Leaves and Accommodations

30+ Reasons Why You Cannot Fire a NY Employee

June 25, 2025Employee Relations, Harassment/Discrimination, HR Policies, Leaves and Accommodations, New York Employers, Paid Leave Time, Wage and Hour Laws

New York law strongly adheres to the principle of employment at will; except where it does not. Over the years, the government continuously adds new legal protections for employees, to such a degree that employers may not be aware of all the curre... Read More..

Legacy of an Unsung Hero: Move Beyond a Medical Diagnosis to Reach Talented Individuals

February 1, 2024Employee Relations, Federal Employment Developments, Harassment/Discrimination, HR Policies, Leaves and Accommodations

This week our family buried an intellectually brilliant, fiercely determined, infallibly kind individual who lived a far longer, fuller life than any doctor might have predicted. Diagnosed with a progressive, increasingly degenerative medical cond... Read More..

New Regulations Require Reconciling NYS and NYC Paid Sick and Safe Time Requirements

November 24, 2023HR Policies, Leaves and Accommodations, New York City Employers, New York Employers, Sick and Safe Leave

New York City employers need to navigate the intricacies of the city’s and state’s largely complementary but not entirely consistent paid sick and safe time requirements. Recent legal changes mean that employers that have not done so in the past... Read More..

EEOC Guidance Provides Pathways and Considerations for Accommodating the Hearing Disabled

July 27, 2023Federal Employment Developments, Harassment/Discrimination, HR Policies, Leaves and Accommodations

I currently stand on a precipice, as the waning days of Disability Pride Month this July also represent a final countdown to when a cochlear implant surgery will make me a bionic woman. It appeared an opportune time to review the recent updates t... Read More..

Similar Standards Now Apply When Considering Accommodation Requests for Religion or Disability

July 25, 2023Federal Employment Developments, Harassment/Discrimination, HR Policies, Leaves and Accommodations

Employers need to consider employees’ requests for religious accommodations from a much more supportive perspective as a result of a recent decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. In Groff v. DeJoy (June 29, 2023) the Court held that that ... Read More..

All New York Employers Need to Add Policies and Modify Practices to Comply with New State and Federal Protections for Employees Expressing Breast Milk

July 11, 2023Employer Notice Requirements, HR Policies, Leaves and Accommodations, New York City Employers, New York Employers, Wage and Hour Laws

Five years after New York City began requiring employers to provide accommodations for employees expressing breast milk at work and adopt lactation accommodation policies with very specific provisions, New York State has added its own law on the s... Read More..

Geographic Distances Disappear When Determining Remote Workers’ FMLA Eligibility

June 6, 2023Federal Employment Developments, Leaves and Accommodations

One of the more enduring effects of COVID has been the dispersion of employees to jurisdictions that may be far outside the employer’s anticipated commuting distance. Remote work enables organizations to retain employees who relocated for various... Read More..

NYS Has Raised the Stakes for Employers That Penalize Employees for Any of 15 Types of Job-Protected Leaves

May 22, 2023HR Policies, Leaves and Accommodations, New York Employers, Paid Leave Time, Sick and Safe Leave

Employers in New York may be required to provide employees with up to 15 different types of leave, some paid, and some unpaid, some for a few hours, and some extending weeks or even months. Employers are generally aware of certain big categories o... Read More..

Educate Managers on FMLA/ADA Overlap

April 26, 2023Employer Notice Requirements, Federal Employment Developments, HR Policies, Leaves and Accommodations

Are your managers familiar with the organization’s overlapping obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Time and again, I see managers conflate the two, and thereby create liability issu... Read More..