Our HR department has no idea what the law is in my state, what should I do?

Anonymous

April 2,2023 at 5:30PM UTC

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Our HR department has no idea what the law is in my state, what should I do?

The paid sick time law in NY changed a couple of years ago and it doesn't seem like the "HR" department of my new company has any idea, or intention on following it. I put quotes there because my job has a parent company that actually issues our paychecks, sent our job agreement, etc. We only report to our in-house dept, and I'm just don't think it's wise to tell these people, who are ultimately my superiors, "you are wrong and this is illegal."

We are definitely NOT supposed to go over our in-house dept's head to the parent company, but this isn't something I care to debate about with my direct superiors if THEIR superiors are the actual authority on the matter. Does anybody have any experience with something like this?

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AnonymousApril 3,2023 at 1:05AM UTC
Go to your states employment law website, NY.gov - they will tell you what the actual laws are and how to report a violation. Most larger companies have an ethics hotline. If your company is in violation of the employment and paid leave laws, the parent company is going to get hit with fees fines and penalties. Do your research , link your resources and go to the parent company if needed. You don’t want to work for an unethical company that is breaking laws
AnonymousApril 3,2023 at 12:20PM UTC
My experience is if there are labor laws in place and the Parent company most certainly has legal guidance on exactly what must follow.
If, on the other hand (in New York, especially) there are countless grey areas where there are qualifiers and interpretations on individual company circumstances that allow for the company to adapt their guidelines and still be in compliance.
If you have doubt, you can always call the state Labor Board or a Employment attorney to confirm the unique details.
Always do your research.
You can't assume the laws are always black and white.
AnonymousApril 6,2023 at 4:43PM UTC
I’ve dealt with this a number of times due to CA having specific overtime laws. As a manager, I want to make sure I’m covered in case anything comes back on the company, so I send an email to HR (because I want it in writing!) letting them know that I thought the law had changed. If they came back and disagreed, I did my due diligence. You can also report it to the labor board in your state, too. But I like to know I have it in writing that I informed them.