At Will Employment

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In Holahan v. 488 Performance Group, Inc., 2016 NY Slip Op 04311 (App. Div. 1st Dept. June 2, 2016), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s breach-of-employment-contract claim, as well as her claims of unjust enrichment, promissory estoppel, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation. From the decision: Plaintiff’s breach of contract claim, which alleged that the corporate defendant…

Read More Breach of Employment Contract Claim Properly Dismissed
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By now you’ve probably heard/read about Dr. Anjali Ramkissoon, who was caught on a now-viral YouTube video attacking an Uber driver. Reports indicate that her employer, Jackson Health System, has placed her on administrative leave. The video suggests that Dr. Ramkissoon was not working or “on the clock” during the incident. This raises the question of whether, and to what…

Read More Off-Duty Conduct and Termination
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According to one source, four out of 10 employees have dated someone at work. This, according to that article, “makes perfect sense [because] [t]here are more singles in the workforce than ever before, spending more than half their waking hours on the job[ and] [w]ith co-workers there’s a familiarity and commonality, not to mention proximity and…

Read More Love Can Get You Fired: Dating is Not a “Recreational Activity” Within the Meaning of New York’s “Lawful Activities” Law
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Many employers use handbooks or manuals that provide details and instructions to employees regarding the terms and conditions of employment. Under certain limited circumstances, an employment manual/handbook may the source of contractual rights. A recent decision, Kunda v. Caremark PhC, L.L.C., No. 14-CV-6125 JFB AYS, 2015 WL 4768817 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 13, 2015), addresses the issue. In that case, the…

Read More CVS’ Employment Handbook Was Not a Contract, Court Holds
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In Cruz v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., the Second Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a bank officer’s claim of breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The court cited the rule of “at will employment” in New York and its narrow exception, based on the New York Court of Appeals’ decision…

Read More Bank Officer Not Entitled to Invoke Narrow Exception to “At Will” Employment Rule
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In Gookool v. Laser, 2014 NY Slip Op 50906(U) [43 Misc 3d 1232(A)], the New York Supreme Court, Suffolk County dismissed plaintiff’s national origin discrimination claims. Plaintiff asserted that the defendant engaged in unlawful employment discrimination by requiring him to perform certain work tasks in addition to his other job responsibilities. Even assuming this was true, he failed to…

Read More National Origin Discrimination Claims Dismissed in Light of Terms of Employment
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In Brown v. Daikin America, the Second Circuit (in an opinion dated June 27, 2014) held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged that his direct employer and its Japanese parent engaged in national origin and race discrimination under Title VII and NYS Human Rights Law claims. While this decision arises in the context of defendants’ motion to…

Read More White American Plaintiff Successfully Pleads Race and National Origin Discrimination Claims Against His U.S. Employer and its Japanese Parent
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So-called “at-will” employees in New York can be fired for any reason or no reason (just not an illegal reason, such as discrimination because of a protected characteristic). This rule applies even if, for example, the employer gives verbal assurances of job security. This principle was recently applied in Presler v Domestic & Foreign Missionary Socy.…

Read More Employee’s At-Will Status Precludes Her Claims Against Her Employer
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In Hanifan v Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft, a federal court recently granted summary judgment for a defendant employer, holding that the company handbook did not create a an enforceable contractual prohibition against retaliation for violating the handbooks’ terms. This decision confirms the narrow circumstances under which an employee handbook creates contractual rights justifying a deviation…

Read More Employer Handbook Did Not Create Contractual Rights
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