Kristin Klein Wheaton, Author at Professional Liability Matters

August 20, 2018 Employment Practices Liability

NY Comes Down Hard On Student Hazing

On August 13, 2018, New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed an anti-hazing bill targeting student hazing at higher education institutions. The bill amends the New York Penal Code and prohibits certain physical contact as well as the physical activity requirements traditionally found in many student organizations’ initiation ceremonies, and which frequently result in serious injury, and sometimes in fatalities.

The legislation was prompted by the death of Michael Deng, a 19-year-old Baruch College student and Flushing resident who died after suffering a …

March 9, 2018 Employment Practices Liability

What Does Daylight Saving Mean to Employers

At 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 11, 2018, people across the United States will set their clocks forward one hour to begin Daylight Saving Time (DST). The change is intended to align the average workday more closely with the hours that the sun is visible, which studies have shown to cut energy consumption, reduce instances of seasonal affective disorder, and even boost regional economies. Often perceived as a holdover from a simpler and more agrarian U.S. culture, the practice actually enamors some contemporary lawmakers: the …

May 24, 2017 Employment Practices Liability

Isolated Racial Slur Triggers Hostile Work Environment Claim

One strike, you’re out? The isolated use of a racial slur may be enough to establish a hostile work environment claim. While the Second Circuit did not squarely answer the question in the affirmative, in Daniel v. T & M Prot. Res., LLC, the court allowed the claim to proceed. To establish a hostile work environment claim, a plaintiff must show: that the workplace was permeated with discriminatory intimidation that was sufficiently severe to alter the conditions of the work environment and that a …