Recently Asked Questions

We got a question about implementing the new Section 52-c of the New York Civil Rights Law, which requires employers to notify employees if their workplace communications will be monitored.  

A director of a library resources council asks…

I know we have policy and procedures in place for our staff travel, but what if we were to reimburse or give grants for personal auto travel to members.

Example: could we offer a monetary amount for our members to travel to Albany for NYLA Legislative Day? Would our [library]council be liable if the person gets in an accident?

We also offer Professional Development grants. If travel is included in the grant we award are we liable for supporting that trip if the person is in an accident or injured?

[My library's] community is calling for a member of the staff to have a seat on the board as a voting member. However, I am searching for something in the trustee handbook or DLD regulations that explicitly states this. I am not aware of any library that has ever had a staff member sit on the board as a voting trustee. I'm not inclined to agree because there are multiple knock-on effects they have not contemplated (e.g. changes to by-laws, number of seats on the board, not to mention the ethicality of a staff member sitting on a body that directs hiring/wages/appointments etc.). Of course, local by-laws are also in effect, but those do not state staff cannot be on the board, it's always just been common knowledge.

Any help/advice you could provide about the ethical question, as well as perhaps the legal one, would be very helpful.

Many thanks.

How long should the library retain employee records, payroll records, sales and purchase records, mortgage and loan documents, and other records?

This is an issue that's come up in recent conversation. If an individual who no longer works at an institution finds that their picture is still being used by said institution, whether in promotional photos or on staff/faculty pages, does that individual have any legal recourse? It seems wrong for an institution to continue to use photos of faculty, staff, or even students who are no longer affiliated with the institution but it seems to promote the idea that they are. Sometimes it could be carelessness, other times it seems like there is an illusion of diversity being promoted. What could someone do if they find that their image/likeness is still being used by their former employer, for whatever reason?