 2026Connecticut Employers, New Jersey Employers, New York City Employers, New York Employers

Employers that invest in their employees – with sign-on bonuses, relocation assistance, visa or green card sponsorship, or tuition reimbursement programs – want to ensure that the favor is returned, that the employee will stay for some period of t... Read More..

Sick Time Laws Go Way Beyond Illness

February 19, 2026Connecticut Employers, Employee Relations, Employer Notice Requirements, HR Policies, New Jersey Employers, New York City Employers, New York Employers, Paid Leave Time, Sick and Safe Leave, Tri-State Employers

It all started in San Francisco. Twenty years ago, the city passed the first law requiring private employers to grant employees a bank of sick days that they could use when they were ill or injured. Over time, that manda... Read More..

Workplace Investigations: Don’t Overlook the Closeout Meeting

February 4, 2026Connecticut Employers, Employee Relations, Employer Notice Requirements, HR Policies, New Jersey Employers, New York City Employers, New York Employers, Workplace Investigations

A workplace investigator’s role may end upon reaching factual findings, but the work of the investigation should not. Procedurally, at that point the complaint-handling process is only half done. Four more stages need to be followed before the m... Read More..

Employee or Independent Contractor? It is a Question of Law, Not Personal Preference

January 27, 2026Connecticut Employers, HR Policies, New Jersey Employers, New York City Employers, New York Employers, Wage and Hour Laws

Small employers in particular, but not exclusively, too often fall into the trap of classifying individuals who work for them as independent contractors when that classification does not actually align with the work being performed. Federal and s... Read More..

NY/CA Diverge on Employers Recouping Tuition Payments When Employees Leave

January 20, 2026Employee Relations, HR Policies, New York City Employers, New York Employers

New York State’s new “Trapped at Work Act” prohibits organizations from requiring any worker to sign a promissory note agreeing to repay the employer if the worker leaves before a certain period of time. The new law makes exceptions for certain t... Read More..

NYC Exchanges Employee Right to Temp Schedule Changes with Mandate of 32 New Hours of Employee Safe/Sick Time

November 10, 2025HR Policies, Leaves and Accommodations, New York City Employers, New York Employers, Paid Leave Time

Recent amendments to New York City's Earned Safe and Sick Time Act focus on expanding protections for individuals in both the most dire and the most mundane of situations, and substitute employees' less-known right to a ... Read More..

Workplace Investigations: Wait for Findings Before Determining Solutions

November 11, 2025Harassment/Discrimination, HR Policies, Workplace Investigations

Lawyers and human resources professionals who are committed to their craft are fundamentally in the business of helping people. Our most natural tendency is to determine solutions to problems. We learn of a concern, filter it through our own lens ... Read More..

Focus on Disabilities Part II: Must the Employee Disclose a Medical Condition?

October 1, 2025Federal Employment Developments, Harassment/Discrimination, HR Policies, Leaves and Accommodations

Can an employee receive a workplace accommodation without disclosing the employee’s medical condition? The answer, as with so many seemingly “simple” legal questions, is that it depends. Policies Can Be Broader than Laws An organizati... Read More..