David Harmon: Hi, I’m David Harmon.
Mariya Gonor: And I’m Mariya Gonor.
David Harmon: And we are the Employment Strategists. Welcome to our latest episode, New Year, New Rules, Workplace Resolutions You’ll Want to Keep in 2025.
Mariya Gonor: David, I don’t know if you know, but according to the Baylor College of Medicine, 88 percent of people who set New Year’s Resolutions fail before the end of January. And according to Fortune, some call the second Friday in January as quitter’s day. So, we’re recording this episode past Quitter’s day. So that’s good.
David Harmon: Well, we’re hoping no one has, quit their resolutions and are very interested in changing their life as they go forward in the new year.
Mariya Gonor: And the resolutions that we bring for you today are something that you’re going to want to keep, whether you’re an employer or an employee, but the good news is that nothing we’re about to discuss is overly complicated. So, if you commit to this it’s I think you could keep this.
David Harmon: I think it’s analogous to, getting your personal house in order. And so here, this is the workplace, getting the workplace in order.
Mariya Gonor: Before we dive in, though, just briefly, unlike our typical episodes where we discuss employer and employee perspectives together, we will first set forth the five resolutions for the employers, followed by the five resolutions for employees, because they’re a little bit different.
David Harmon: Well, that sounds like a good plan, Mariya.
Mariya Gonor: But before we do that, why don’t we catch up our listeners on things that have happened since our last episode, and also some important things to keep in mind as we’re starting out the new year.
David Harmon: Well, why don’t you start talking about the New York City new prenatal leave law that was just enacted.
Mariya Gonor: Sure. So as of January 1st, 2025, New York City employers. Must provide certain hours of paid leave for employees to attend prenatal appointments or appointments related to in vitro or any other treatment that relates to fertility.
David Harmon: So that is something that employers need to be aware of as well as employees. However, it’s something that needs to be imposed on the workplace and available to those employees requesting them.
Mariya Gonor: It is important to remember that the hours available under the prenatal leave are separate and apart from the sick leave hours that the employers must keep track of. Sticking with the theme of New Year’s resolutions, if you’re an employer who wants to encourage your employees to be healthier and you want to collect data regarding their movements from their wearable devices, the EEOC has some news for you.
David Harmon: So as of December 19th, they issued guidance for employers about how collecting information from employees’ wearable devices may implicate federal anti-discrimination laws.
Mariya Gonor: And if anybody’s interested in learning more about that, we will leave the link in the show notes.
David Harmon: Another area of importance is that as of January 1, 2025, New York employees may bring workers comp claims for mental injury, based on work-related stress. Employers should ensure that their worker’s compensation policies are updated to include such coverage.
Mariya Gonor: It would be a good idea to conduct some training on this issue so that your HR department’s aware of these changes and speak to your broker to see if they may have some suggestions about how to minimize the claims of this nature.
David Harmon: The key thing here is how is work-related stress defined. Under the regulation and whether the policies are drafted in a particular way to make sure that there is that coverage.
Mariya Gonor: Yeah, this is a significant change from pre-existing law, and this is going to be a very interesting experiment to watch and see how that develops.
David Harmon: And we will keep you posted on that because we certainly will be monitoring the case law, the modifications potentially to the new rules, and we’ll see how it plays out.
Mariya Gonor: Yeah, as well as the interpretations of the statute by courts or administrative agencies.
David Harmon: Right. In addition, many state and local jurisdictions have increased their minimum wage laws annually. They do that effective January 1 of each year. So, that’s something that employers should check to make sure, as well as employees, to make sure that the proper increases are being implemented in payroll.
David Harmon: Okay, so let’s talk about resolutions for the workplace.
Mariya Gonor: For the employers first.
David Harmon: The first one being update your employee handbook.
Mariya Gonor: A big one for sure. Your employee handbook is the cornerstone of communication in the workplace. Knowing what’s in your handbook is extremely important. So, before you update your handbook, I think maybe even taking a step back and the first resolution for every employer should be to actually read your handbook if you haven’t, understand what’s in the handbook, and also figure out if it needs to be updated. From year to year, there are changes in the law, as you can tell from our update in the law section of the podcast. So, it is extremely important to make sure that you comply with them.
David Harmon: An outdated handbook is a liability. It’s very important to update it annually. It keeps you aligned with the legal changes such as remote work policies, paid leave, diversity initiatives, and the like. Action steps for the employer include reviewing it with an employment attorney. Ensuring it’s accessible to employees. So as Mariya indicated, you have to read it. You have to understand it. You have to make the changes to stay current.
