Most employment lawsuits against small businesses don’t start with bad intentions. They start with missing paperwork, a pay practice that was “how everyone does it,” or a policy that was never written down. New York imposes detailed requirements on employers of every size, and the penalties for getting them wrong are significant. We help employers put the right systems in place before a problem arises.
What we help with
- Pay practices. Overtime, minimum wage, tip credits, spread-of-hours pay and paying employees on the correct schedule, with records that will stand up in a dispute.
- Required notices. Wage notices at hiring and wage statements with every paycheck under the Wage Theft Prevention Act, in the employee’s primary language where required.
- Employee or contractor? Classifying workers correctly, one of the most common sources of liability for salons, delivery businesses and startups.
- Handbooks and policies. Anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, paid sick and safe leave, lactation accommodation, reasonable accommodation and other policies New York law requires.
- Harassment prevention training. New York requires a written sexual harassment prevention policy and annual interactive training for all employees.
- Hiring and firing. Offer letters, pay transparency in job postings, background check rules, restrictive covenants, separation agreements and documentation of performance issues.
- Compliance audits. A confidential review of your current practices to find and fix exposure before a former employee’s lawyer does.
Our approach
We start with a practical review of how your business actually operates, not how a template assumes it does. We then prioritize fixes by risk, prepare the documents you need, and train owners and managers so compliance becomes routine. If a claim does arise, our employer defense team already knows your business.