GNYADA October 2018 Newsletter

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14 AG Imposes Hefty Fines for Deceptive Practices The New York Attorney General’s Office recently announced a settle- ment with a local dealer, requiring it to pay over $423,000 in restitution, costs and penalties to the State and to change its business practices. Consumers alleged that, after negoti- ating deals in their primary lan- a consumer signs the English-lan- guage documents. Two other local dealerships were subject to a court order stopping be risky. To avoid legal problems, you need to be sure you make proper disclosures, ensure consumers under- stand the terms of the deal and that you have made proper translations. Document the consumer acknowl- edged understanding all the terms of the sale.

them from certain business practices and requiring payment of restitution, damages, and civil penalties. These dealers were alleged to have decep- tively charged as many as 1,100 cus- tomers for unwanted add-ons, which were sometimes not even added to the car, that increased the sale by anywhere from $129 - $3,998. Takeaways for Dealers Dealers on a regular basis assist con- sumer whose primary language is not English by conducting the sales transaction in the customer's pre- ferred language, but this is a hot topic among enforcement agencies and good intentions can sometimes 1964 states that employers with 15 or more employees “must reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer.” A safety risk can be considered an undue hardship. For example, if an employee’s reli- gion requires a head covering, that employee would be exempt from a dealership policy that prohibits head- wear, unless it’s a safety risk (e.g., that employee is a technician who works with machinery on which the head covering could get caught). The best way to prevent dress code issues is: Let candidates know require- ments and expectations upfront; Explain the policy in the inter- n n

guages, which were mainly Chinese dialects, the dealer used English-only contracts that significantly changed the deal’s terms to include add-ons that consumers had not requested nor agreed to. Consumers also allege that dealership staff failed to complete refinancing agreements and changed loan terms without consent. Importantly, this dealership is now required to translate all sales and loan documents into every language in which it conducts business before Picture this: it’s your experienced new hire’s first day. You expect them to be a sales superstar, but in they walk with facial piercings and visible tattoos! None of these were visible during the interview, so what are your options now? State and federal regulations permit dress code and appearance policies that regulate clothing and footwear, ban certain hair colors or styles, and forbid or limit tattoos and piercings. Dealerships may even have different standards for different departments. For example, employees who do not deal with clients may be allowed to have visible tattoos while salespeople must have them covered.

If your dealership advertises in for- eign languages, specific signs and disclosures in those languages may be required - NYC has a number of such requirements. If you have a sign in your dealership promoting the for- eign language abilities of your sales people, be prepared to provide docu- ments in those languages. Additionally, dealers should never include add-ons in a sale unless the customer has specifically agreed to the purchase. view or even in the job posting; Include the policy in the Employee Handbook or distribute the written policy separately; Have employees sign an acknowledgement of receipt; Train management to handle requests for accommodation and ensure that the policy is consis- tently enforced. What do you do about the new hire? As long as none of the body modifi- cations has religious significance, you can require them to remove piercings/cover tattoos and, if they refuse, terminate them for failing to comply with the dealership’s policy. SAVE THE DATE: GNYADA’s Employee Relations Plan is holding its Annual Labor Law Seminar on October 18th or 24th. n n n