Supreme Court Rules that Homosexual and Transgender Employees are Protected from Discrimination Under Title VII

On June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in three companion cases (Bostock v. Clayton County; Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda; R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. EEOC) holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects homosexual and transgender employees from discrimination/harassment in the workplace.

In all three (3) cases, the employer terminated the employee's employment after it was revealed that the employee was homosexual or transgender. Each employee brought suit under Title VII claiming that they were fired because of their "sex" (Title VII prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin). The Supreme Court held that "sex", pursuant to Title VII, includes sexual orientation and transgender as protected classes because, as the Court reasoned, "it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex."

The Court provided the following example to illustrate its position: An employer has two employees, a female and a male, both of whom are attracted to men. If the employer fires the  male employee for no reason other than the fact he is attracted to men, the employer discriminates against him because the employer is tolerating the same trait or behavior from the female employee. The employer, the Supreme Court held, has thus terminated the employee "because of sex" in violation of Title VII.

This decision is particularly noteworthy because Justice Gorsuch and Chief Justice Roberts, typically known as  "conservative" justices, were in the majority (Justice Gorsuch authored the Decision). This signifies the courts continued emphasis on interpreting laws to protect employees from discrimination in the workplace. Employers should, thus, take even more proactive steps (including but not limited to policies and training) to mitigate the risks of discrimination lawsuits.

Podcast | Real Estate Re-Opening - Bringing Investors into your Acquisitions

The Real Estate market has reopened and investors are everywhere. We review the legal requirements to take on investors and review calculations to make sure you are making the right decisions.

Governor Cuomo Tolls Statute of Limitations to July 6 and Prepares for Phase 2 Reopenings

Governor Cuomo has signed Executive Order 202.38, a copy of which can be found HERE. For non-legal practitioners, the big ticket items in this Executive Order deal with Phase 2 reopenings. Businesses can check for temperature and refuse entry. Restaurants and bars can serve food outdoors. Sidewalks and closed streets can be used by businesses to serve food and drink. Houses of worship can allow non-essential gatherings at less than 25% capacity. Of course all of this good news is still subject to businesses following social distancing, cleaning protocols and a reopening plan, which we outlined in our blog last week titled Are you Ready to Reopen Your Business? Here is Your 5-Step Plan.

On the legal front, statutes of limitations have been tolled again, this time to July 6, 2020. Before this was a necessity, as filings of new non-essential matters were tolled, but now it is more of a courtesy in the light of the fallout and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Federal statutes of limitations remain unaffected. Motion and discovery deadlines likewise are not strictly tolled, although Administrative Order 70/20 still controls. With expanded court operations there is less and less reason to adjourn motions and discovery deadlines, except in cases of specific hardship. Parties seeking to enforce discovery and motion deadlines should contact their assigned judge for guidance. 

Are You Ready to Reopen Your Business? Here is Your 5-Step Plan

5-Step Plan to Reopen Your Long Island Business

We are reopening throughout Long Island!

Phase 2 is Wednesday - Are you ready to open your business?  

Reopening isn’t just going back to work – there are 5 steps that businesses must take to open their doors if they want to avoid legal troubles.

Step 1. Review the applicable guidance for reopening & affirm that you will comply.

Each industry has tailored guidelines from NYS DOH, which represents the minimum requirements for you to reopen.

Before you open your doors, you MUST affirm that you have read the guidelines at this link.

Guidance for your industry can be located here.

Step 2. Formulate a business safety plan.

Each business MUST develop a written safety plan to prevent the spread of COVID.

The plan must be retained on the premises of the businesses and made available for inspection by DOH or your local health and safety authorities (zoning) upon request.

The sample plan provided by NYS is 7 pages long and includes a daily mandatory health screening assessment for employees and essential visitors, a requirement to record a log of all those physically present at the premises, cleaning requirements, and much more.

Start writing your plan now in compliance with the law if you plan to reopen.

Step 3. Create logbooks to comply and maintain policies.

You need to create forms to implement your plan. You need the health screening assessment developed, a logbook for cleaning, and a logbook for visitors. These can be inspected by DOH and other authorities so they better exist before you open your doors.

Step 4. Floor markings and PPE.

You are required to provide your entire team with PPE so it’s time to start ordering supplies yesterday. Plus, you need to place signage and floor markings throughout your premises to maintain proper social distancing. So, take out your tape and measuring stick to get going.

