Can’t force arbitration for certain employment disputes / NYC Pay Transparency Law / webinar registration February 19, 2022
KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Can’t force arbitration for certain employment disputes / NYC Pay Transparency Law?/ webinar registration
February 19,?2022
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Webinars Schedule: See below for details and Registration
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February 22, 2022:??common legal issues in buy-sell deals
February 24, 2022:??issues buying or selling alarm company and broker's roll
March 1, 2022:?????All-in-One Operations and Accounting Software for Security Integrators
March 8, 2022.?????Recruiting, hiring and retaining field talent
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Can’t force arbitration for certain employment disputes
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??????????Legislation has passed Congress and will be sent to Bidden that will prevent certain employment disputes from being subject to mandatory arbitration.??Among the disputes is sexual harassment claims.
??????????Those of you using the Standard Form Employment Agreement know that there is an arbitration provision in that form agreement, intended to resolve disputes quickly and less cost of defense or prosecution of the claim.?
??????????Just another infringement on the US Constitution’s freedom of contract clause.?
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NYC Pay Transparency Law
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Ken
??????????I know you have many readers with businesses in NYC.??I thought you, and they, should be aware of this new law.
??????????Employers in NYC as of May 14, 2022 will soon be required to be more transparent about a position’s salary range.??Similar laws have been enacted elsewhere. Employers must include the minimum and maximum salary range when advertising a job, promotion, or transfer opportunity located within New York City.?This law amends
the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) and applies to job postings published on?any?form of media. The posted salary range should include “the lowest to the highest salary that the employer in good faith believes at the time of the posting it would pay for the advertised job, promotion, or transfer opportunity.”
??????????The law applies to all New York City employers with four or more employees,?including independent contractors.
??????????Failure to include a salary range with an advertised job, promotion, or transfer opportunity will be considered an “unlawful discriminatory practice” under the NYCHRL. Resulting fines may be up to $125,000.
Bart Didden
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Response
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??????????Thanks for the heads up; as if employers didn’t have enough to think about.
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Webinars:?Registration - sign up today
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Webinar Title:?common legal issues in buy-sell deals
When:??February 22, 2022, at 12:00PM Eastern time
Topic Details: common issues to consider in smaller buy-sell transactions
Presented by: Jesse Kirschenbaum, Esq.????Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum
Who should attend:?Company owners, CEOs, CFOs
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Webinar Title: issues buying or selling alarm company and broker's roll
When:?February 24, 2022, at 12:00 PM Eastern time
Topic Details:?How to prepare for negotiations and what to expect
Presented by: Ron Davis and Kelly Bond of Davis Mergers & Acquisitions Group
Who should attend: Company owners, CEOs, CFOs
Register here:??https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2395407448165624590
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Webinar Title:?All-in-One Operations and Accounting Software for Security Integrators
When:??March 1, 2022?12 PM ET
Topic Details:??Software platform created specifically for the security installer industry. FieldHub tackles some of the thorniest operational arenas that other platforms leave behind, including RMR management and inventory tracking, all on a robust, native general ledger platform to keep your revenue and expenses in sync.??Learn how FieldHub provides a single system to manage leads and proposals through project and field service management, inventory, recurring/deferred revenue management, and full accounting.
Presenter:??Miles Fawcett, CEO FieldHub [email protected]??Phone:?202.417.8196
Hosted by:?Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq.,
Who should attend:??Company owners, CEOs, CFOs, Manager, back office personnel who work with management software
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Webinar Title:?Recruiting, hiring and retaining field talent
When:??March 8, 2022?12 PM ET
Topic Details:??Even before the pandemic, hiring and retaining field talent in the security industry was growing increasingly difficult.??This webinar will explore the best ways to find talent, prequalify them and develop enthusiasm to consider joining your team as well as how to quickly determine if a candidate’s psychomotor skills match their resume. Webinar will discuss skill matrixes and why they are valuable tools to incentivize and retain talent, help improve morale and promote consistent, transparent compensation.
Presenter:??Peter Goldring, SET, NICET #143428 Fire Alarm Systems, Level IV,?ACFE Certified Fraud Examiner.??Peter M. Goldring Consulting LLC [email protected]???www.goldringprotection.com
Hosted by:?Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq.,
Who should attend:??Company owners, CEOs, CFOs, Manager, Human Resource Personnel
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Comments on abort or cancel signals from article on January 22, 2022
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Ken
??????????This is regarding the January 22, 2922 post about inconsistent response by “central station” to abort or cancel signals generated by an alarm system.?From the relatively wide variety of responses by different operators at the central station it appears to be an “operator training issue”.?
