New York Law Alert

New York 2023 New Year Update: Paid Family Leave, COVID Vaccination Leave, and Minimum Wages and Salaries The following changes to New York employment law cover employers of all sizes. PAID FAMILY LEAVE EXPANDED TO COVER SIBLINGS Beginning on January 1, 2023, eligible...

Can I require applicants to have a high school diploma?

Answer from Rachel, SHRM-SCP: We recommend that you not require applicants to have a high school diploma unless you can demonstrate that the requirement is job-related and consistent with business necessity. Requiring a diploma when it’s unrelated to the...

What are protected classes or characteristics?

Answer from Kara, JD, SPHR: Protected classes—also known as protected characteristics—come from several federal laws, though about half are from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although we’re usually talking about them with respect to employment, they may...

What Is Discrimination?

A hiring manager, eager to fill an exciting new role in the company, reacquaints himself with a candidate’s resume as that candidate takes a seat across from him. Looking up, the hiring manager jolts involuntarily, surprised to see a gray-haired man likely in his late...

Can we do reference checks for only certain roles?

Answer from Daniel, SHRM-CP: Yes, as long as you’re not discriminating based on protected classes or characteristics, you can conduct reference checks for certain roles but not others. For example, you may decide that supervisory roles or positions with access to...

Can we require employees to do extra work outside their scheduled hours? 

Answer from Sergio, SHRM-CP: Yes, but you have to pay for it. As an employer, you have control over schedules and can modify them as needed. That may mean scheduling additional work time for employees. A few things to note: For nonexempt employees, any extra work time...