On March 13, 2013, the New York City Council passed new legislation (814-A), that will prohibit employers from basing employment decisions on a job applicant\u2019s unemployed status and prohibit employers from posting in job advertisements that current employment is a job requirement or that unemployed applicants should not apply.\u00a0 The law is set to take effect on June 11, 2013.<\/p>\n
Under the new legislation, an employer, with at least four employees, cannot base a hiring decision of a job applicant on their unemployed status unless they have a substantially job-related reason for doing so.\u00a0 \u201cUnemployed\u201d is defined as individuals \u201cnot having a job, being available for work, and seeking employment.\u201d\u00a0 Examples of a substantially job-related reason are, but not limited to:\u00a0 an employer can consider whether an applicant has a current or valid professional license; a certificate, permit or other credential; or a minimum level of education or training.<\/p>\n
Additionally, all employers, regardless their size, are prohibited from publishing any advertisement that contains any indication that being currently employed is a qualification or that unemployed applicants will not be considered.<\/p>\n
An individual who believes he or she has been unlawfully discriminated against based on their unemployed status will be able to file a private action in court for damages, injunctive relief and other appropriate remedies or make a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.\u00a0 The Commission will have the authority to order the employer to stop discriminatory practices, require discriminated applicants be hired and subject the employer to penalties if they fail to comply with the Commission\u2019s orders.<\/p>\n
New York City\u2019s unemployment rate far exceeds the national average.\u00a0 Screening out job applicants based on employment status prevents well-qualified individuals from applying for jobs or gaining employment.\u00a0 Please contact the employment lawyers at Fitapelli & Schaffer, (212) 300-0375, to schedule a free consultation so that we can discuss your rights under this new legislation as well as your rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On March 13, 2013, the New York City Council passed new legislation (814-A), that will prohibit employers from basing employment decisions on a job applicant\u2019s unemployed status and prohibit employers from posting in job advertisements that current employment is a job requirement or that unemployed applicants should not apply.\u00a0 The law is set to take effect on June 11, 2013.
\nUnder the new legislation, an employer, with at least four employees, cannot base a hiring decision of a job applicant …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-employment-law"],"yoast_head":"\n