Long Island Employment Law Blog
At Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC, we typically bring lawsuits under Federal anti-discrimination and workplace laws, which means that most of our cases are in Federal Court. One of the ways we can gain an advantage in our cases, is by understanding the rules of procedure and using them to our benefit.
In December, amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will take effect. The lawyers at Famighetti & Weinick have been staying abreast of the changes. Partner, Matt Weinick, even participated in a bar association committee meeting which debated some of the proposed changes and presented proposals for the bar association to accept as its official comments to the changes.
Below, is a summary of some of the key changes which will take effect.
Government employees have important protections generally not available to private sector employees. If you work for a town, village, county, library, or school district, you are probably a government employee. Public employees may have rights with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) or rights under the Constitution. Additionally, public employees may be entitled to a hearing in connection with termination or other disciplinary action. Famighetti & Weinick is experienced in such hearings including Section 75 proceedings, 3020a charges, and hearings at OATH.
Governments such as towns, villages, counties and states are bound by the Constitution. If a government has violated a person’s Constitutional rights, that may be grounds for a lawsuit. Famighetti & Weinick is experienced in First Amendment cases such as free speech and association, and also other Constitutional cases, such as false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, excessive force and due process. We are also experienced in prisoner cases including conditions of confinement.