New York State Labor Law on Social Media - Essay Example

May 20, Introduction New York has enacted and is in the process of introducing new laws that protects employees from any form of discrimination that may be directed at them by their employers. These laws may include labor laws that protect employees who are actively participating in social media or laws aimed at protecting the employees from any form of gender discrimination or bullying. For example, there is a federal law by the name New York State Human Rights Law which is enforced by the New York State Division of Human Rights that accepts, investigates and resolves any complaint that may be bordering on discrimination. These law stresses what constitutes unlawful employment policies that are discriminatory especially in terms of hiring, firing and the terms and conditions of employment. Under the federal law of New York State, discrimination may occur when a person is treated differently in a manner that causes an adverse impact to an employee based on his age, gender, disability, sexual orientation amongst other forms of discrimination. New York State Labor Law on Social Media Social media affects most aspects of individuals including employees, and therefore, employers must be able to familiarize themselves with the legal ramifications or implications of their use by the employees. New York introduced legislation in 2012 that prohibited employers from delving into the social media account of would-be applicants for the employment opportunities in their firms or employees through the soliciting of social media accounts or requiring them to log into their accounts. New York State labor laws also protect employees from any disciplinary action or their employment from termination on account of activities done in the social media when they are off-duty. It is important to note that the labor law concerning labor law in New York is written in broad terms to prohibit the employers from discriminating against employees or job applicants for their lawful engagement in social media during non-working hours and outside the premises of the employer, though the engagement in social media may seem contrary to the employer’s interests, practices and policies. The New York Labor Law Section 201-d (2) (c) prohibits the discrimination of an employee for his participation in legal recreational activities outside the working hours and the recreational activities are defined as any lawful activity done at the leisure time for which an employee is not compensated but the employee only engages in it for recreational purposes.1 This section however has not adequately addressed whether social networking can be grouped as a recreational activity, and therefore an employee who engages in an activity that goes contrary to the business interest of the company will only be prosecuted by the courts on a case-by-case basis.2 New York State Labor Law on Gender Expression New York has enacted different legislation that protects employees who may suffer from the decisions of their employers due to discrimination based on gender. The labor laws of this state prohibits any employer from having considerations based on your gender at the time of hiring, promoting, transferring, setting wages or hours of work, or when firing any employee from duty. The prohibition against discrimination based on gender is enshrined in Title VII which is a federal law in New York State. This also covers sex discrimination against female employees that may arise from practices or policies that affect the female employees in a negative manner because of pregnancy, child birth and other medical conditions that usually affect females only. The New York State Human Rights Law also expressly prohibits discrimination based on pregnancy,3 and the Equal Pay Act is a federal law of New York State that requires that employers remunerate men and women equal pay for equal work done within the same or similar establishment.4 Two job descriptions can be deemed to be similar or the same if and when each job requires the same skills and art, effort, and responsibility and are undertaken in the same working conditions and in the same workplace. This statute allows employment organizations to offer different compensation to staff based on their rank of superiority, worth, capacity or excellence of production or other factors other than sexual or gender characteristics. Further, an employee may be a victim of gender discrimination or “gender identity” discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law, if one is discriminated against due to your perceived or actual sex, gender identity, self image, appearance, expression or behavior which may seem different from that which is normally associated with the legal sex assigned to a person at birth.5 An employee whose rights under title VII have been violated can recover compensatory and punitive damages from the employer so long as he proves that the employer acted against him discriminatively through malice and recklessness indifference to the civil rights that accrue to every individual.6 New York State Labor Law on Bullying This law was passed by the senate on May 12, 2010, that allows for a private cause of action if any worker is subjected to an abusive work environment or workplace. The abusive environment was defined as any malicious conduct carried out against the employee by the employer at the work place that a reasonable person would deem to be hostile, offensive or not related to the business interests of the employer. It is important to evaluate the severity, frequency and the nature of the conduct s carried out against the employee. The abusive conduct which borders on bullying may include abuse verbally through epithets, remarks that are derogatory or insulting, physical or verbal conduct that may be deemed to be threatening, or meant to humiliate or intimidate an employee in the eyes of a reasonable person. According to researchers, bullying may lead to stress disorders of all types in an employee, clinical depression, high blood pressure or the risk of a cardiovascular disease. The bullying that is pointed at a worker may lead to an impaired immune system or symptoms consistent with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This law stresses the fact that bullying in the workplace is a serious problem and must be identified, assessed and fully controlled just like any other hazard at the work place. As a remedy by organizations involved or that may experience bullying at the work place, the law requires that every employer have in place a comprehensive and effective policy that prevents employees from violence that may be meted against an employee in the organization as enshrined in the New York State Public Employer Workplace Violence Prevention law and regulations contained therein.7 This law and the regulation contains that for an effective bullying prevention program to be successful, there should be concerted involvement and commitment by both the management and the employees as evidenced by policies and deeds as the manner in which an organization supervises its employees determines whether an employee is free from bullying or harassment. There should also be risk evaluation and determination of the worksite to know the cause of the bullying in an organization either through anonymous questionnaire surveys, use of focus groups or through informal conversations. It is important to note that some of the noted factors that lead to bullying in an organization may be due to lack or inadequate resources, poor communication, staffing issues or stress. These laws and regulations provide measures and policies that make it possible for employers to control and stop any form bullying that may occur in any workplace. These include zero tolerance policies that are against bullying for example the setting of clear norms of procedure and behaviour in the workplace and how they are dealt with should one deviate from them and a clear complaint system for reporting bullying. A system that encourages a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation is important in the potential control of bullying in an organization. The law implores individuals who have experienced bullying to directly address the problem and not to suffer in silence and may tell the perpetrator to stop the bullying if he feels it is safe to do so. The individual may also seek the assistance of his union representatives, supervisors or persons in managerial positions for assistance in curbing bullying at the work place. It is important to identify witnesses and if possible get their written statements and the use of third parties for mediation may be important in resolving the conflict.8 On the other hand, union representatives are required to listen, support and build rapport to any employee who feels bullied on top of investigations. They are also required to report bullying and related issues on the labor management or workplace violence committee agendas. Conclusion The labor laws discussed above ensure that any worker does his duties dutifully without any form of discrimination. It is important that the employee know his or her right whenever he feels that his right is likely to be discriminated against. Therefore any worker that feels that he has been discriminated against may file a discrimination complaint whenever a program of the business or organization has discriminated against him. Works Cited Practising Law Inst. Employment Law Yearbook 2011. 2012. Print. New York City Bar. Employment Law Handbook for Non-Lawyers. Committee on Labor and Employment Law. 2006.Print NYS Department of Labor Hazard Abatement Board. PEF Health and Safety Department. Bullying & Co-Worker Conflict Factsheet. .2012. Read More