On December 29, 2022, President Bident signed into law the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, prohibits sex discrimination, including pregnancy discrimination, but does not require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees. Relatedly, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) … Read more
On December 23, 2022, Governor Hochul signed into law New York State Assembly Bill A6328A, amending the New York Executive Law § 292 (the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL)), to prohibit employment discrimination against employees and job applicants based on citizenship and immigration status. This amendment, which became effective immediately upon Governor Hochul’s signature, prohibits … Read more
On October 19, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released an updated “Know Your Rights” poster to be prominently displayed in the workplace by all employers with 15 or more employees. The new poster updates and replaces the previous “EEO is the Law” poster. The posters should be placed in a conspicuous … Read more
On July 19, 2022, the New York State Division of Human Rights (“NYSDHR”) established a confidential hotline at 1-800-HARASS-3 which allows individuals to report complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace and provide legal assistance to New York employees. Specifically, employees in New York State may now call 1-800-HARASS-3 (1-800-427-2773) for issues relating to workplace … Read more
On March 16, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law three amendments to the State’s workplace anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws, expanding harassment and discrimination protections under the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”). Retaliation for Releasing Personnel Files Effective immediately, the NYSHRL’s definition of retaliation was amended to include “disclosing an employee’s … Read more
As anticipated, on March 3, 2022, President Biden signed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021. The law takes effect immediately. As we previously reported, Congress passed the law in February which allows employees who previously entered into agreements requiring all employment disputes to be arbitrated to be entitled … Read more