Mark A. Konkel

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Firm/Organization: Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
Blogs: Labor Days

Latest Articles

In the first post-Epic Systems decision regarding arbitration agreements, the NLRB has underscored just how pro-arbitration courts and regulators have become. In Cordúa Restaurants, the Board put its stamp of approval on employers revising arbitration provisions even after employees file a claim. In doing so, employers can exercise more control as to how employees must bring their claims and—particularly, as in the case of Cordúa Restaurants, by limiting class and collective actions. FACTS In…
Governor Cuomo signed the groundbreaking harassment legislation that we previously covered here on August 12, 2019. The law profoundly alters the landscape of harassment claims in New York and how employers should be prepared to handle them. Key provisions include eliminating the “severe or pervasive” standard for discriminatory and retaliatory harassment cases, prohibiting mandatory arbitration for all discrimination claims (not just sexual harassment), and banning non-disclosure agreements for all discrimination claims.…
As we reported on June 21, New York blew the lid off 30 years of sexual harassment and discrimination law by passing legislation that, among other things, bars mandatory arbitration of all claims of discrimination. That earthquake was followed by a substantial aftershock: according to a federal court, that provision of the state law doesn’t square with federal law, which specifically permits arbitration of these claims. This latest monkey-wrench was thrown into the gears…
Clichés like “seismic shift” and “paradigm change” do not begin to describe just how profoundly the New York legislature changed the standards for harassment claims in a bill passed June 19. HR professionals and employers beware: the sexual harassment foundation you have known for 30 years—and upon which all your in-house training, HR policies, and legal and HR instincts are built—has just been neatly demolished. Here’s why: A Critical Bit of History Boring history lesson…
Ah, summer: less-demanding schedules, lighter workloads, and a more relaxed work wardrobe. In keeping with the professional reputation of lawyers as killjoys, however, we recommend that HR professionals act more like Aesop’s ants—using the summer to prepare for fall—than the grasshopper, who was so busy partying that he failed to prepare at all. So listen, Grasshopper: savvy HR leaders know to use their summer downtime to set themselves up for success when we all go…
On Monday May 6, 2019, a Florida federal judge denied a strip club’s bid for sanctions against an exotic dancer and her lawyer who filed a so-called “cookie-cutter” Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit, depriving the strip club of the chance to recoup. The next day, on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, a Texas state jury awarded a plaintiff $80 million – of which $75,000,000 was in punitive damages – to a truck driver who fell asleep…
If you’re waiting for a reversal of the trend at the Supreme Court to limit employers’ ability to insist on arbitration instead of litigation, or of the trend limiting class claims, keep waiting. The Supreme Court continues to limit the ability of employees to pursue class arbitration against their employers. The latest salvo—the Court’s decision in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela—comes on the heels of last year’s Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, which…
This is an update to our March 28th post – EEO-1 Reporting Requirements Become More Onerous . . . Maybe. Employers with 100 or more employees, and federal contractors with 50 or more employees, have until September 30, 2019 to file EEO-1 Component 2 pay data for calendar years 2017 and 2018 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). Component 1 demographic data, which includes identification of the number of employees by race, ethnicity,…
The New York City Human Rights Law prohibits employers, housing providers, and providers of public accommodations from discriminating against an individual on the basis of race. The New York City Commission on Human Rights (the “Commission”) issued guidance banning discrimination based on an individual’s hair, specifically the hair and hairstyles traditionally worn by Black people. Last year, the Supreme Court refused to hear a case filed by a Black woman whose job offer was…
For decades, technological innovation has changed our world at a rapid pace. Across industries and departments, businesses have a plethora of new and exciting technology and tools they can utilize to deliver products and services more effectively and efficiently to their customers. This is especially true of today’s human resources department and function. Recent trends have shown an increasing number of technology innovations aimed at HR professionals that offer to help more effectively recruit employees,…