On Monday, August 12, 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a major expansion of the state’s workplace harassment and anti-discrimination laws. The amendments continue to expand employer obligations to prevent and prohibit all forms of harassment based on protected characteristics. The mandatory sexual harassment and discrimination training, together with headline news around the country read more
Best Practices
Is ALICE on Your Payroll?
Think about the last time you dealt with sudden car troubles. For those living above both the poverty level and the ALICE threshold, car troubles are merely a nuisance. For them, coming up with the money to make necessary car repairs is much less likely to result in job loss, a missed month’s rent (which read more
New York is an At-Will Employment State: True or False ?
If you answered true to the above question, you are correct. If you answered false to the above question, you are correct in all meaningful respects. The best answer to the question is: Both of the above. Historically, employment relationships were a voluntary relationship, which either party could end at will. Only when people entered read more
Cyber Security
According to a recent publication by the National Small Business Association, 44 percent of small businesses reported being a victim of a cyber attack. In our increasingly online and mobile environment it is no surprise that our daily routines create an abundance of personal and business-related data just waiting to be abducted for criminal use. read more
Does Caring for Aging Parents Mean Becoming a Small Business?
Recently, a friend asked some questions about employing in-home help for her elderly parents. The family wanted to do everything in compliance with state and federal tax and employment laws, and she asked me to look over her questions. Little did I suspect that finding the answers the question “How to employ help for your read more
So You Want to Be Your Own Boss
Starting a business is something that a lot of people dream about, few execute, and of those who do, even fewer find success. If you dream of starting a business, you are not alone. From writing a business plan to forecasting start-up costs, revenues and expenses there is help waiting for you. When you set read more
Tapping Into the U.S.-Canadian Economic Engine
Business activity along the New York-Quebec corridor has come a long way since the early days of fur trading up and down the waterways of the St. Lawrence and Hudson Rivers. A perfect storm of economic temptation has steadily increased Canadian interest in the U.S. market throughout the past 30 years, and northern New York read more
Part II: Tips To Prepare For PFL
PART II: TIPS TO PREPARE FOR PFL By Jacqueline M. Kelleher, Esq. In last month’s article, the basic rules for New York’s new Paid Family Leave law (PFL) were outlined. In this article, some of the considerations for implementing PFL are discussed. With legislation this sweeping, it is impossible to describe all of the repercussions, read more
Coaching Employees Through Organizational Change
Without a doubt, business plans, spreadsheets, and process flowcharts are essential for the smooth functioning of a successful business. Many hours of number crunching, market analysis, and carefully crafted what-if scenarios can produce a nearly fail-safe plan of action. Unfortunately, a strong plan in writing means nothing without committed people to bring the ideas to read more
Using Facebook to market your business
In times past, a business might get away with ignoring social and digital media as a marketing tool to spread the word about their products and services and still be successful. These days you don’t have to look farther than the typical waiting room, customer line or restaurant table to find irrefutable evidence that things read more