New York Employment Attorneys Blog

Recently, a Judge ruled against Starbucks for their firing of pro-Union employees, and attempting to silence any discussion of organizing. The ruling which came in December 2006, stems from the managers conduct who had fired employees who supported the union, prohibited discussion of organizing during work while other non-work conversation was allowed and limited the number of pieces of pro-Union paraphernalia an employee could wear and more.

The court ruled that the retail coffee chain must rehire the affected workers and give back pay. Part of the ruling stated that Starbucks must stop discriminating against workers who were union supporters.

However, The Gothamist reported last week that there where protests at multiple Starbucks outlets around the city, claiming that more pro-union employees had been laid off in retaliation for their involvement with unions, complicating the ruling that had come in December. The protesters stated that Starbucks is back to its old behavior of firing workers involved with unions, while giving false reasons for their termination.

In New York State it is illegal for an employer to discriminate based upon union organizing and involvement. If you have been terminated for, or believe to have been terminated for involvement regarding and surrounding a union, you should contact an employment attorney to evaluate your options.

A Washington Post article published on Feb. 12th highlights the increasing trend of employers contesting claims for unemployment benefits by their former employees. The article states that as more and more employers are shedding the number of employees, more claims are being challenged to avoid paying higher rates to state unemployment funds.

Otherwise eligible employees- those that were laid off without cause, are finding their claims challenged much more frequently than before. Employers often contest the eligibility of benefits on the grounds that the employee had quit. Other times, employers end up digging through employees personal records to find any point of contention that can lead to a disapproval of benefits.

Moreover, employers are often bring in third party companies to deal with unemployment insurance administration that tend to side with with employers trying to block claims from former employees. One such company, TALX, claims that it saved employers "over $6 billion in unemployment claims liability annually," showing the desire of companies to trim operating costs wherever they may be, even at the expense of employees

. The article highlights the case of a man who had worked for Gaylord Hotels as an electrician who was ultimately fired. His claim for benefits was contested by his former employer, and as such, a hearing was scheduled. The company, upon learning a Washington Post reporter was going to attend, withdrew it contesting of the claim in an attempt to prevent potentially damaging public relations effects of such a move.

Around the country, countless businesses and industries are shedding employees as the economic crisis continues to deepen. Unemployment figures now stand at a staggering 7.2 percent, with new layoffs coming everyday. The recession has affected Microsoft who recently announced that it would be laying off nearly 5,000 workers.

New York State is not sheltered from the storm mirroring the nationwide rates at 7 percent, up from 6 percent in December and from 4.8 percent in December of 2007. The New York Times has reported that this is the single largest climb in jobless rates in the 32 year history of the state tracking of such statistics. Adding to this downturn, the article states that private jobs had decreased by 8,000, while normal growth adds around 20,000 private jobs a month.

Additionally, Governor Patterson has recently sought more federal money to ensure that the unemployment benefits will continue uninterrupted, along with money for other essential social services.

Patterson, who asked for upwards of 10 billion dollars from the new Obama administration, hopes to use these funds to continue projects to repair the economy, as well as begin to fill in the massive budget gap that plagues New York. These funds can also prevent an increased tax burden and taking pressure off of New York state residents.

Responding to this increased need, the state has authorized an additional 13 weeks of benefits for those individuals currently on unemployment, and will become available on February 13th of this year. Many analysts predict that this will further burden the already overloaded system, making long term job creation a high priority

A recent New York Times article published on January 30th looks at the rise in employment discrimination suits that have arisen with the waves of corporate layoffs across the country. The article links the layoffs seen in the banking and corporate world with an upturn in individuals filing for EEOC complaints and seeking the advice of employment attorney's.

In particular, the article notes the rise in employees filing claims stating that their rights of the WARN act had been violated. The WARN act or the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, is a Federal Labor law that aims to protect workers from being laid off by their employers without at least sixty days notice of termination and plant closures. For many of these companies that have gone under, like Lehman Brothers, adequate time notice was not given in many cases and has resulted in class action lawsuits.

As well, the overall economic downturn has resulted in many individuals re-evaluating the situations surrounding their termination and exploring their legal options. The 2005 expansion of the rights of elderly workers has made it so that plaintiffs must not prove that employment decisions were directed intentionally at elder workers, but that it simply had a disparate effect on that group of employees, further increasing claims against employers.

These factors, coupled with new labor laws and the Obama administrations willingness to act vigorously on behalf of the rights of workers signals the fact that more and more claims will be made.