Laura Brandt - The Retail Lawyer
Post COVID Re-Hiring Employees
** For General Information Purposes Only. This Is Not Legal Advice. **
As employers began coping with the COVID pandemic, decisions needed to be made as to how business operations could continue, if at all. Across the board, employees were furloughed or laid off. For many business all but a handful of employees were let go. For other businesses (those able to pivot under the new conditions), an assessment should have been done to determine which employees would be let go and which employees would remain on payroll. Part of this assessment should have been a disparate impact study to validate that the business decisions made were not discriminatory. Now that communities and businesses are reopening, in order to avoid discrimination claims, the same disparate impact study should be conducted as rehiring decisions are made.
Protected Classes Generally:
Federal:
Sex, race, age, disability, color, creed, national origin, religion, or genetic information
NYS:
Age, Creed, Disability, Domestic violence victim status, Gender identity or expression, Familial status, Marital status, Military status, National origin, Predisposing genetic characteristics, Pregnancy-related condition, Prior arrest or conviction record, Race/color, Sex, Sexual orientation, Retaliation for opposing unlawful discriminatory practices
NYC:
Age, Alienage or citizenship status, Color, Disability, Gender (including sexual harassment), Gender Identity, Marital status and partnership status, National origin, Pregnancy and Lactation, Accommodations, Race, Religion/Creed, Sexual orientation, Status as a Veteran or Active Military Service Member, Arrest or conviction record, Caregiver, Credit history, Pre-employment Marijuana Testing, Unemployment status, Sexual and Reproductive Health Decisions, Salary History, Status as a victim of domestic violence, stalking, and sex offenses
Quick Link for YouTube Video of Laura Brandt talking about Post COVID Re-Hiring Employees:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKFKSokrO-4
