V Jonas Urba
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Answers Posted By V Jonas Urba
Generally, child care, unless medically necessary for a disabled child as confirmed by a medical expert, is not an employer's responsibility. Unfortunately, many European countries and others around the world do provide much more leave and accommodation for parents to care for their kids than we do here in the U.S.A.
Even if your employer had 50 employees the FMLA would only permit up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for child birth or to care for a newborn child. Not much and it's not paid unless you have accumulated vacation time. Such leave would not authorize you to continue to care for the child as your schedule requires unless you had a child with a disability and the caregiver duties you provided were ordered by a physician.
The Americans with Disabilities Act also usually does not cover pregnant employees UNLESS the pregnant employee is a qualified individual with a disability AND the employee has informed her employer that she has a medically documented condition which substantially limits a major life activity. One such condition might be diabetes during pregnancy but there are others. The key is that you have to tell your employer and the employer can require medical certification or confirmation that you have such a condition and that you are requesting an accommodation from your employer similar to the disabled child example given earlier.
Without a written contract of employment or a union to provide some additional protections, as long as you are not being treated differently for an illegal reason your employer may require you to work whatever shifts it needs. However, if women, older, or disabled persons have to work the worst shifts that no one else wants to work that could be discriminatory.
Consult with a labor and employment lawyer. It's worth it so that you know for sure whether you should just live with it, whether you should start looking for another job, or whether you with the help of a lawyer should file some type of discrimination complaint or charge. There may be facts which a lawyer will spot since it looks like you live in one of NYC's boroughs and the City Human Rights Laws are pretty broad.
You can also contact the New York City Human Rights Commission and if there is a claim to be made they will help you. And many private lawyers work with the City Human Rights Commission and its lawyers because if our clients win their cases the Human Rights Commission lawyers have no objection to our working with them to prosecute cases against employers. If a client is awarded damages to be paid by an employer the private attorney for that client can ask for an award of attorney's fees to also be paid by the employer. So it works out great for everyone. Good luck.
posted Aug 4, 2016 2:25 PM [EST]
Even if your employer had 50 employees the FMLA would only permit up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for child birth or to care for a newborn child. Not much and it's not paid unless you have accumulated vacation time. Such leave would not authorize you to continue to care for the child as your schedule requires unless you had a child with a disability and the caregiver duties you provided were ordered by a physician.
The Americans with Disabilities Act also usually does not cover pregnant employees UNLESS the pregnant employee is a qualified individual with a disability AND the employee has informed her employer that she has a medically documented condition which substantially limits a major life activity. One such condition might be diabetes during pregnancy but there are others. The key is that you have to tell your employer and the employer can require medical certification or confirmation that you have such a condition and that you are requesting an accommodation from your employer similar to the disabled child example given earlier.
Without a written contract of employment or a union to provide some additional protections, as long as you are not being treated differently for an illegal reason your employer may require you to work whatever shifts it needs. However, if women, older, or disabled persons have to work the worst shifts that no one else wants to work that could be discriminatory.
Consult with a labor and employment lawyer. It's worth it so that you know for sure whether you should just live with it, whether you should start looking for another job, or whether you with the help of a lawyer should file some type of discrimination complaint or charge. There may be facts which a lawyer will spot since it looks like you live in one of NYC's boroughs and the City Human Rights Laws are pretty broad.
You can also contact the New York City Human Rights Commission and if there is a claim to be made they will help you. And many private lawyers work with the City Human Rights Commission and its lawyers because if our clients win their cases the Human Rights Commission lawyers have no objection to our working with them to prosecute cases against employers. If a client is awarded damages to be paid by an employer the private attorney for that client can ask for an award of attorney's fees to also be paid by the employer. So it works out great for everyone. Good luck.
posted Aug 4, 2016 2:25 PM [EST]
Answer to how do i stop an individual from calling my employer to lie to them to get me fired
Police department. Sounds very similar to stalking or interference with your right to earn a living.If your employer has recorded or recognized the caller's phone number, name, or voice the caller is slandering or defaming you. If you could prove damages, for example you lost your job, because your employer believed the caller, the information provided was false, and your employer believed the information then you could sue them for damages in a civil action.