Mariya Gonor: You want to ensure that your policies are clear. Again, think of your employee handbook as a playbook for your organization. So, ensuring that the policies are clear, make sure that the policies that are contained in your handbook actually apply to your workplace is also extremely important. So, if you at some point downloaded and it’s a handbook that was available on some random website and never read it. Now is the time to read it, make sure it’s applicable, make sure that what it says is actually what you do.
David Harmon: The reason that one should not necessarily just download something, is there’s no way of really vetting it to make sure that it’s appropriate for your particular company and whether it is in actual compliance with federal state and local law.
Mariya Gonor: Especially with the law in the state where you operate, right? Because if something is downloaded from an online website, you don’t know if it’s necessarily designed for your state. Like if this is a New Jersey handbook and you’re an employer operating out of Pennsylvania, you don’t want a lot of New Jersey rules to be applying to you in PA because the laws there are far more permissible.
David Harmon: In our practice, what we typically do is we would create a base handbook, which is the majority of the policies, most importantly, the federal laws, and then the state laws, and that’s for where the company operates. And then we would create state supplements to address all the different states, and that’s a very comprehensive project that we do annually for clients to make sure that they’re not only in compliance with the current federal law, but also all of the different states in which they operate and in which they have employees.
Mariya Gonor: That actually transitions us quite nicely into our resolution number two, which is to perform a wage and benefit audit. You want to make sure, that your employees are appropriately classified as exempt versus nonexempt. And what that means is if you have an exempt employee, that means that that employee is not entitled to be paid for time worked over 40 hours in a given week. On the flip side, a nonexempt employee is entitled to overtime at a rate of time and a half for every hour worked over 40 hours in a given work week. One of the most misclassified types of employees under these rules usually are somebody with titles of managers. The FLSA contains a number of factors that are considered for each designation, and each of those factors must be met.
David Harmon: It’s a smart move to do so because wage-related lawsuits are one of the most common legal risks for businesses. Regular audits will prevent costly mistakes. Those claims may come not only from the Department of Labor. But they could also come from employees. Who will file those complaints?
Mariya Gonor: Yeah, and many states contain severe penalties for misclassification and failure to pay overtime, including, you know, payment of employees legal fees. Double damages and financial penalties in terms of interest. When you’re conducting your wage audit, another thing that the employer may want to look at is whether or not men and women are paid equally for the same work.
David Harmon: Well, we don’t want exposure for paid disparity claims.
Mariya Gonor: Yes, and those exist under both federal and state law. Okay, after you’ve conducted your wage audit, as you’re looking at your wages, it’s also a good idea to make resolution number three and conduct an independent contractor audit.
David Harmon: Employers working with independent contractors need to take this very seriously. The exposure for misclassification is, can be very significant, leading to fines, lawsuits. And really change the manner in which the entire company is working.
Mariya Gonor: And as David said, these lawsuits can also be brought not just by the employees, but by the administrative agencies, such as the Department of Labor on state or federal level. So, as you’re conducting your audit, the first thing you want to do is take a look at your independent contractor agreements, and ensure that they comply with the IRS regulations, and IRS has a number of factors that employers are to look at as well as the DOL guidance and your state law guidance.
David Harmon: There are significant differences between independent contractors and employees and that is a distinction that has to be addressed by employers.
Mariya Gonor: And if our listeners are interested, please write in the comments and we can do an entire episode addressing the different treatment of independent contractors and employees and address the tests that exist on the state level, such as ABC test and also the tests that exist on the federal level.
David Harmon: Right, that the IRS also imposes a test to determine whether or not one is an independent contractor or an employee.
Mariya Gonor: As you’re reviewing your independent contractor agreements, you want to look at the duties that your independent contractors possess, and if some of those duties include your essential business-related administrative tasks and things of that nature. It’s important to take a second look, maybe consult an attorney, and figure out whether or not you properly classified this individual.
David Harmon: Just using the 1099 form does not necessarily mean that the individuals of an independent contractor and just sending an employee a W-2 when that particular person is an independent contractor. Just doing that in and of itself is not sufficient to make the determination and the declaration that that person is an employee and or independent contractor.
Mariya Gonor: We’re also aware that a lot of employees actually want to be treated as independent contractors because then they’re allowed to write off more on their taxes and it’s just a more beneficial treatment. And while we are sympathetic to that, the governing agencies are not. And unfortunately, it is the employer who is then subjected to the brunt of the penalties and the brunt of the risk.
David Harmon: Well, one of the things about the 1099 or the independent contractor individual is that there are no benefits provided. And there may be the tax benefit, but there are no benefits, whether it’s insurance, 401k, or any other perks. That’s the distinction, one of the distinctions, actually between the employee and the independent contractor. But in the end, compliance is key.