Step 5. Craft your message.

Your team and your customers need to understand your plan and how it impacts them, or they won’t follow it. So, you need to create a message, start getting it out there via email and make it available to everyone at your business. This message must explain your safety plan and the new policies that you will enforce for the rest of COVID. Getting buy-in is the key to proper implementation and protecting you from suit and negative PR.

Here is a radio clip with our employment lawyer, Mordy Yankovich, discussing how to comply and protect your business when you are ready to reopen – have a listen - Real Estate Investing with Andrew Lieb 6/7/20 - Seg 3: Advice for Phase 2 Business Owners Reopening.

US Senate Sends "Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act" to President Trump's Desk

Major revisions to the Paycheck Protection Program are on the way. The "Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act" amends the portion of the CARES Act that established the PPP. The changes are intended to make forgiveness of PPP loans more achievable for a greater number of businesses. Major changes include:

1. 5 Year Maturity Date on Unforgiven Loan Amounts. Any portion of a PPP loan that is not forgiven is now subject to a minimum maturity date of five (5) years, up from two (2). 
2. Payroll Tax Deferral. PPP borrowers can defer 50% of their share of payroll taxes to 2021 and the remaining 50% to 2022. 
3. Expanded Forgiveness Period. What was an eight (8) week forgiveness period has been expanded to twenty-four (24) weeks from the origination of the loan or December 31, 2020, whichever comes first. 
4. More Non-Payroll Expenses. Up to forty percent (40%) of the loan can now be used for non-payroll expenses and still be forgiven. A new SBA rule may be required as existing SBA rules say only twenty-five percent (25%) of PPP funds may be used for non-payroll expenses. 
5. Full Employment Period Extension. Borrowers are now required to return to February 15, 2020 levels of full time employment by December 31, 2020 instead of June 30, 2020. 
6. Full Employment Level Exceptions. Borrowers who are unable to restore their full time employment to February 15, 2020 levels can make use of two new exceptions - if they cannot find qualified employees for unfilled positions, or if their business activity is reduced due social distancing requirements, capacity limitations, or other similar restrictions in place for employee and customer safety. 

Keep an eye out for new SBA rules once President Trump signs this bill into law. If you already have a PPP loan, inquire with your lender to see how they will handle the material changes to your promissory note that this bill requires. 

Legislation Prohibiting Evictions during COVID-19 Period on Governor’s Desk

Senate Bill S8192B / Assembly Bill 10290B passed both the Assembly and Senate and is currently on the Governor’s desk for signature. The legislation will prohibit the eviction of residential tenants who suffered financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically, the bill covers the period from March 7, 2020 until various Executive Orders which placed restrictions requiring closure of and restriction on businesses and establishments, or postponement or cancellation of non-essential gatherings continue to apply in the county of the tenant’s residence (“COVID-19 Covered Period”). Further, the bill allows residential tenants to raise a defense of financial hardship during such period in a summary proceeding and courts shall consider the tenant’s income prior to and during the COVID-19 Covered Period, liquid assets, and eligibility for cash assistance, disability, unemployment insurance, and state or federal programs.

This legislation expands Executive Order 202.8 which imposed a statewide eviction moratorium until June 18, 2020 and Executive Order 202.28 which extended the moratorium to August 20, 2020 for tenants facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike the previous Executive Orders, the legislation does not prohibit the initiation of summary eviction proceedings, it merely prohibits the courts from issuing judgments of possession and warrants of eviction. It does not prevent landlords from obtaining money judgments for unpaid rent.

While this legislation is a softer blow to landlords than a complete prohibition on the initiation of eviction proceedings, the main concern for landlords is that the COVID-19 Covered Period can last well up to 2021. Further, as landlords can only get a money judgment and not an eviction, the judgment does not stop the bleeding and would eventually require landlords to go back to court to obtain another judgment for rent prior to the tenants vacating the property.

A lawsuit has already been filed by landlords to nullify provisions of Executive Order 202.28 which prohibit landlords from pursuing eviction proceedings until August 19, 2020 and which allow tenants to use the security deposit toward rent payments. The landlords argue the Executive Order allows tenants to withhold rent without immediate repercussion and precludes landlords from utilizing security deposits as compensation for damages caused to the unit by the tenant. It is expected that if the bill is enacted into law, litigation will surely follow.

In the meantime, landlords should consult counsel for strategies on how to mitigate their risk due to tenants’ nonpayment.