A better option might be to go to the police. Again, if your employer has evidence, such as witnesses who recognize the caller or recorded conversations since only one party needs to consent to record in New York and that could be your employer, the police will help you present your case to a judge where you can request an Order of Protection to keep that person a certain distance from you or to prevent them from discussing your employment with anyone. The judge can order the caller to stay clear of you or your employer for a year or longer.
If you have proof such orders are granted regularly. Orders of Protection are no longer just for domestic or family disputes.
Good luck.
posted Jul 21, 2016 1:03 PM [EST]
Answer to Can my employer hold me responsble for an orverbooking?
New York State's Department of Labor prohibits deductions unless such deductions are for an employee's benefit AND the employee consents in advance to such deduction. That's why the new law is called Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA). Part of the law's purpose is to make certain that employees are paid for all work performed. Your employer could write you up or take other actions but taking your earned wages would be like its playing with fire.The WTPA protects employees as well as employers. Few employers realize that prevailing attorneys recover their reasonable attorney's fees and costs for helping employees in these types of cases. The fees and costs can be very substantial. For example, if your employer deducted a booking such as you describe and such deduction brought you below the minimum wage for that week's pay your employer could be forced to pay substantial damages including attorneys' fees and costs. Both federal and state laws protect you.
Contact the NYS Department of Labor or a labor and employment lawyer if your employer continues to threaten you:
https://labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/wp/LS605.PDF
posted Jul 21, 2016 12:42 PM [EST]
Yes. Unless you have a definite term contract of employment (i.e. July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2017) which entitles you to vacation time, or you work for the government which federal, state, or local legislative bodies require employees to receive vacation, or your union negotiated vacation for all of its members in a collective bargaining agreement, you have NO right to any vacation.
Citizens of other countries, especially Europe, are shocked to learn this. Many countries provide their citizens with weeks if not months of paid vacation but not the good ole USA. In your industry they can't find enough reliable employees to drive. Jump ship to a company which values time off.
posted Jul 17, 2016 09:05 AM [EST]
Citizens of other countries, especially Europe, are shocked to learn this. Many countries provide their citizens with weeks if not months of paid vacation but not the good ole USA. In your industry they can't find enough reliable employees to drive. Jump ship to a company which values time off.
posted Jul 17, 2016 09:05 AM [EST]
Answer to Temporary Employer Stalking Me
Every plaintiff bears the burden of proof. I say that because if you sued the temporary employer for tortious interference, libel, or slander you would have to prove that it was the temporary employer and not something else that caused you to either not get the job or to lose a job.The better option might be to focus on positives. Assuming you have a prior employer who thinks highly of you why not submit a glowing letter of reference from an employer prior to this last employer which will make this very short term effort seem totally insignificant. Unless this is your first or second employer you should be fine.
Every once in a while we all run into an unstable or unbalanced employer. Assuming no personal relationships with anyone you or they knew focusing on prior good employment relationships is probably your best choice.
Suing the temporary employer without really solid evidence (affidavits which are sworn statements of witnesses) in your hand is probably not a good idea. Most great lawyers will request a substantial retainer from you to pursue something like that and taking them to court yourself may suck up too much time which you could invest in getting a great job.
If there are other issues you may have to commute to Albany, etc.... until you establish a solid work history if all else fails. Many employees end up moving or telecommuting just because of the "real" job market in most U.S. cities today. Think outside the box and don't get bogged down with that temporary employer or pay too much attention to employees who claim they don't want to tell you the full truth. Some of these allegedly helpful employees may not have your best interests in mind or they would help you get a job themselves.
If you have great job skills or develop them that experience will be like it never happened. Good luck.
posted Jul 12, 2016 08:24 AM [EST]
Answer to Is there anything that can bedone ?