Mariya Gonor: Okay, employer Resolution Number 4. And I can’t imagine that anybody is surprised by this when this show is being done by two attorneys. But, Employment Resolution Number 4 is to implement sexual harassment and discrimination training. It’s not enough to just have policies. You have to train your employees.
David Harmon: In many jurisdictions, that is a statutory requirement.
Mariya Gonor: Yes.
David Harmon: And so, all employers must be familiar or their counsel should be advising them about the training and, in fact, provide that training.
Mariya Gonor: New York City, for instance, actually made training available on their website, and it requires employers to have their employees take this training and then obtain the certificate of completion and then the employers must save and keep those certificates of completion for x number of years. In the jurisdiction when there isn’t mandatory video that has to be completed, services independent trainers should be retained. And some of those trainers make the training very interactive and educational.
David Harmon: Well, one of the problems in that case, Mariya, as we read in the pleadings, is that there was not a viable HR pathway for employees to follow. If there was a complaint to be lodged, there was no notice as to whom it should be reported. And so then you have to think about, well, not only are the reporting lines out of whack, but are the training and the other compliance requirements being followed?
Mariya Gonor: Absolutely. So, I think the rule here is that creating a respectful workplace is non-negotiable. Employers, must schedule annual anti-harassment training and make sure, you know, that it is engaging with real-world scenarios so that what you’re trying to teach your employees not to do actually sticks.
David Harmon: So Mariya, as you mentioned the Blake Lively case, this just isn’t about compliance. It’s about fostering an inclusive, safe workplace culture to make sure that the workplace accommodates not only pathways for, employees to file complaints but that there is a solid structure in place to receive them.
Mariya Gonor: How many times have we heard from employers that or their employees who are accused of discrimination saying well, I didn’t think it was that I was saying, or I didn’t intend for it to be discriminatory.
David Harmon: And one way to make sure of that is to have appropriate and thorough training. And the training should be made interesting. It should be stimulating. It should be something that people want to go to as opposed to have to go to. I mean, we all feel that way, right? We all feel some obligation. We know we have to do it. Just like we take our continuing legal education classes. Right? We have to. And so, but we look for speakers and programs that are going to be interesting and stimulating and will keep us occupied during that time.
Mariya Gonor: Yes, definitely.
David Harmon: And engaged.
Mariya Gonor: Yeah, you don’t want to fall asleep as you’re trying to learn something new or as you’re trying to learn what not to do.
David Harmon: But it’s very serious. It’s a very serious thing because certainly one of the big components of the sexual harassment and discrimination training is to make sure that employees are protected and therefore that employers are protected because they’ve conducted that and that their EPLI insurance backs that up. Their programs and policies are all aligned.
Mariya Gonor: Yeah, the handbook as well as the training is any employer’s line of defense for many claims of liability.
David Harmon: So, it’s the first thing that we ask for when we’re representing an individual who has claims of discrimination in connection with current employment or termination of employment. And we marshal all of the evidence, so to speak. So, we look for agreements, but we also look for handbooks, evidence of training, and everything related to the sexual harassment and discrimination arena.
Mariya Gonor: Moving on to Resolution number 5, which details with all of the prior resolutions that we talked about, and that is get to know and build a relationship with an employment attorney who is licensed to practice in the state where you operate.
David Harmon: I’m sure no one is surprised that that would be something that we would be discussing, but it is true because I don’t know about you, but I don’t do my own dental work. I go to a dentist.
Mariya Gonor: You don’t? I guess not anymore. Not after last year.
David Harmon: And I also don’t cut my hair. I go somewhere to have a professional do it.
Mariya Gonor: Yes, that’s true. Joking aside though, the employment law arena is extremely complicated because of the regulations on federal and state levels as well as municipal levels and even county levels. It’s also a rapidly changing area of the law. So having an employment attorney who stays up to date with the changes and is aware of all of the pitfalls that could exist for employers is extremely important. Also, as you develop the relationship the attorney learns about your institution, they gain an understanding of how your business operates and who the players are. So, when they give you advice it can be tailored specifically to your business.
David Harmon: Mariya, as we addressed new changes in the law at the beginning of the episode, whether at the state or agency level, or federal level for that matter, it’s important for attorneys to be fully immersed in those new rules and regulations. And that’s why a trusted counsel can then provide that needed guidance to an employer because these happen year in and year out.
Mariya Gonor: Yes.
David Harmon: And it’s not only at the beginning of the year, but it’s, it’s throughout the year. And a solid employment attorney is going to be on top of those.
