Long Island Employment Law Blog

The First Amendment familiarly protects free speech rights. Through the nation’s history, courts have had to decide whether there are boundaries to free speech, and if so, what are those boundaries? In two particular circumstances — public employment and public schools — individuals maintain free speech rights. But, because of the nature of those circumstances,…

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. So-called “reverse discrimination” claims arise when a member of a majority group is discriminated against, i.e. if a white male were to face employment discrimination on the basis of…

Under New York Labor 191, employers are required to pay manual workers every week. But, what happens if an employer pays all the wages that are due to an employee, but pays them late? For example, if an employer pays a manual worker every other week, can the employee sue the employer for violating the…

On May 8, 2025, the New York State Board of Regents passed a significant rule change concerning the suspension of teachers in New York State. Newly amended Rule 83.7 allows the Commissioner of Education to issue an interim suspension of a teacher’s license who had been accused of a sex offense or boundary violation. What…

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires, among other things, that employers provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities. But, what if the disabled employee can perform the functions of her job without an accommodation? Does the ADA still require the employer to provide an accommodation? The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York discusses…

Litigation, i.e. lawsuits, are filled with uncertainty. This is the primary reason that an overwhelming majority of lawsuits settle before a trial. There are estimates that up to 95% of cases settle before trial. Settlements represent a compromise – the parties to the lawsuit, called litigants, don’t want to bear the risk of losing, so…

On November 26, 2024, New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, decided a case concerning the ministerial exception to employment discrimination cases. Famighetti & Weinick previously blogged about this exception. Now, the Court of Appeals has weighed in on the subject. Today’s Long Island employment law blog discusses Ibhawa v. New York State…

Last month, employment lawyers Famighetti & Weinick PLLC shared a client review in which the client rated the firm five stars and thanked us for helping him “win” his case. We promised to blog about the client’s interesting case and today is the day. Today’s Long Island employment law blog discusses the firm’s successful appeal…

The Family Medical Leave Act is a federal law which provides up to 12 weeks of leave for qualified employees. On September 9, 2024, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction in New York, issued a decision clarifying when employers can be liable for interfering with employees’ FMLA rights. Today’s employment law blog…

New York Labor Law 195, known as the Wage Theft Prevention Act or WTPA, requires that employers in New York do two things: (1) upon an employee’s hire, the employer must provide the employee with a wage notice, identifying information such as the employee’s regular rate of pay and overtime rate of pay; and (2)…