Long Island Employment Law Blog

Federal Courts recently decided two cases involving public employee First Amendment issues. In Lane v. Franks, the U.S. Supreme Court settled an important question of law –whether public employers who testify truthfully pursuant to a subpoena are protected from retaliation by their employer under the First Amendment. In Pekowsky v. Yonkers Bd. of Educ., Judge…

Many employees think that “whistleblowing” in the workplace is widely protected. However, New York’s primary whistleblower statute, Labor Law 740, is very narrow and only protects a very specific set of whistleblowing activities. Although the requirements to prove such claims at trial have not changed nor has scope of the protections changed, New York’s highest…

This week, New York City implemented legislation to provide the same workplace protections to unpaid interns which paid employees have enjoyed for years. Last year, a federal judge ruled that the New York City Human Rights Law, which prohibits discrimination in the workplace, covers only employees. He reasoned that unpaid interns were not employees so…

Last week, a New York Appellate Court in Manhattan upheld a judgment in an employment discrimination case awarding the plaintiff $1.2 million in punitive damages and $400,000 in compensatory damages, for a total award of $1.6 million. The plaintiff sued her former employer for violations of the New York City Human Rights Law, including for…

Multiple news agencies are reporting about an astonishing story from Rome, New York. According to a New York State Attorney General Press Release, the Betsy Ross Nursing and Rehabilitation Center discriminated against African-American employees by barring them from working in a particular unit of the nursing home. Incredibly, the home posted a sign in the…

CNN is reporting about a case in Florida which again reminds us of the dangers of Facebook. According to CNN, the head of a Florida school sued the school for age discrimination. The case settled, but almost immediately, the plaintiff’s daughter posted about the settlement on Facebook: “Mama and Papa Snay won the case against…

More evidence of the dangers of employees using social media surfaced last week. In Duke v. Hamil, a Federal Court in Georgia sent a strong message to employees – beware of what you post on Facebook. Rex Duke, Deputy Chief of Police of the Clayton State Police Department, had more than 30 years of experience…

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After a jury trial spanning nearly two weeks, Matt Weinick won his client’s First Amendment political retaliation claim. Taking less than two hours to deliberate, the jury quickly returned a verdict for his client, including awarding $150,000 in emotional damages. The judge will decide how much to award in back pay and front pay, but…

Civil rights lawyers Peter J. Famighetti and Matthew Weinick have opened their new law firm Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC in Melville, New York. Learn More…