Mariya Gonor: And as we have highlighted on a number of occasions, violation of employment laws could carry significant penalties because it’s not just the economic damages that the employee might have suffered, but also potential punitive damages, potential legal fees that are paid to the employee’s attorney. So, the stakes are high. For that reason, getting to know somebody you know, you trust, and who specializes in this area would be invaluable for your business. Whatever you spend on that attorney, you’d save on the back end significantly. If you can prevent one lawsuit, you’ve already made a smart investment.
David Harmon: So, Mariya, this has been a wonderful pitch that we’ve been providing our listeners with, but an employment lawyer, to sum this up on the employer side, an employment lawyer should be a key member of the team for any employer.
Mariya Gonor: Agreed.
David Harmon: Now it’s time for us to address resolutions for the new year for employees.
Mariya Gonor: David, if you had to guess, what do you think are the top Resolutions that just individuals make?
David Harmon: Well, the number one, which is what I always advise clients is make sure you’re not leaving money on the table,
Mariya Gonor: Right, it’s actually funny. That’s true because the top resolution for individuals is to save more money, make more money, or be more financially Independent or educated and there’s only two ways in which you can do that You can either make more money earn more money or spend less money. So, our first resolution applies to I guess both of these actually both of these goals.
David Harmon: Well as we all know cash is king.
Mariya Gonor: Yes, so for the employees Your first resolution is to take full advantage of all the benefits and perks that your employer offers. And those perks may change from year to year.
David Harmon: You need to be aware of what those perks are. Keep current. Check with HR. Make sure that whatever it is that they’re offering, you’re considering.
Mariya Gonor: Yes. A lot of the employers have contributions or matching for your 401k contributions. So, schedule that appointment, schedule that one-on- one with your HR representative, and go through what they may offer to you.
David Harmon: Right, and as you’re getting your financial house in order. These different perks, benefits, or offerings will make a big difference in your financial situation as well because to the extent that those aspects of your life that might be covered by the employer, that’s going to make a dent in what your out of pockets will be.
Mariya Gonor: Absolutely. If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to join a gym, and you did in fact join a gym, many employers actually offer gym reimbursement provided that you go a certain number of times in a month or a week or what have you. So just take advantage of that.
David Harmon: Mariya, we’re now at resolution number two for employees, which is to take advantage of self-development options offered by your employer.
Mariya Gonor: Many employers offer courses, classes, or continuing education to their employees.
David Harmon: See what they offer, see if there are reimbursements, tuition reimbursement programs. And if they don’t offer these, it’s worth asking if they will offer these, suggestions should be encouraged.
Mariya Gonor: If you have a specific course that you may want to take that could improve your skills and the work that you would do for your employer, it’s a great idea to bring the course and the reasons why you may want to take this course to the attention of HR, your supervisor, your boss, whoever. David, what do you always say?
David Harmon: If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Mariya Gonor: It’s true. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. So, you gotta ask.
David Harmon: Right. You want to invest in yourself and want the company, if it’s something that’s worthwhile and meaningful to both the company and to you, skill development, ask. See what happens. The company may say, that’s a good idea. That’ll help develop you. You’ll become a more valuable employee. Go forward with that potential idea.
Mariya Gonor: Yeah. And if that certificate degree education will make you more marketable in the years to come, that’s also a great opportunity to take advantage of.
David Harmon: It’s not only current development, it’s career development.
Mariya Gonor: It’s career development. Yes. We frequently say to employees who are transitioning in their employment that your career is not next year. It’s not the next five, five years even. It’s the next 10 years, 20 years.
David Harmon: So Mariya, we now have resolution number three, collect your documents and have your go bag ready.
Mariya Gonor: Oh yeah. Exactly what you actually said in the beginning of this episode when we were talking about employers. The first question we ask of employees is where’s your handbook? Where’s your offer letter? Where is your, I don’t know, raise letter? Where are your relevant documents? And more frequently than not, they don’t have those documents because they lost access after they were terminated.
David Harmon: That actually goes back to don’t leave money on the table. If you don’t have all your documents marshaled and collected to know exactly what you have, what your equity is, what the vesting is, then how can you protect yourself and make sure that you’re getting all that you’re entitled to?
Mariya Gonor: When you’re offered a package, how are you able to evaluate it to determine whether it’s a good package? What if the employer is just sneaking in things that you’re already have a right to have or you know get and you’re just signing your rights away for no reason.
David Harmon: But there’s been a large reduction in force and the same document is being used for all employees, well that document may not include the particular compensation components or benefits that you had negotiated at the outset or that you’re entitled to. So it’s very important to have your documents available to you so that you can not only check them while you’re employed, but should an adverse employment action occur, that you are able to look at them and then share those with your attorney and allow the attorney to counsel you on how best to maximize your package on the way out.