Does your employer have a policy for reporting harassment or offensive comments? If it does then report how that affected you. Even if there is no policy you have a duty to report offensive comments to your employer to give it a chance to address those issues.If you ever have to retain a lawyer she or he will ask you whether you have reported any offensive or hostile comments made at your workplace in the past 300 days as will the EEOC. Comments can be from customers and fellow employees. Your manager can always call the police if necessary or if the person refuses to stop addressing employees that way.
Also the comments don't have to be specifically directed to you. Any member of any protected class including race, religion, national origin, etc.... is protected.
Employment law is very notice and reporting based. Hopefully once you report it and keep some record of how when and what you told the employer it will be the last time you have to do so. If not then at least you are creating a record of reporting. Good luck.
posted Jul 7, 2016 4:58 PM [EST]
You have not specified your entire history with this woman.
If you were ever friends with or involved with her outside of work you may be able to file a police report that she is stalking you and have a judge enter an order of protection which will prohibit her from shopping at your store.
I would disclose this to your manager before you proceed this way.
If you have never known or been involved with the woman before I would ask your manager to review the video footage of her visits to the store. Are there other persons shoplifting while she distracts you?
The police may be able to serve her with violation of some trespass or loitering ordinance or you might find that you are losing inventory caused by her.
Good luck. Ask your manager for help first then the police.
posted Jun 27, 2016 07:19 AM [EST]
If you were ever friends with or involved with her outside of work you may be able to file a police report that she is stalking you and have a judge enter an order of protection which will prohibit her from shopping at your store.
I would disclose this to your manager before you proceed this way.
If you have never known or been involved with the woman before I would ask your manager to review the video footage of her visits to the store. Are there other persons shoplifting while she distracts you?
The police may be able to serve her with violation of some trespass or loitering ordinance or you might find that you are losing inventory caused by her.
Good luck. Ask your manager for help first then the police.
posted Jun 27, 2016 07:19 AM [EST]
Answer to Can this be a case?
Your collective bargaining agreement sets your conditions of employment. If the union knew or should have known that the company would shut down you may have a potential claim against the union. Assuming it's a private union have you contacted the National Labor Relations Board to determine whether the union did everything necessary under the terms of its agreement with the company?Did you provide anything of value from your last job when you returned to your union position? By that I mean things like contracts or customers or business which the company closing its doors benefited from due to your return?
Finally, did you have any written guarantee from the employer that you would continue employment for a specific term or a definite period of time before you left the last job to return to your union job?
You may want to pay a labor and employment lawyer for a consultation to review this entire situation, the WARN Act provisions, CBA, etc.... sooner than later. Once a statute of limitations runs on any potential claim you're done.
posted Jun 17, 2016 1:35 PM [EST]
Answer to Can my daughter file a defermation suit against a employees family member?
Probably not.However, New York has very strong laws which protect any person who is subject to abuse by another person. Although the "Order of Protection" is usually seen in the intimate relationship and family law arenas, it can appear at the workplace.
Since there is likely video of the mother "loitering" in the store, the mother may be interfering with her own daughter's ability to do her job. The store manager should gather some of the recent video and if, after being politely informed that her presence may interfere with her daughter's ability to perform her job the police might be called to politely remind the mother that her daughter needs to work without her mother's interference. The next step would be for the police to issue the mother a warning not to loiter in the store while the daughter is working or to do her shopping at times when the daughter is not working.
If all of this fails then anyone the mother potentially assaults or threatens may apply for an Order of Protection (store manager, any employee who feels threatened, etc...) and of course, if the employee/daughter is counseled and asked that her mother not loiter in the store there is nothing that would prevent the pregnant daughter from losing her own job.
Although pregnant employees are considered "disabled" or "protected" for many purposes in New York they must still be able to perform their jobs with or without reasonable accommodations. If the pregnant daughter's mother interferes with the daughter's job and the mother refuses to stay away then the daughter could lose her job.
Get the store's management involved, the police, and if necessary, the court. Management may want to warn the daughter that fraternizing with family, whether directly or indirectly, while at work is not acceptable. Once the mother knows that the daughter might lose her job, you would hope that a reasonable mind would stay away from the store. Unless, of course, the mother wants the daughter to get fired for some other purpose which is beyond the scope of this post. Good luck. Go through management with the help of police and courts.
posted Jun 5, 2016 2:32 PM [EST]
New York is an "at will" employment state. This means that most employees may be terminated with or without cause.
The exceptions to the general rule include employees who have collective bargaining protection (union members), employees who work for governments, and employees who have signed employment agreements with definite terms or dates of employment.
If none of the above apply to you then you should consider whether you are being discriminated against based on your membership in a protected class? What protected groups or classes of employees do you belong to? Some of the many protected groups include:
Are you over 40?
Are you disabled or does your employer believe that you are (it could be as simple as being unhappy with your need for medication, or taking time off work due to medical reasons, or even appearing frail)? The metrics must be due to a legitimate, non-discriminatory, business necessity. If so, then it's probably acceptable unless you require an accommodation and have requested them to provide one or to work with you (engage in the interactive process) to determine what you need to properly do your job.
Are you being targeted due to your religion, race, marital status, sexual orientation, or several other groups which may provide protection for you?
Are other employees who do not belong to the classes which you belong to, regardless of choice, being treated better or more favorably than the classes to which you belong? Are employees who do not share your classes exempt from the metrics?
Look at employees with whom you work. Are they exempt from the requirements being placed on you and if so, why?
If every employee is subject to the same or similar requirements due to business necessity, even if from this point forward, if business necessity requires it, and if such requirement applies to all similarly situated employees, the metrics requirements might be legitimate?
Would you be a victim of discrimination if a metrics requirement is uniformly applied for business necessity from this point forward and if so how would you prove that but for your membership in one or more classes you would not have suffered an adverse employment action (if you are transferred, demoted, or fired)?
If you have to work over 40 hours per week don't forget that you are usually entitled to time and a half pay for any hours over 40. Such claims can be very lucrative federal wage and hour claims which include attorneys' fees and can include liquidated damages. Call a labor and employment lawyer if you are not paid for all performed work. In New York, 6 years of unpaid wages in the form of overtime or improperly classified status as a salaried employee can amount to a substantial amount of money plus attorneys' fees and costs. Good luck.
posted Jun 5, 2016 2:11 PM [EST]
The exceptions to the general rule include employees who have collective bargaining protection (union members), employees who work for governments, and employees who have signed employment agreements with definite terms or dates of employment.
If none of the above apply to you then you should consider whether you are being discriminated against based on your membership in a protected class? What protected groups or classes of employees do you belong to? Some of the many protected groups include:
Are you over 40?
Are you disabled or does your employer believe that you are (it could be as simple as being unhappy with your need for medication, or taking time off work due to medical reasons, or even appearing frail)? The metrics must be due to a legitimate, non-discriminatory, business necessity. If so, then it's probably acceptable unless you require an accommodation and have requested them to provide one or to work with you (engage in the interactive process) to determine what you need to properly do your job.
Are you being targeted due to your religion, race, marital status, sexual orientation, or several other groups which may provide protection for you?
Are other employees who do not belong to the classes which you belong to, regardless of choice, being treated better or more favorably than the classes to which you belong? Are employees who do not share your classes exempt from the metrics?
Look at employees with whom you work. Are they exempt from the requirements being placed on you and if so, why?
If every employee is subject to the same or similar requirements due to business necessity, even if from this point forward, if business necessity requires it, and if such requirement applies to all similarly situated employees, the metrics requirements might be legitimate?
Would you be a victim of discrimination if a metrics requirement is uniformly applied for business necessity from this point forward and if so how would you prove that but for your membership in one or more classes you would not have suffered an adverse employment action (if you are transferred, demoted, or fired)?
If you have to work over 40 hours per week don't forget that you are usually entitled to time and a half pay for any hours over 40. Such claims can be very lucrative federal wage and hour claims which include attorneys' fees and can include liquidated damages. Call a labor and employment lawyer if you are not paid for all performed work. In New York, 6 years of unpaid wages in the form of overtime or improperly classified status as a salaried employee can amount to a substantial amount of money plus attorneys' fees and costs. Good luck.
posted Jun 5, 2016 2:11 PM [EST]