??????????A central station should have a regular training regimen for operators with ”retraining” on a regular basis.?The central station should also be establishing standards regarding information and instructions that each dealer should supply when a new account is set up.?Example - when we set up new residential account for burg and fire we instruct central station to call protected premises twice before dispatch, if no contact made or incorrect password, dispatch.?Abort or cancel signal from alarm system does not change the above instruction.?An abort or cancel signal from the alarm system could easily be generated by customer under duress.
Seth Oginz
Security Consultants Unlimited
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Another comment
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Ken,
??????????Regarding Anon and Abort/Cancel Signals from Jan 22, 2022:
??????????Different alarm companies, of course, may want their signals handled different ways for a variety of reasons, but here are some suggestions which have proved useful over the years:
??????????First, here are some descriptions which may be useful:
Abort/Cancel signal
Duress disarm signal
Duress password
Panic alarm signal
??????????The?Abort/Cancel Signal is a signal which is sent after a normal non-emergency disarm. I suggest that the central station always call the client on this signal. It gives the client an opportunity to give to the central station the Duress Password, which will be explained below. It also give the client a warm fuzzy to know that his system is actually working, communicating with the central station, and that an actual person saw the signal and responded to it. That builds loyalty, knowing that when he makes his monitoring payment, that there really is someone "watching over" him, and he is not just sending money into a black hole, wondering if his system is actually working while hoping for the best. It is a contact with the client.
??????????The?Duress Disarm Signal is a signal which is sent to the central station when the client disarms with a special disarm code instead of the regular disarm code. This feature can be used in the instance in which a client is being forced by the bad guys to disarm the system. The code can be anything, including something simple and easy to remember, such as reversing the first two digits of the regular disarm code. Most alarm panels can be programmed by the alarm company to send a standard disarm signal when that user disarm code is entered. The alarm siren is programmed by the alarm company to NOT sound. The central station will usually NOT call the premises so as to not alert the bad guys that anything is amiss. But if the central station does happen to call, then the client would give the Duress Password. The central station would notify the authorities that there was a duress situation, NOT a regular burglar alarm signal.
??????????The?Duress Password?is a verbal word or phrase which the client would use any time he is talking with the central station and there is a duress situation underway, and the client cannot actively ask for help. Perhaps the bad guys are standing next to him when the central station calls and asks if everything is OK. The client could then reply that everything is OK, but give the Duress Password instead of the usual password. The central station would say something to the effect of "OK Have a good evening." or similar. The central station would then notify the authorities that the client was on location and he actively gave a verbal duress password. Duress and Panic verbal passwords and signals usually are given a higher priority than a standard burglar alarm signal. Well, they were in previous staffing level times.
??????????A?Panic Alarm Signal?is a signal the alarm panel would send if a panic button on the keypad was pressed. Most keypads have this feature. Pushing the panic button usually is programmed to sound the local siren. The central station could call the premises and ask for a password. Perhaps the person who pushed the panic button could give further info which could be passed on to the authorities. The central station would call the authorities and say that the panic button at the premises was actively pushed by someone at the location, and stress it was not just a burglar alarm signal.
??????????I feel that the person who pays the central station is the one who gets to specify, within reason, how signals are handled, not the central station. Most modern central station automation software has the ability to attach instructions to the operators about how to handle each signal. Attaching instructions which pop up when a signal arrives for each type of signal would help eliminate different operators handling the signal differently. In this time of staffing shortages, specific instructions attached to each kind of signals would help poorly or partially trained operators better know how to react to that signal.
??????????If any central station cannot or will not follow the alarm company's instructions, then the relationship with the alarm company and the central station needs to be re-evaluated. If the central station says, "my way or the highway", then the highway might be the better answer in the long run. There are several central stations listed in Ken's Alarm Exchange which would be glad to follow reasonable instructions given by the alarm company on how to handle alarm signals and passwords.
??????????Ken, please list me as
Anon
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Response
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??????????It’s important for central stations to train operators and there should be standard procedures for responding to common signals.??I believe companies like NFPA, ETL and UL offer guidelines for response.??Whatever the procedure it should be in writing, it should be available to the dealers and it should be provided to the customers upon request.??We are not talking about a central station’s proprietary training manual, but a list of signals and how they are to be responded to.
??????????Despite operator training, technology sophistication, pop-up instructions, I think it increases risk when a customer asks the dealer and the dealer asks the central station to deviate from standard procedures.??I think it adds to operator mistakes.??So be careful what you ask for.
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301