August 11, 2020

New York State Human Rights Law Invoked in Sexual Harassment Arbitration Case

A split has appeared in how to handle sexual harassment cases with a New York trial judge ruling recently that the state’s Human Rights Law prevents companies and employees from entering arbitration over sexual harassment. This contradicts an earlier ruling in New York’s Southern District where a judge ruled that arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) supersedes New York’s statutory prohibition against arbitration. 

There is a useful summary of the most recent decision at Mintz, but the quick takeaways are that when statutory law changed in 2018, which allowed plaintiffs to seek relief in court rather than through arbitration, employers, even those who had previous employment agreements that stipulated arbitration, were arguably no longer able to seek arbitration under the FAA laws; furthermore, the judge argued that any mandatory arbitration clauses were invalidated by the new state law. 

Confounding matters further, in February another trial judge in New York ruled that changes in the law do not invalidate previous arbitration agreements. At the moment, it remains unclear whether employers’ mandatory arbitration clauses regarding sexual harassment complaints are valid any longer. As there are sure to be appeals, this is a case we will be watching.

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Another Tough School Year on the Horizon

August 23, 2021
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The Delta variant impact has been felt, including by parents who were relying on schools being open for in-person sessions this fall. After a year and a half of stop-start at schools, the fall semester is already being hampered with many schools having to close or quarantine significant portions of their population. This is especially bad news as there has been little headway made by legislators or the private sector in finding ways to provide parents with paid leave to deal with care-related emergencies, most notably by the sudden closure of schools.

Remote Work May Impact Career Advancement

August 18, 2021
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There are few silver linings to be found in the last 20 months. But one bright spot has been the expansion of remote work as an option. The flexibility remote work offers is also a boon to companies competing for workers. However, as companies expand their work-from-home policies, they need to be mindful of how it can affect office culture and promotions.

Alex Berke Quoted in Law 360 Piece on the Cuomo Sexual Misconduct Fallout

August 4, 2021
Sexual Harassment
Alex Berke quoted in Law360 Article, “Cuomo Sexual Misconduct Report A Road Map For Lawsuits.”

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