The City of New York agreed to pay $155,000, plus attorneys’ fees, to five black and Latino electricians in their claims of race discrimination and retaliation against the FDNY. They were represented by Levy Ratner’s Dana E. Lossia and Robert H. Stroup.
Category Archives: News & Commentary
Restaurant Workers Awarded $400k in Wage Violation Case
When seven restaurant workers sued their employer for claims of unpaid overtime and minimum wage violations, Levy Ratner’s Allyson L. Belovin reached a settlement of more than $400,000 on their behalf. Judge Ronnie Abrams of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, awarded the plaintiffs’ recoveries ranging from $15,700 up to $85,650 each,…
Women Stand Up Against Cleveland Fire Department Job Discrimination
Cleveland’s written and physical tests for firefighter jobs discriminate against women, found the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, based upon charges filed by Levy Ratner’s Dana Lossia and Rebekah Cook-Mack, along with our co-counsel at Nichols Kaster, PLLP. Our clients are women who were unfairly disqualified in the testing process and are demanding fair hiring…
In-Depth Case Study: Fire Department of New York
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…
NY New Law Makes Sexual Harassment & Discrimination Claims Easier
In June, the New York State legislature significantly lowered the legal bar for employees to sue their employers if they have been subjected to sexual harassment or other forms of workplace discrimination. Previously, New York State law tracked federal law when it came to the standard for showing unlawful discrimination. Under Federal law, employees must…
New York City Lactation Room Laws Go Into Effect
On March 18, 2019, new laws went into effect in New York City requiring lactation rooms in certain City spaces, requiring employers to provide lactation rooms, and requiring employers to implement a lactation room accommodation policy. Employers in New York City must now provide a lactation room that is within a reasonable proximity to employees’…
Settling Employee Faces Jail for Breaking Non-Disparagement Agreement
Many negotiated severance agreements contain confidentiality provisions and non-disparagement clauses. In a reminder that these provisions must be taken seriously, a federal judge has held a former Genzyme Corp. employee in contempt – with the possibility of incarceration – for her repeated refusals to comply with those provisions of her settlement agreement with Genzyme. This…
$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.
NYS Bans Gender Expression Discrimination & Conversion Therapy
On January 25, 2019, Governor Cuomo signed the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) into law in New York. GENDA amends existing law to include gender identity or expression as a protected class and prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression in employment, housing, education, credit, and access to public accommodations. An estimated…
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,…