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Roughly 25% of New York City residents are African American, but for decades the FDNY’s firefighting force was only around 3% black. Levy Ratner began investigating this disparity and learned that the City’s hiring process was systematically excluding black firefighter candidates who were well qualified to serve their City. Our clients – a group of…
Category Archives: Case Spotlight
$400K Settlement for Restaurant Workers in Wage Violation Case
Judge Ronnie Abrams has approved a settlement of more than $400,000 for claims of, among other things, unpaid overtime and minimum wages by seven workers represented by Levy Ratner. Susan Cameron discusses the settlement on NY1 Noticias here.
Class Action Lawsuit Alleges ERISA & Wage Parity Violations
On November 28, 2018, Levy Ratner and Feinberg Jackson Worthman & Wasow filed a class action on behalf of Plaintiffs Ynes Gonzalez de Fuente, Mariya Kobryn, and Ivan Kobryn in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against, among others, Preferred Home Care of New York, Edison Home Health Care,…
Victory for Fast Food Workers: McDonald’s Settlement Rejected
On July 16, Administrative Law Judge Lauren Esposito rejected a proposed settlement between McDonald’s USA and the General Counsel National Labor Relations Board, in large part because it would have little actual impact on the workers affected by McDonald’s unfair labor practices. In 2012 McDonald’s workers complained of retaliation for supporting “Fight for $15,” a…
NLRB Backs Graduate Student Unions at Private Universities
The NLRB has ruled that graduate student employees at Columbia University and other private universities have the right to form or join a union and bargain collectively, reversing a 2004 Brown University decision. Levy Ratner’s Carl Levine, who devotes a large portion of his practice to representing faculty members and unions at colleges and universities,…
Levy Ratner Wins Over Domino’s Pizza’s Unlawful Arbitration Agreement
The Fast Food Workers Committee, represented by LR’s Micah Wissinger and Gwynne Wilcox, earned a major win in their fight on behalf of fast food workers nationally. In December 2015, the NLRB ruled that Domino’s violated the law by maintaining an arbitration agreement that required employees, as a condition of employment, to waive their rights…
FDNY Electricians Win Settlement in Racial Discrimination Case
The City of New York agreed to pay $155,000, plus attorneys’ fees, to five black and Latino electricians represented by Levy Ratner in their claims of race discrimination and retaliation against the FDNY. The plaintiffs in Seabrook, et al v. City of New York also won an injunctive relief settlement aimed at advancing cultural change…