Mariya Gonor: Yeah, and even if you don’t go to an attorney, make sure you have at least a copy of your pay stub because when you go to apply for unemployment to determine how much benefit you’re entitled to, you have to provide that information. It really is all about being prepared. Employees should collect important documents and just have them ready and available to you in your own computer system where you are not going to lose access to them.
David Harmon: Having everything in one place gives you really peace of mind and ensures that you’re ready for any unexpected situation.
Mariya Gonor: All right, moving into resolution number four for the employees. Report anything inappropriate.
David Harmon: So yes, Mariya, it’s always the adage of if you see something, say something.
Mariya Gonor: And you will learn about that if your employer actually administers sexual harassment and anti-discrimination training to you.
David Harmon: And the appropriate policies, the combination of the two. It’s a cocktail of preparedness.
Mariya Gonor: Speaking up helps create a safer and more inclusive workplace for everyone. Remember that your voice matters. And also remember if you’re working for a company that is not above board, and if they terminate you after you report inappropriate conduct or illegal conduct, you may have a claim of retaliation.
David Harmon: You know, it goes along with when you join a new company and you want to know what the map is in terms of where things are, where the supplies are, the copy room, the lunchroom, the bathrooms, whatever it may be. Well, here, in this situation, or for this resolution about reporting, it’s important to know where HR is, what the pathways are to HR, how do you file a complaint, and become familiar with the entire, HR operation so that you are able to report and able to get information along the way that you may need. Not necessarily to report, but that you will have that information available to you and know where to find it.
Mariya Gonor: Now, if you are not sure that the conduct that you’re reporting rises to the level of inappropriate or harassing or illegal and you’re concerned about retaliation. Many companies have anonymous reporting mechanisms, and it may be appropriate to take advantage of that mechanism.
David Harmon: Some companies have a dial-in or a hotline for employment situations and that they take these reports. But every company is different so it’s important to know who What the procedure is and to familiarize yourself with it.
Mariya Gonor: All right. Resolution number five for employees is also going to be get to know an employment attorney.
David Harmon: This goes along with the prior resolutions of marshaling the documents, getting to know HR, understanding agreements.
Mariya Gonor: Yeah, I’m just helping you negotiate a transitional package to a new company. It gives you the ability and the leverage necessary to negotiate an exit package potentially, and also to run an issue by a person who can advise you on your legal rights. Again, as I said a few minutes ago, if you’re not sure whether the conduct rises to the level of illegal or inappropriate, speaking to somebody who understands the law can help you gain that confidence and, a sense of entitlement to actually raise the concern.
David Harmon: So Mariya, when we negotiate transitions for individuals, when they’re moving from company A to company B. The metaphor that I look at or think about is a set of bookends. On the left side, you have the bookend having to do with the current position, all the agreements, documents, forms, whatnot, grant agreements, equity, and employment documents together in a, hopefully in a bag, that you have those together. And then the right side is the perspective offer, and then in between are all the employment issues that come up while you’re currently employed. So, it’s important to have everything together and to be able to have counsel available to you to help you interpret, negotiate, and guide you.
Mariya Gonor: Agreed. Well, this is the time that we would transition into our strategies for the employers and employees, but I feel like this entire episode was focused on the strategies.
David Harmon: Well, I think we actually used the word resolution in place of strategies, So I think we’ve accomplished our goal and we’ve satisfied our first resolution for the new year, which is to make sure that we presented strategies to employers and employees alike.
Mariya Gonor: As the employment strategists tend to do.
David Harmon: That’s our goal. That’s our resolution for the new year.
Mariya Gonor: But remember this, these resolutions that we’ve identified are not just ideas or ideals that you should uphold. These are simple actionable steps that one could make and should make their work life smoother and more successful.
David Harmon: So, as employment attorneys, we want you to remember that resolutions work best when they’re specific and practical. Employers review your progress quarterly, and employees revisit your benefits and policies periodically.
Mariya Gonor: And of course, we want to hear from you. What are your workplace resolutions for the next year? What are your pain points as far as employment goes in the next year? What topics would you like to hear from us? That’s actually one of our New Year resolutions is to bring to you topics that are of significant interest and really could make an actionable difference in your work life. And as always, well, we hope that you found our time together. educational and at least somewhat entertaining. Please remember that nothing we’ve discussed is legal advice, nor should it be taken as such.
David Harmon: If you’d like to continue the discussion, please reach out to us on theemploymentstrategists@norris-law.com. Here’s to a smarter, more compliant workplace in 2025.