long island employment lawyers Tag Archives — Page 3 of 3

December 20, 2017

Arbitrating Employment Wage Cases

Many employers include an arbitration clause in their employment contracts. An employee who signs this contract, gives up his or her right to sue in court over any job-related issues that may arise such as claims for wrongful termination, minimum wage payment violations, and overtime pay violations. Today’s employment law blog discusses recent developments about the applicability of arbitration clauses to claims of unpaid wages and overtime in New York.

Employers like to include arbitration clauses because the arbitration process is generally a quicker and cheaper alternative to a proceeding in court. Yet, a worker recently disagreed with a court’s decision requiring that he use arbitration instead of filing his Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) claim in court.

On December 12, 2017, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals was asked to decide whether claims under unpaid wage and overtime claims underthe FLSA are in fact subject to arbitration.

November 28, 2017

Probable Cause for Disability Discrimination

by Famighetti & Weinick

On November 21, 2017, the New York State Division of Human Rights determined that probable cause exists to believe that an employer discriminated against an employee on the basis of perceived disability. Long Island employment lawyers Famighetti & Weinick PLLC filed the charge of discrimination against a Nassau County employer in the Spring 2017 on behalf of one of the workers.

Perceived Disability Discrimination

The New York State Human Rights Law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of the employee having a disability. Oftentimes, the question arises as to what constitutes a disability under the Human Rights Law. Under the statute, a disability can be an actual disability which is a medical impairment which affects the exercise of a normal body function. For example, a person with diabetes has a medical condition which affects the body’s ability to use sugar, so a person with diabetes will likely be considered disabled under the discrimination statute.

November 21, 2017

Punitive Damages Under New York City Human Rights Law

by Famighetti & Weinick

The New York City Human Rights Law prohibits employment discrimination based on, among other things, an employee’s gender. The law has plainly provided for punitive damages against employers who violate the law. Punitive damages are generally available in cases as a way to dissuade others from engaging in similar unlawful conduct and to punish the wrongdoer. On November 20, 2017, the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest state court, settled the standard which courts should apply in deciding whether punitive damages should be allowed in a discrimination case.

Employment Discrimination Lawsuit in Federal Court

In Chauca v. Abraham, the employee was a physical therapy aide. She sued her employer for sex and pregnancy discrimination, under the federal law Title VII, under the New York State Human Rights Law, and under the New York City Human Rights Law. At trial, the employee’s lawyer asked the judge to instruct the jury to consider whether punitive damages were appropriate under the New York City Human Rights Law. The court applied Title VII’s punitive damages standard which requires the employee to show malice, reckless indifference, or an intent to violate the law. The court determined that the employee did not show any evidence of intent so the judge refused to instruct the jury to consider imposing punitive damages.

November 1, 2017

$39,541 Judgment Obtained for Worker

by Famighetti & Weinick

On October 25, 2017, Long Island employment lawyers Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC obtained a $39,541 judgment for their client, a former cook in a restaurant. The lawsuit, filed in Supreme Court, New York County, alleged that the restaurant did not pay the client overtime and failed to provide with her wage statements as required by New York Law.

New York Overtime Laws

In New York, employers are required to pay their employees overtime pay for all hours worked over 40 in a week. Generally, overtime is one and one half times the employee’s regular rate of pay. In F&W’s case, the employee worked as much as 75 hours per week, but was paid only a flat “salary” rate of $520 in cash. So, F&W argued that the $520 represented payment for only the first 40 hours worked in the week, meaning the employee was owed regular wages plus overtime wages for up to 35 hours per week. Justice Nancy Bannon agreed with F&W and further agreed that the employee was entitled to unpaid wages totaling $17,452 for the 6 months the employee worked for the restaurant.

October 19, 2017

Is Perceived Alcoholism a Disability?

by Famighetti & Weinick

Can an employer fire an employee if it believes the employee has bloodshot eyes and believes it is because the employee is abusing drugs when, in fact, the employee is suffering from allergies? The highest state court in New York recently said “YES!”

On October 17, 2017, in Makinen v. City of New York, the New York Court of Appeals decided that employees in New York City, could not sue an employer for disability discrimination when the employer mistakenly perceives the employee to be an alcoholic.

