Co-authored by Evan A. Belosa.

Each year, veterans leave the armed services and enter or re-enter the job market. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the EEOC) estimates that 25% of veterans returning from the Middle East conflicts will have a service-connected disability. Recognizing the importance of assuring returning veterans a level playing field at home, on February 28, the EEOC issued Q&A guides for employers and for veterans, serving as reminders that veterans with disabilities are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.Continue Reading EEOC Issues ADA Guidance for Employers on the Rights of Veterans with Disabilities

Co-authored by Ann N. Kim and Hannah C. Amoah.

The New York Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA), effective on April 9, imposes more stringent pay notice and record keeping requirements on all employers.Continue Reading New York Employers Must Comply with the Annual Notice Requirements of the Wage Theft Prevention Act by February 1

On September 21, the Internal Revenue Service announced the launch of the Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP), a new voluntary and low cost program to allow employers to reclassify as employees for future tax periods workers who had been misclassified as independent contractors.Continue Reading IRS Establishes a Voluntary Classification Settlement Program for Employers Who Have Misclassified Workers

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is considering the district court’s decision in Fishoff v. Coty Inc., which held that the Coty Board’s broad discretion under its Long Term Incentive Compensation Plan (LTIP) did not include attributing two different fair market values to its stock for the same day.

Michael Fishoff, the former Chief Financial Officer of Coty Inc., a privately held corporation, was a participant in the company’s LTIP. Upon exercise, the LTIP entitles a participant to a cash payment in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of Coty shares underlying the participant’s options and the exercise price.

On November 30, 2008, when Mr. Fishoff exercised his options, the most recent valuation of Coty’s stock, in September 2008, had been $58 per share.

On December 5, 2008, the Coty Board met and decided that in light of deteriorating market conditions, the next valuation of its options needed to be conducted as soon as possible. An independent investment bank valued the Coty shares at $31 per share as of November 30, 2008. On December 11, 2008, Coty terminated Mr. Fishoff’s employment without cause. Coty took the position that the $31 value applied to Mr. Fishoff’s option shares even though the shares had been valued at $58 when he exercised. The difference between the $58 valuation and the $31 valuation of his 200,000 options was $7,612,000.Continue Reading Second Circuit to Consider Employer’s Discretion in Connection with LTIP