Author: New York Employment Law Letter

New York City freelancer law to take effect May 15

by Zach Morahan and Shannon Kane New York City’s new “Freelance Isn’t Free Act,” which goes into effect May 15, requires written contracts for many freelance jobs worth $800 or more and provides for stiff monetary remedies if the hiring party tries to avoid paying the freelancer for work performed. Under the new law, a […]

Unwritten rules cause uncertainty in sports and at work

Anyone who follows sports, even on a casual basis, has heard about “unwritten rules.” But the problem with unwritten rules is that sometimes they can be subject to different interpretations and standards. This is because, well, the obvious reason that they aren’t written down for everyone to see.  Take the baseball series this past weekend […]

Effective decision making requires two brain systems

by Dan Oswald As a business leader, it’s likely you’re continually looking for ways to make better decisions. If so, you might want to take a look at the book Thinking Fast and Slow by Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman. Kahneman’s book is an interesting look into how people think and make decisions and the […]

Surprising pro-employer decisions on post-employment restrictive covenants

by Kyla Stott-Jess and Stefan Mirkovic Employers often place great faith in restrictive covenants to protect their assets when hiring key employees. In Canada however, noncompetition clauses have generally been very difficult to enforce outside of the context of a sale of business. Nonsolicitation clauses have also been carefully scrutinized by judges even though they […]

New methods + new thinking = new day for performance management

Nearly everyone has opinions—and complaints—about performance management. The annual performance review in which employee and supervisor fill out a form and sit down for a talk is rapidly going out of style. Although that system addresses an employee’s strengths and weaknesses and may even include a discussion of goals for the future, it’s increasingly seen […]

With Age Comes Expertise: How to Keep Older Employees on the Job

In the 2015 film, The Intern, Robert De Niro plays an 80-year-old widower who discovers that he’s bored with retirement and becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site. In true Hollywood fashion, he becomes the hero of the day and rescues the company’s thirtysomething founder, both in terms of her professional and personal […]

DOL to address overtime rules by June 30

A federal court of appeals has granted the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) its third extension in defending a lawsuit challenging new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime regulations. A lower court temporarily enjoined the rules last year, and the Obama administration appealed that order. Now the Trump administration must decide whether to continue with […]

Pick me! Pick me! NFL draft lessons for HR

The NFL draft is fast approaching, and with it comes the multiple prognostications and mock drafts that try to divine which teams will try to link up with the which talent coming out of the college ranks. Each team will compile exhaustive profiles on which player prospects fit their urgent needs. Fans will hang on […]

America’s Workforce is Aging, and That Could Be Good News

It’s true, none of us is getting any younger. But what’s especially interesting is that our workforce is becoming significantly older. In fact, it’s projected that by the year 2030, the number of people 65 years or older in the U.S. will represent 20% of the U.S. population, and many of them will still be […]

A little compassion would have gone a long way for United Airlines

by Dan Oswald Imagine you own a restaurant. It’s a small, cozy place that caters to families and has a great reputation not only for the food but also for the atmosphere. One evening, a customer comes in and orders that night’s special. When his entrée arrives, he takes issue first with the temperature and […]