The New York City Fair Chance Act (FCA). The FCA imposes obligations on covered employers including a “ban-the-box” prohibition (meaning an employment application cannot ask if an applicant has a criminal record). In short, the FCA makes it illegal for most employers in New York City to ask about the criminal record of job applicants before making a job offer. This means ads, applications, and interview questions cannot include inquiries into an applicant’s criminal record. This allows the applicant to be judged on his or her qualifications. Ex-offenders get protections throughout the hiring process (and…Read More
Once the offer has been accepted, maintain contact regularly with the future new employee before the first day of employment. Ensure the new employee receives all orientation paperwork well in advance of the first day of work. Provide details regarding the schedule of activities for the first day, the time and place to report. Provide a friendly, welcoming environment for the orientation and be well prepared. In addition to completing paperwork, explain the vision, mission, values, and culture of the organization. Introduce the new employee to other employees and provide a tour of the facility.…Read More
Commentary: The act of hiring an employee is a part of an overall process designed to find the right person for a specific job. There are many reasons for a lack of success in the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring process. Some of these reasons include incomplete or inaccurate job description and employment requisition, sourcing for candidates are not carefully identified (causing the number and quality of resumes to be unacceptable), the company does not move through the process in a timely manner and the lack of a systematic hiring process. The entire hiring process should…Read More
The primary purpose of a job description is to inform staff within the department and new employees how the job being described fits in with the company’s organization of work. It is intended to outline the job duties for any incumbents and inform management so that it has the ability to perform job evaluation and performance appraisal. In creating an effective job description, following are key (using our suggested headings may be helpful in organizing your document): “Job Title.” Set a job title that identifies and differentiates this job from other positions. The title should…Read More
Failing to create standards. If the company fails to give staff clear expectations so they know exactly what they are supposed to do and how they can self-measure success, it is prescription for disappointment by all. The end result is management then wonders why they are failing. Micro-managing, excessively. If management creates policies for every contingency and allows no real supervisory discretion in addressing individual employee needs, robot-like adherence to policy will cause supervisors to herald form over substance. Having too few policies. In this situation, employees feel as if they reside in an unfair…Read More
To rebuild relationships and foster collaboration, employers will need people to return to offices. Should employers require employee vaccinations? Short Answer. Most employers – unless they are in health care – should encourage rather than mandate employees get COVID-19 vaccination. Unless the employer is able to demonstrate the vaccine should be mandated because it is job-related and consistent with business necessity or is justified by a direct threat, the potential for disputes is very real. If an employer does mandate vaccination, it must be prepared to allow accommodations and exemptions particularly due to disability and religion.…Read More
Changes by the amendments will take effect in 2 phases Effective September 30, 2020, Employers Must: provide domestic workers with 40 hours of paid safe and sick leave; allow employees to use safe and sick leave as it is accrued; reimburse employees who must pay for required documentation after three consecutive workdays of leave; list on employees’ paystubs (or any document issued each pay period) the amounts of accrued and used leave and the total balance of accrued leave. Note: For this requirement only, employers that could not operationalize the documentation requirement by September 30,…Read More
– Both Go Into Effect As Of April 2, 2020. The Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act Employers with 500 or less employees must provide leave to workers who need to care for a child under 18 because of a school closure related to COVID-19; The first 10 days of leave related to school closures can be unpaid leave; An employee may elect to substitute any accrued paid time off during the first 10 days of leave; Following 10 days of unpaid leave related to COVID-19 school closures, employers must provide paid leave which is…Read More
The Legislature and Governor have come to an agreement on paid sick leave related to the COVID-19 epidemic. The proposal will require: Paid Sick Leave Employers with 4 or fewer employees and a net income less than $1 million will provide up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave Employers with 4 or fewer employees and a net income more than $1 million will provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave Employers with 5 – 99 employees will provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave Employers with 100+ employees will provide…Read More
Every New York employer needs to be sure it is ready to survive an Department of Labor audit or an employee lawsuit. You need to know that when the knock at the door is from a DOL auditor or the suit papers are handed to you by a process server, your records will stand up to scrutiny rather than being Exhibit ‘A’ against your company. Why Should My Company Keep Payroll/Employment Records? Employers often ask whether it is better to keep employment records or discard them regularly? There are two parts to the answer to…Read More
