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 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
In two prior posts (Top Myths About Hiring Independent Contractors and More Myths About Hiring Independent Contractors), we identified six common misconceptions about the use of independent contractors, each of which continues to result in the misclassification of independent contractors by employers. Here, we identify two more common misconceptions about independent contractors that almost always lead to … Read more
A common way for employers to boost employee morale and promote team building is to host non-work related recreational activities, such as sports teams and bowling events. While most employers are mindful of the potential for workers’ compensation and negligence liabilities for injuries occurring during these events, the overwhelming majority of employers do not know … Read more
A variation of this post appeared on my website a number of years ago following the initial wave of unpaid intern lawsuits that were filed in New York in 2011 and 2012. One of the questions that presented itself as a result of those lawsuits was: What’s the appropriate test for an unpaid internship? In … Read more
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
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
Have you heard of “spread of hours” pay, “split shift” pay, and “call-in” pay? Don’t be surprised if you haven’t. New York has three extra pay requirements that aren’t found in the New York Labor Law, but rather in industry-specific wage orders promulgated by the Commissioner of Labor. The result is that some of the … Read more
In late May, the Supreme Court upheld the lawfulness of class action waivers in arbitration agreements (Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 584 U.S. ____ (2018)). This means that employers are free to not only require employees to sign an agreement mandating that all of their employment disputes go to binding, private arbitration rather than courts, … Read more
Federal and New York law both require covered employers to provide reasonable unpaid break time to nursing mothers to express breast milk. Federal law mandates that the breaks be provided for one year following child birth, and New York law mandates that the breaks be provided for three years following child birth. These requirements beg … Read more
On May 4, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law an amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law that now restricts employers in New York City, with four or more employees, from inquiring into a prospective employee’s salary history during the interview and hiring process. The restriction is part of a growing … Read more
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In addition, please be advised that the transmission of information via this website or by e-mail does not establish an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship with the Law Office of Kristine A. Sova is not established until and unless the Law Office of Kristine A. Sova agrees to such a relationship in a separate written document.
If you are not a current client of the Law Office of Kristine A. Sova, please do not include any information in this e-mail that you or someone else considers to be of a confidential or secret nature. The Law Office of Kristine A. Sova has no duty to keep confidential any of the information you provide.
In addition, please be advised that the transmission of information via this website or by e-mail does not establish an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship with the Law Office of Kristine A. Sova is not established until and unless the Law Office of Kristine A. Sova agrees to such a relationship in a separate written document.