September 1, 2020

Too Early Retirement

For some, early retirement is a chance to do something else, to spend more time with family, or pursue a passion put off by work.  But for others, early retirement, also known by the euphemistic “involuntary separation,” has been an unwelcome occurrence and reminder of people’s status within the workforce, and this trend has been increasing in recent times. Now, this year, as many businesses shed jobs in a cost-saving effort related to the pandemic, employers are using the pandemic as an excuse to force early retirement on employees reports the New York Times.

According to economists the once vaunted “experience” of older employees resulted in higher salaries and greater security. But this has been eroding in the face of a changing economy and a lack of enforcement of age-related employment discrimination laws. This trend has accelerated rapidly since March when the pandemic forced many companies to cut costs, shift to remote work, or shut down completely. Indeed, since March, according to figures, almost 3 million workers between 55 and 70 have left the job market and are not seeking work, with another million projected to follow suit by the end of the year. Researchers say this is twice the rate departure from the job market that the same age cohort experienced during the 2007-2009 recession.

As we’ve noted time and again, unemployment has been particularly devastating to women and people of color and older workers in those groups are experiencing great difficulty with many raiding their savings or retirement funds just to pay rent or buy groceries. Additionally, older workers in some industries, such as hospitality, construction, and education have seen significant job loss. When you add on top of this the tremendous burden of weighing health against employment, older workers are in a uniquely fraught position.



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Employees in New York State Given Leave for Vaccination

April 1, 2021
Leave
All public and private employees in New York may use paid time off to receive Covid-19 vaccinations. According to the language of the bill, employees are eligible for up to four hours of excused leave for each injection they receive. This excused leave does not affect any other accrued leave an employee might have already.

Cuomo’s Textbook Violations of His Own Sexual Harassment Law

March 29, 2021
Sexual Harassment
Governor Cuomo, who boasted that “we are sending a strong message that time is up on sexual harassment in the workplace” doesn’t appear to have thought his own message applied to him. Read all about it in Senior Associate Alex Berke’s piece “Cuomo’s Textbook Violations of His Own Sexual Harassment Law” in the Daily Beast.

Berke-Weiss Law PLLC Releases Training Video Focused on Family and Medical Leave

March 22, 2021
Paid Family Leave
If you need to brush up on FMLA and other questions pertaining to leave, including how FMLA works with New York State Paid Family Leave, we have a new training video from an event with Park Slope Parents that provides answers to many issues about family and medical leave and what you need to know.

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