WSNYC Blog: The Latest in Employment Law

Currently, in the United States, 18 states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, but in some instances that does not absolve employees from yielding a positive result during drug testing for marijuana use. However, in New York, Governor Cuomo signed into effect the Cannabis/Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act in March of this year (2021), which provides certain protections for recreational marijuana users.

What New Drug Testing Policy Means for Employees

The Act amends Section 201-d of New York Labor Law, which

In an article published on The City, a Lab Firm located in New York is currently facing a lawsuit for allegedly mistreating and racially discriminating against its Chinese employees. The claims were made by six Chinese phlebotomists, all women, who were hired by BioReference Laboratories to perform a series of medical tasks at labs located throughout the city. The six employees, who are being represented by the Legal Aid Society, expressed that the tasks they were asked to complete were

Estée Laundry, a beauty account on Instagram, recently posted a series of stories submitted by former employees of L’Oréal. These employees from L’Oréal locations all across the world shared their negative experiences with the company. One anonymous user wrote, “I worked for L’Oréal for over a decade and witnessed countless examples of misogyny, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, burn out, and toxic bullying.” Several former employees also pointed to the discrepancy between the way L’Oréal prides itself on its commitment to

In January 2021, the New York City Council amended the Fair Chance Act, also known as the “Ban the Box” law. These amendments expanded protections designed to defend job applicants from discrimination based on criminal records and pending criminal convictions. 36 states and more than 150 cities and countries have “Ban the Box” laws that are continually evolving to help ex-offenders find work.  

What is the “Ban the Box” Law? 

The “Ban the Box” Law, or the Fair Chance Act, allows for

Attorneys Hajar Hasani and Rachel Haskell were mentioned in a recent Law360 article about our firm’s federal discrimination case filed on behalf of Brandon Padgett, a former paralegal at Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson LLP. Padgett has accused the company of discrimination based on his non-binary gender identity and military status. While working at the firm, he was referred to as “Beyonce” by another employee. After Padgett reported this comment to Human Resources, the company organized a sexual harassment training session

The Amazon Flex program began in 2015 as a way for the company to handle the surge of package deliveries it was facing. Similar to Uber, drivers can work on their own schedule and use their own vehicle to deliver packages. Flex drivers are not employees of Amazon; rather, they are classified as independent contractors. The program is attractive to many because it offers a flexible work schedule and promises a rate of at least $18 an hour. Drivers use