The 40-hour week has been a standard of American working conditions for decades. In reality, just about everyone has gone over that mark at one point or another, putting in 45, 50, maybe even 60 or more hours each week.
How common is age discrimination?
Workers in New York benefit from two sets of laws. The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against workers who are 40 or older. State regulations, meanwhile, protect all adults – not just older workers – from age discrimination at their place of employment.
Multiple avenues exist for reporting sexual harassment
Victims of sexual misconduct now have a louder voice because of the MeToo movement. As countless figureheads in a variety of industries have been called out for their inappropriate behavior, it has encouraged many others to fight back against their workplace harassers.
Unfortunately, there are still some who feel hesitant disclosing their mistreatment to Human Resources. That's because they fear the department may ignore their complaints, especially if it's against an influential figure in the company. According to a study, 75% of victims said they experienced retaliation after reporting their mistreatment at work.
Luckily, there are other methods employees can use to get their message across.
New York education department is revising sexual abuse guidelines
Fighting widespread sexual harassment may only be a few decades old as a legal tradition, but the harassment has been around for a lot longer. Fortunately, things have progressed from the days of casual comments and touching around the office. But many of the remaining unacceptable behaviors have become harder to spot
Allegations of sexual assault and harassment within New York City's education department has caused a new look at its policies to prevent and address problems for employees and others. Children and adults alike appear to be at risk enough for new guidelines to be introduced.
Two new laws may help correct New York’s wage gaps
The idea of equal pay for equal work sounds simple enough, but the reality has always been something else. There have long been glaring wage gaps between workers of different genders and different races. Fortunately, two new laws may soon push the state toward greater equality.
The state’s lawmakers recently took aim at two different wage concerns. One law bans employers across the state from asking about potential employees’ salary histories. The second law bans employers from paying people different wages based on an expanded number of protected classes, and this second law has now gone into effect.
What can we learn from Google employees' recent actions?
We’ve all come to know Google, the ubiquitous search engine and tech giant that came to the forefront in the late 1990s. Google profiles many stores[SS1] across the globe, attracting users to stories affecting individuals in all walks of life. However, the tech giant has been at the forefront of its own internal news buzz in recent days.
How New York's GENDA law affects employment
Earlier this year, the New York State Senate passed the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA). The act prohibits employers from discriminating, harassing, or retaliating against employees or job applicants on the basis of gender identity or expression. This is defined as:
"A person's actual or perceived gender-related identity, appearance, behavior, expression, or other gender-related characteristic regardless of the sex assigned to that person at birth, including, but not limited to, the status of being transgender."
As the cultural climate shifts, people are becoming more accepting of gender non-conforming people. However, there are those out there who don't understand and will attempt to discriminate against them. If you are gender non-conforming, you have likely experienced some sort prejudice or discrimination before.
Recourse options for injured New York construction workers
A man lost his life in the recent collapse of a building under construction in the Bronx and two more were seriously injured. It was a grim reminder that the construction industry has recently become New York City's deadliest profession. But why?
According to The New York Times, the worker who died was nonunion. The Times indicates that nonunion workers make up 92% of all construction site fatalities in New York.
New York bans natural hair discrimination
New York recently became the second state to ban hair discrimination. On July 12, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that adds new protections to the state's Human Rights Law, as well as the Dignity for All Students Act.
The governor's press release explained why the law is important. Rules that focus on hairstyles have long marginalized people of color, especially women. And as Governor Cuomo said, the law marks "an important step toward [...] ensuring people of color are protected from all forms of discrimination."
Data shows CEOs increasingly being fired for sexual misconduct
The #MeToo movement has significantly raised awareness and public discussion about sexual harassment and assault in all areas of life - including the workplace. There have been similar periods of heightened awareness and discussion in the past, resulting in marginal changes. But one of the biggest differences about the #MeToo movement so far is that it has brought down some of the richest and most powerful men in the worlds of entertainment and business.
A recent news report from National Public Radio cites a study from auditing firm PwC. The study revealed that in 2018, personal misconduct was the leading cause of CEO firing at the highest-profile public companies. This is unprecedented, and seems to indicate that sexual harassment is finally being recognized and punished among the leadership of major companies.
