The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program (PUA) is a temporary federal program that provides up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits for individuals impacted by the pandemic. This program provides benefits to those individuals who are not eligible for regular...
Kessler Matura P.C. Blog
Coronavirus and Your Rights in the Workplace
The coronavirus outbreak is having a dramatic effect on work throughout the country, and in particular, here in New York. Kessler Matura wants to make sure you are aware of your employment rights. We have prepared a fact sheet explaining how federal, state, and local...
Employment laws apply to all, no matter their age
Many teenagers seek work to obtain experience or even earn extra money during the school year, or perhaps when they come home from college. Often, teens find their first job in the retail or food service industry.However, neither a teen’s job nor age means they...
New state law is a step forward against wage discrimination
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires employers to pay workers the same, regardless of their gender. Even though this law has been in effect for years, many female employees still make only an average of 82% of what their male counterparts do.However, a new law could be...
Termination case shines a light on disability discrimination
Everyone deserves to live free of discrimination. Unfortunately, discrimination is still rampant in society, especially in the workplace. This is even despite the state and federal laws that protect employees.A recent New York case demonstrates just how dangerous...
New federal overtime pay rule goes into effect
The U.S. Labor Department's new compensation rules took effect on New Year's Day, extending overtime pay to 1.3 million American workers, according to the agency. The new rule raises the overtime pay requirement for so-called non-exempt workers to $35,568. New...
I worked overtime: Should I have been paid time-and-a-half?
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. There are laws in place to protect many...
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...
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...
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...
