The Labor and Employment Podcast Barclay Damon LLP

Lee Jacobs and Rosemary Enright discuss overtime rules and exemptions, assuring listeners that if they’re following
New York law, they are in compliance with the new federal overtime rules. They further address confusion surrounding the salary threshold and pay frequency, explaining the three main exemptions: executive, administrative, and professional. With their characteristic detail and real-life examples, Lee and Rosemary emphasize the importance of meeting all the criteria for each exemption, including duties and salary thresholds. They also discuss the increase in exemption thresholds
and provide guidance on how to navigate the changes. So much to talk about! Stay tuned for part two.

 

Longtime host Ari Kwiatkowski is back, fittingly from
maternity leave, to discuss the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)
regulations. The PWFA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations
for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, and associated conditions.
In this solo episode, Ari provides an overview of the law, its requirements, and
what constitute known limitations, qualified employees, and reasonable
accommodations. The episode also covers lactation accommodations as well
as a current lawsuit against the EEOC.

In this continuation of Lee Jacobs’s and Rosemary Enright’s
conversation on offboarding, the co-hosts’ topics include the importance of sending timely notices of termination and unemployment insurance forms to terminated employees. They maintain that employers should refrain from providing written reasons for termination, and they discuss the different processes for voluntary and involuntary terminations as well as considerations for terminating
contracted employees. Again using the example of a fictitious employee based on themselves, Lee and Rosemary provide helpful offboarding scenarios. Listen in to learn more.

Lee Jacobs and Rosemary Enright discuss the importance of
employee offboarding and provide guidance on how to effectively navigate the process. The conversation highlights the risks of not having a formal offboarding policy that considers data security and ensures a smooth transition,
whether the employee is leaving voluntarily or not. They discuss the importance of having clear policies in place and communicated to employees in advance and the payout of accrued vacation and sick time. Exit interviews are a good
practice, both to gather feedback and to address potential issues. Rosemary and Lee conclude by reminding employers to send a notice of termination and that they are legally required to provide information on filing for unemployment
benefits.

Resources for this episode:


Notice of Eligibility for UI Benefits


Notices to Employees

In this ongoing, in-depth conversation, Lee Jacobs and
Rosemary Enright get further into “the minutia” and related topics of employee onboarding. In part 3, they cover the importance of job applications and descriptions, offer letters, and employment agreements—once again emphasizing customizing to the organization’s specific needs. They also discuss contracts and agreements, hospitality tips and tip pooling, uniform acknowledgments, direct deposit, cashless bans, the New York City commuter benefits form, training and certificates, and notices and posters. If you’re following along, stay tuned for future episodes on topics like offboarding and the right time and way to conduct workplace investigations.

In this in-depth conversation, Lee Jacobs and Rosemary
Enright get into “the minutia,” covering the importance of using the correct forms and documents during the employee onboarding process. They emphasize the potential legal consequences of not providing the wage acknowledgement form, among other forms, and the importance of ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations.