LEL Blog

Rethink Employee Confidentiality Clauses as Fed Agency Restricts Scope Nationwide

April 17, 2023Connecticut Employers, Employee Relations, Employment Agreements, New Jersey Employers, New York City Employers, New York Employers

How do you keep your core business interests and the goings on at your organization confidential when it feels like those strictures are under attack from multiple government entities? It may be time for you to redefine your priorities with respec... Read More..

Workplace Investigations: Anticipate Cognitive Overload

September 7, 2023Employee Relations, Workplace Investigations, Workplace Training

Sometimes you just need to let things gel in your mind for a while. I came to this conclusion in my investigations... Read More..

Workplace Breastfeeding Laws Offer General Consistency with Local Nuance

February 14, 2023Connecticut Employers, Employee Relations, Employer Notice Requirements, Harassment/Discrimination, HR Policies, New Jersey Employers, New York City Employers, New York Employers, Tri-State Employers, Wage and Hour Laws

Breastfeeding protections have gone mainstream. Through the magic of a budget spending bill, nursing employees in workplaces throughout the country now have legal protections that will afford them break time and access to spaces outside of toilet... Read More..

Pay Transparency Laws Can Help Workers, But Not in the Way Advertised

February 10, 2023Connecticut Employers, Employer Notice Requirements, New York City Employers, New York Employers, Wage and Hour Laws

Led by the rationale proffered by legislatures in support of pay transparency laws, I have been thinking about them from the wrong perspective. Promoted as a means of closing the gender wage gap, I have been vocal in my criticisms that the laws w... Read More..

Legally-Prescribed Policy Wording Ensnares Those Striving to Be Employers of Choice

February 7, 2023Employer Notice Requirements, HR Policies, New York City Employers, New York Employers, Paid Leave Time, Sick and Safe Leave

I write a lot of policies. They come with the advisory work that I do, and I also gravitate toward those types of projects. In doing that work, one of my frustrations has been the increasing degree to which legislatures are imposing new legal ob... Read More..

Reconsider Job Requirements to Diversify Your Talent Pool

January 26, 2023Connecticut Employers, Harassment/Discrimination, HR Policies, New Jersey Employers, New York City Employers, New York Employers

Following established techniques and methodologies can achieve efficiencies, assure consistency and produce positive outcomes. But sometimes we need to challenge our historic approach, analyze the rationale behind certain standards and methodolog... Read More..

Workplace Investigations: What Is “Bullying”?

September 7, 2023Connecticut Employers, Employee Relations, Harassment/Discrimination, HR Policies, New Jersey Employers, New York City Employers, New York Employers, Workplace Investigations

There is a slippery slope between what may be considered sub-optimal or bad management practices, “bullying,” and “harassment.” When behaviors prompt an employee complaint, workplace investigators need to evaluate where a supervisor’s conduct fal... Read More..

Contractor Agreements Subject to Federal/State Law Prohibitions on Confidentiality and Nondisparagement

January 9, 2023Connecticut Employers, Employer Notice Requirements, Harassment/Discrimination, New Jersey Employers, New York Employers

In yet another example of laws blurring the distinction between employees and independent contractors, organizations need to beware that the prohibitions on confidentiality and nondisparagement agreements embodied in the federal Speak Out Act and ... Read More..

Hiring Nationally? Multi-State Employers Must Carefully Navigate Varying Legal Restrictions on Confidentiality and Nondisparagement Clauses

January 5, 2023Connecticut Employers, Employer Notice Requirements, Harassment/Discrimination, New Jersey Employers, New York City Employers, New York Employers

Viewed as a stumbling block or more nefariously in relation to the reporting and investigation of #MeToo complaints, state legislatures across the country have been limiting or outright prohibiting employers from subjecting employees to confidenti... Read More..