Practice Areas

Kristine Sova provides an array of labor and employment legal services in a variety of industries across both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Her labor and employment legal services are listed below. Click any section to read more.

New York State Requires Reasonable Accommodation for Victims of Domestic Violence

Come November 18, 2019, employers in New York State must grant employees who are victims of domestic violence with reasonable time off as an accommodation in order to: seek medical attention for injuries caused by domestic violence, including for a child who is the victim of domestic violence; obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, … Read more

As Election Day Approaches, Don’t Forget About New York’s New Voting Leave Law

This past spring, New York’s election laws were amended to provide for an additional hour of paid time off from work to vote. Previously, New York employers only had to provide employees with up to two hours of paid time off from work to vote and only if employees did not have sufficient time to … Read more

New York’s Expanded Pay Equity Law Goes into Effect on October 8

New York has long prohibited unequal pay for unequal work based on sex.  However, come October 8, 2019, New York employers will also be prohibited from paying employees who are a member of one or more protected classes (no longer limited to sex) at a lesser rate than employees outside the protected class or classes … Read more

Notice and Policy Requirements for New York Employers without Employee Handbooks

For one reason or another, there are a number of employers that don’t have an employee handbook. Usually it is because they are too new a business with too few employees to justify having one, or they consider handbooks oppressive documents that employees never read anyway. It’s not the subject of this post, so I … Read more

The Who, What, When and How of Sexual Harassment Training in New York and NYC

Much has been written about the sexual harassment training now required for New York and NYC employers as a result of the #MeToo movement. The requirements, however, differ slightly for each jurisdiction.  Here is a cheat sheet to the Who, What, When and How of the requirements under both laws. Who? All employees must be … Read more

Federal WARN Act Allows Three Exceptions (But Notice Must Still Be Given)

The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act offers protection to workers and their families by requiring employers to provide 60 days’ notice to the employees and certain specified government agencies and officials in advance of covered mass layoffs and plant/office closings. An employer who violates the WARN notice requirements is liable to each … Read more

NYC Places Additional Obligations on Employers to Accommodate Nursing Mothers

In a prior post, we discussed how to draft a lactation break policy to accommodate nursing mothers and comply with federal and New York state law. Come March 18, NYC will place two additional obligations on NYC employers. The new obligations build upon existing New York state law, which currently requires covered employers to provide … Read more

2019: A Quick Look at the Year Ahead for NYC Employers

As 2018 wraps up, it’s time to take a quick look at some of the changes New York City employers should expect in the year ahead. Minimum Wage Increases On December 31, 2018, New York’s minimum wage will increase as follows: NYC – Large Employers (of 11 or more) – $15.00/hour NYC – Small Employers … Read more

Inclement Weather Considerations for New York Employers

Snow will soon be here and employers will have to make decisions about whether to close, keep regular hours, allow some or all employees to work from home, or have a delayed opening. The considerations from a labor and employment law perspective, as always, are many. We discuss some of them below. Safety The most important factor … Read more

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