Answers Posted By Jeanne M. Valentine

Answer to My employer is trying to force me to resign through extreme micro-management

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posted Sep 27, 2011 09:03 AM [EST]

Answer to What if an employee is retaliated against regarding a reported issue outside of protected classes?

The answer depends on what you complained about. Employees not in a protected class who complain about a violation of a public health law, or about any behavior that arguably affects public health, or that you have a statutory right to complain about (such as a teacher who is prohibited from calling CPS as a mandatory reporter of child abuse, for instance) is protected in NYS under the Whistleblower laws. However, employees are not entitled to a pleasant working environment, and employees have no "right" to complain about behavior that is not harassing based on a protected activity or class. If the employer is simply bullying you because they don't like you anymore, unfortunately that is not actionable (yet!) in NYS. So, ask yourself if the complaint you made could be arguably about something dangerous to the public or other employees. If not, then the employer is free to nit-pick. Good luck.

Jeanne M. Valentine
The Valentine Law Office PLLC
www.HudsonValleyEmploymentLaw.com

posted May 23, 2011 5:54 PM [EST]

Answer to Are freelancers able to file a claim with the NY DOL for unpaid wages?

When you say "freelance" editor, I presume you are an independent contractor, and not an employee. If so, then your recourse won't be with the Department of Labor but rather in court with a lawsuit for breach of contract. Look to your contract for terms of payment - I hope you have terms in there that say when payment is due, what interest will be charged if late, and that the payor is responsible for your legal and collection fees if you are forced to employ those measures to get paid. If you are to be paid a commission, then there are NY Labor Laws that dictate timing of payment but I don't read that in your question. If you are paid a commission, write back and let me know. You can probably get a lawyer to send a formal letter on your behalf demanding payment. Perhaps that will get their attention so you aren't forced to go to court. If you call my firm for help, let them know you were referred by me from this website. Good luck.

Jeanne M. Valentine
The Valentine Law Office PLLC
www.HudsonValleyEmploymentLaw.com
(845) 497-5010

posted May 23, 2011 12:10 PM [EST]

Answer to Can I be fired 3 days after handing in a "temporary full disability note" from my doctor?

The Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") applies to employers with 15 or more employees. If your employer is covered by the ADA, then no - your employer may not terminate you because you're going out on temporary disability. You should contact a lawyer to discuss this with your employer as soon as possible to get you reinstated. If you choose to call my firm, please tell my staff that I asked you to call via this website. Good luck.

Jeannie Valentine
www.HudsonValleyEmploymentLaw.com
(845) 497-5010

posted May 20, 2011 09:28 AM [EST]

Answer to Will Non-Compete be enforceable if the employer not paying the salary during the Non-Compete period

Many factors will determine whether a non-compete is enforceable. First, employers are not obligated by law to pay you during the period you're restricted from competing but the non-compete must be supported by "consideration" - this could be a higher salary during your employment than you would have made without the non-compete or a severance payment or something else. It depends on the language in the contract and your circumstances. But you need to know that non-competes have many other restrictions as well: it must be limited in location or to specific customers, and must give you the ability to work during the period of non-competition, even if it's not in the business you were in, as long as it's only for a limited period of time.

posted May 17, 2011 07:41 AM [EST]

Answer to Laid off while others in same position were not

I very much agree with Attorney Pastor. I'd also suggest you to consider whether there was any reason they would have to terminate you, such as diciplinary or performance issues. If the employer had a legitimate reason to terminate you, then your burden to prove discrimination becomes even harder. You have a better case if you can point to conversations or comments made about your age or health issues by anyone with influence over who to terminate, or if the termination was in response to a request for medical leave. Lots of questions unanswered....but you have enough circumstances that I too think you should contact a lawyer to discuss it further.

Good luck!

Jeannie Valentine

posted Mar 16, 2011 7:03 PM [EST]

Answer to Can a company not reimburse employees for expenses submitted past 3 months from date of purchase?

California is the only state that has a law specifically obligating an employer to reimburse business expenses for up to 4 years. It is hard to say whether a policy of withholding reimbursement is legal or not without reading the policy language and knowing how late the expenses are submitted. Also, knowing the type of business in which you are involved helps. For instance, law firms bill our clients for expenses on their cases. If the firm was reimbursed by the client, but the firm withholds that from the employee who lent that money to the firm in the fist place, then you'd have a good argument to be reimbursed. An employee may usually take the expenses as a tax deduction if they are not reimbursed. If you want to pursue a claim against the employer, here is a link to the form to file with the NYS Department of Labor: http://www.labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/wp/LS425.pdf />Good luck.

posted Dec 3, 2010 09:09 AM [EST]

Answer to Is there a cut-off that employees must submit their commuting expenses?

California is the only state that has any law specifically addressing an employer's obligation to reimburse employees. In NY, the Department of Labor requires that, while employers are not obligated to have a reimbursement policy, they must follow any policy in place. If the employer's policy is to reimburse certain expenses, then that must be done. The timing issue could go either way - the employee may admit being late but they are still owed the reimbursement. The employer may rely on its policy to keep from reimbursing the employee if expense reports are submitted late, but it is quite possible that a Department of Labor investigation would require payment anyway. Be sure that all employees are treated the same - do not excuse one late submission but deny another. Also, keep up on the employees - perhaps send an email every 30 days reminding the employees of deadlines for expense reports. Also, the employer is typically the party who fails to issue reimbursements on time, so be sure the employee cannot call the kettle black...

Good luck.

posted Nov 30, 2010 11:52 AM [EST]

Answer to Legal Problem or Not re: Unfair Treatment?

My initial thought is that you need to look at your motives for singling out only the supervisory track employees to move up. If you are doing that to specifically help a certain person or group of people, then be very careful to look at the characteristics of the supervisory group versus the group you intend to leave with no options for advancement. If the latter group consists of people in a protected class (over 40, a gender or race or religious minority group, disabled, etc.) then they could claim that the employer's practices have a disparate impact on them which is only unlawful if those people are in a protected class. Review what caused certain employees to end up in the supervisory career track and what held back the others and be certain there is no discrimination or disparate treatment. Also go back to your policy and procedure manual and verify that you haven't given the employees an expectation on which they relied - look for language that does not guarantee certain tracks of advancement and giving the employer the right to change the policies without notice. If there is nothing preventing it, then an employer is free to decide who to promote and how. Let me know if I can help further. My contact information is on this site. Best of luck.

posted Nov 20, 2010 07:54 AM [EST]

Answer to Is it legal to lower the required min quals of jobs for employees vs ext cands

I agree with Ms. Pastor's assessment 100%. Since you said you are a government employer, you need to look at your own regulations carefully. Many times the government for whom you work places restrictions on how you can assess employees' eligibility and who you should hire. If no restrictions are set forth, then an employer may make just about any requirement they want as long as their practices don't have a disparate impact on a protected class, as described by Ms. Pastor. As for the current employees' concerns, you would have to take a look on a case-by-case basis as to whether the grade needs to be revised - that inquiry is a little vague to give a good answer.

posted Nov 20, 2010 07:45 AM [EST]