New York Disability Discrimination Laws

September 20, 2017

Judge Grants FW’s Motion in Potential Class Action Case

by Famighetti & Weinick

Long Island employment lawyers, Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC, represented a Long Island limousine company accused in a class action lawsuit of not paying its employees’ tips and overtime. On September 15, 2017, a Nassau County Supreme Court justice granted F&W’s motion to dismiss the case. The situation is discussed below.

F&W’s client operates a limousine company. According to the plaintiff in the case, he alleged that the company did not pay its drivers proper overtime for the hours he, and other employees, worked over 40 in a week. The plaintiff further alleged that the company collected gratuities from its customers and told the customers that the tips would be given to the drivers, but that the company then kept the tips, instead of paying them to the drivers. Additionally, the plaintiff alleged his pay stubs did not meet the requirements of the New York Labor Law’s Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA). The plaintiff attempted to bring his claims as a class action, on behalf of himself and all of the limousine company’s drivers.

F&W partner and Long Island employment lawyer Matt Weinick filed a motion on behalf of the limousine company seeking to dismiss the lawsuit in its entirety. Among other things, Weinick argued that the plaintiff’s last pay stub proved he was paid properly, that the overtime claim was otherwise not sufficiently stated and supported by facts in the complaint, that the allegations relating to the tip issue were not sufficiently stated in the complaint, and that since those claims failed, the wage statement claim was also required to be dismissed under the law.

September 20, 2017

Long Island Employment Lawyers Selected by Super Lawyers Magazine

by Famighetti & Weinick

Long Island employment lawyers Peter J. Famighetti and Matthew Weinick, partners of Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC, were selected for inclusion in the 2017 Super Lawyers New York Metro Magazine. 2017 marks the sixth year in a row Weinick was selected to the Rising Stars list and the fourth consecutive year Famighetti was selected for the Super Lawyers list.

Less than 5% of the lawyers in New York State are selected to the Super Lawyers list after undergoing a patented selection process which uses an evaluation based on 12 “indicators,” making Famighetti’s selection truly special. On his selection, Famighetti said, “I am honored that Super Lawyers chose me for inclusion on such an exclusive listing of attorneys.” Famighetti was selected for the practice area of plaintiff’s employment litigation.

The Rising Star selection process narrows the nominees to less than 2.5% of the lawyers in New York State. Eligible lawyers are either under 40 years old or have been practicing for less than 10 years. Weinick commented, “I am so proud that Super Lawyers has recognized me for six consecutive years.” Weinick was also selected for the practice area of plaintiff’s employment litigation.

September 13, 2017

Employment Law Update Delivered by Weinick

by Famighetti & Weinick

On September 12, 2017, Long Island employment lawyer Matthew Weinick delivered a presentation to a packed meeting of the Nassau County Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law committee. Weinick spoke about cases decided by the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017. Issues decided by the Court and discussed by Weinick included the causation standard for FMLA retaliation cases, whether employees can be lawfully terminated for refusing to sign an illegal confidentiality agreement, and whether employees of religious organizations can bring claims of employment discrimination against the organization.

The hour long presentation drew a large and attentive crowd. Attendees participated in discussions about the National Labor Relations Board’s recent employee friendly decisions and the meaning of changes to the causation standard in employment retaliation cases.

Weinick proudly serves as secretary of the Labor and Employment Law committee and was excited to have the opportunity to present in front of so many of his colleagues, friends, and even adversaries.

September 1, 2017

Weinick to Give Update on Employment Law

by Famighetti & Weinick

Long Island employment lawyer Matthew Weinick will be presenting a continuing legal education class about appellate decisions relating to employment law, decided in 2017. The class will take place at the Nassau County Bar Association on September 12, 2017.

Employment Law Meetings

From September through June, the Nassau County Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law committee holds a lunch meeting at the Bar Association in Mineola, New York. At each meeting, a continuing legal education presentation is given by either a committee or bar association member, or a guest speaker from outside the association. The meetings allow members to stay abreast of the latest happenings in employment law. The lunch setting fosters relationship building among Long Island’s employment lawyer community.