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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…
Category Archives: News & Commentary
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,…
Ensuring widespread access to safe and sick leave in NYC
On May 5, 2018, amendments to NYC’s Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law took effect. The amendments broadened the scope of the law; now, employees have the right to use accrued leave for sick leave, the care of family members, and to seek assistance or take other safety measures if they or a family member…
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…
Carl J. Levine’s Keynote at National Center Conference
Carl J. Levine, whose practice includes representing full-time and part-time faculty members, graduate student employees and professional staff members at institutions of higher education, participated as a panelist this March at the Annual Conference of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions. His panel presentation addressed “Contingent…
Levy Ratner Women Participate in the “A Day Without A Woman” Strike
In a statement of economic solidarity, women of Levy Ratner went on strike March 8, International Women’s Day, for equity, justice and human rights. “We know all too well that women continue to face unequal wages, sexual harassment, discrimination and job insecurity,” says Gwynne A. Wilcox, whose practice on behalf of working people has lifted…