2016 is here and as the calendar turns it brings with it new changes in state laws and regulations.
\nThere have been numerous changes in federal and state employment laws that are slated to begin on Jan. 1, 2016. However, whether you are an employer or an employee, you should be informed how these new laws will impact your place of employment. Along with the new year, 2016 brings many changes for those who work in New York.\u00a0 Those changes are set to take happen very soon and in some instances, they have already taken affect. The employment law attorneys here at the Derek Smith Law Group has listed a few of the changes set to take effect this month.<\/p>\n
As of December 31, 2015, the minimum wage increased from $8.75 per hour to $9 per hour for non-fast food workers and fast-food workers received an increase of $9.75 per hour. According to the NY Labor Department, the minimum wage for all workers in the state is due to an increase of $1 annually, until $14.50 in 2020 and $15 per hour in 2021. If your employer is not paying you a legal minimum wage contact the wage and hour violation lawyers at the Derek Smith Law Group for a free consultation.<\/p>\n
Aside from changes in the minimum wage, other measures being carried out include sexual harassment amendments.\u00a0 Previously if a woman had been the victim of sexual harassment in a workplace where her employer had fewer than 4 employees, she did not have any recourse. The reason why was because under the state and federal law, those small companies were exempt from having any liability.
\nIn many instances, there were \u201cmom and pop shops\u201d which consisted of stores, small restaurants, doctors or dentists offices.\u00a0 More than 60% of employers are private, having less than 4 employees, which equated to many women not being entitled to justice as victims of sexual harassment.
\nAs of now that has changed.\u00a0 Under the Women\u2019s Equality Act, NY State Human Rights Law complaints for sexual harassment can be brought against the company regardless of how many people are working in the office.<\/p>\n
Regulations that are set to take effect as of January 19 involve harsher penalties for those who are involved in human trafficking and more assistance for the victims. Additional laws will keep employers from paying less money to their workers based on gender\u00a0or refusing promotions to someone on the basis of family status.<\/p>\n
Further discrimination laws against pregnant women mean that pregnant workers will need to be accommodated for conditions relating to the pregnancy unless doing so would create an undue hardship.\u00a0 As stated by the law:\u00a0 \u201cEmployees may require a stool to sit on, extra restroom breaks, transfer away from hazardous duties, a temporary reprieve from heavy lifting, or a reasonable time for child-birth recovery.\u201dIf you have been exposed to pregnancy discrimination in the workplace contact our pregnancy discrimination lawyers in\u00a0New York City, New Jersey and Philadelphia for a free consultation today.<\/p>\n
Mothers who recently gave birth have the right to take reasonable, unpaid breaks at work to pump breast milk for up to three years. The companies who employ them are obligated to supply reasonable accommodations for those mothers so that they can privately pump. Furthermore the employee cannot be discriminated against for doing so.<\/p>\n
Protection for domestic violence victims against housing discrimination will also be included.\u00a0 All of these laws were designated under the women\u2019s equality act, passed by lawmakers last year.\u00a0 The lawmakers in New York had felt as though they had missed the mark on advocating for women and women\u2019s rights. No one should have to work in a hostile job environment. Derek Smith Law Group attorneys are\u00a0passionate about fighting for employment law rights. 2016 is here and as the calendar turns it brings with it new changes in state laws and regulations. There have been numerous changes in federal and state employment laws that are slated to begin on Jan. 1, 2016. However, whether you are an employer or an employee, you should be informed how these new … Continue reading “Sexual Harassment, Minimum Wage Changes: How These Laws May Affect You”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29,4,7,9,11,15],"tags":[105,106,107,108,109,110,111,53,112],"class_list":["post-834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-employment-discrimination","category-employment-law","category-new-jersey-lawyer","category-new-york-city-lawyer","category-philadelphia-lawyer","category-wage-hour-violations","tag-2016-changes-in-new-york-laws","tag-domestic-violence","tag-human-trafficking","tag-minimum-wage","tag-new-york-city-employment-attorneys","tag-nursing-mothers","tag-pregnancy-discrimination","tag-sexual-harassment","tag-wage-inequality"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.discriminationandsexualharassmentlawyers.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.discriminationandsexualharassmentlawyers.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.discriminationandsexualharassmentlawyers.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.discriminationandsexualharassmentlawyers.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.discriminationandsexualharassmentlawyers.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.discriminationandsexualharassmentlawyers.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.discriminationandsexualharassmentlawyers.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.discriminationandsexualharassmentlawyers.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.discriminationandsexualharassmentlawyers.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAccording to the New York State Assembly, the New York Women’s Agenda will tear down obstructions of injustice that have been preserving unfair acts of discrimination and gender inequality for years.
\nNow that the state has taken a large step to rectify the issues surrounding the lack of fair balance between women and men, it is important for women who have been treated unfairly and who are being subjected to work in a hostile job environment<\/a>, to come forward and stand up to correct the situation.<\/p>\nContact Our Employment Attorneys For a Free Consultation<\/h2>\n
\nIf you or someone you know is a victim of discrimination, sexual harassment or working in a hostile job environment, then you should contact us\u00a0at 800-807-2209 for a free consultation to discuss your possible claim. Our attorneys are available to review your claims and prepare a solid case to recover the damages and justice you deserved.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"