Matt graduated cum laude from Hofstra Law School. While at Hofstra, Matt served as notes and comments editor of the Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal, which also published his article about workers’ rights. Matt interned for United States District Judge Denis R. Hurley while in law school.

After graduating from law school, Matt worked for the Nassau County Attorney’s Office where he was assigned to the General Litigation Bureau, handling employment law matters as well as “Constitutional torts” in which Matt defended Nassau County employees such as police officers and corrections officers, in lawsuits alleging violations of citizens’ Constitutional rights. Among the high profile cases Matt worked on was a lawsuit alleging the police department’s use of mounted police was unconstitutional and another case alleging Nassau County’s decision to post pictures of individuals arrested for DWI was unconstitutional.

In 2010, Matt entered private practice and worked for a highly regarded employment litigation firm on Long Island. Matt represented employees alleging claims of employment discrimination and retaliation. Matt also worked on other complex matters handled by the firm. For example, Matt represented a party in a litigation arising from the investment in and subsequent bankruptcy of a large Las Vegas casino/hotel, he defended the owner of an automobile dealership in a lawsuit contesting ownership of the dealership, and he represented the beneficiary of the estate of the “godfather of rap” in a dispute related to the administration of the estate.

In 2013, Matt joined with Long Island employment lawyer Peter J. Famighetti to open Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC. At F&W, Matt continues to fight for workplace rights by bringing claims against employers for workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation. Matt also represents business owners and successfully defeated a limousine drivers’ attempts to bring a class action lawsuit for allegedly unpaid tips and overtime against a limousine company.

Matt routinely appears in the federal and state courts of New York at both the trial and appellate levels. Among his achievements, he won a plaintiff’s jury verdict for $150,00 in emotional damages in a First Amendment political association case, he won $100,00 in damages after a hearing on his client’s defamation case, and he obtained a judgment for more than $350,000 for his client who was not paid the proper minimum wage and overtime. His cases have received attention from the press and he has been interviewed by newspapers such as Newsday, the New York Post, and the New York Daily News.

Matt’s work has been commended by judges, attorney review websites and magazines, and clients. For instance, Matt received a 10.0 rating from attorney review website AVVO, he has been listed as a Rising Star in Super Lawyers Metro Magazine for 6 straight years, and a United States Magistrate Judge described Matt as “an experienced attorney . . . primarily in employment litigation” and noted his court submissions were “detailed, thorough, and accurate.” About her experience with Matt, former client “Sara” said “Matt Weinick is an excellent attorney. With his assistance I was able to get exonerated from false allegations against me.”

Additionally, Matt is devoted to the Long Island legal community. He is the secretary of the Nassau County Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law committee, he has published multiple articles about employment law in the Bar Association’s newspaper, he has given Continuing Legal Education classes on employment law and led other discussions about civil rights laws, and he is a Guest Lecturer at Hofstra Law School where for three years, he has taught the Foundational Lawyering Skills class to second year students.

On the personal side, Matt is an avid SCUBA diver and he has dove in exotic locations such as the meso-American reef system in Mexico and the Catalina Islands in Costa Rica. Matt also loves music and plays guitar and when not in the office, Matt can often be found practicing playing. For nearly 24 years, Matt has volunteered in his community as an Emergency Medical Technician and/or Firefighter.

If you would like to speak to Long Island employment lawyer Matthew Weinick, he can be reached by phone at 631-352-0050 x 100, by email at mbw@fwlawpllc.com, or by text message at 631-629-2102. His website profile is available at https://www.linycemploymentlaw.com/matthew-weinick.

FMLA Retaliation and Interference

On July 19, 2017, in Woods v. START Treatment & Recovery Centers, Inc., the highest federal court in New York decided a case relating to the FMLA and answered two important questions.

In the Woods case, the plaintiff was a substance abuse counselor at START. Woods suffers from severe anemia and other medical conditions. For these reasons, Woods requested medical leave on at least four occasions. START is a nonprofit that provides services to narcotic-addicted patients. In 2012, after working at START for approximately five years, Woods was fired twelve days after she returned to work from an FMLA protected leave. Start claims she was fired because of performance issues. Woods, however, claims she was fired because she requested FMLA leave. After Woods was fired, she sued START for FMLA interference and retaliation. After she sued and sat for her deposition, she was asked several questions about a prior incident where she was accused of wrongdoing such as criminal conduct, lying, fabrication, and fraud. Woods decided not to answer these questions and instead, invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

The FMLA prohibits an employer from interfering, restraining, or denying an employee’s right to exercise a leave of absence under the FMLA. The FMLA also prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee for exercising their rights under the FMLA. For example, an employer can’t fire an employee for taking FMLA leave.

In this case, the lower court applied a “but-for” causation standard in determining whether START did in fact retaliate against Woods for taking FMLA leave. In other words, Woods had to show that retaliation was the main reason why she was fired. The “but-for” standard is harder to prove than the “motivating factor” standard, which is another causation standard courts often use to determine whether the adverse employment action in an employment discrimination case was in fact illegal. The reason why the “motivating factor” standard is easier to prove is because the employee only needs to show that the adverse action, in this case Woods’ being fired, was motivated, at least in part, because of retaliation.

Another issue in the Woods case, was that the lower court gave the jury an “adverse inference” instruction. This “adverse inference” allowed the jury to infer, if they wanted to, that Woods’ refusal to answer certain questions at her deposition meant that she had basically answered a “yes” to the questions about previous wrongdoing that were asked and thus, they could use it against her when evaluating her credibility.

On July 19, 2017, the Second Circuit ruled that the lower court’s decision was incorrect and held that the “motivating factor” causation standard applies in FMLA retaliation cases and not the “but-for” standard.

Additionally, the Second Circuit ruled that Woods was unfairly prejudiced by allowing the jury to use adverse inferences against her because most of the questions that were asked at her deposition related to whether Woods had been accused of something. The Second Circuit held that accusations alone are not enough to impair someone’s credibility because “the innocent and guilty alike can be accused of wrongdoing.”

Long Island FMLA Lawyers

In sum, courts in New York will have to apply the “motivating factor” standard instead of the heightened “but-for” standard in FMLA retaliation claims. Courts will also have to be careful in their “adverse inference” instructions because they can be unnecessarily prejudicial to the plaintiff.

If you have questions about FMLA retaliation, contact the Long Island employment lawyers at Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC. Our phone number is 631-352-0050 and our website is http://linycemployment.com.

Today’s employment law blog was written by law student intern, Thalia Olaya.