News & Commentary

Meredith Whittaker is a Research Professor at New York University, the Co-founder of NYU’s AI Now Institute, and the founder of Google’s Open Research group. She was also a leader in labor organizing efforts, including the Google Walkout and other mobilizations, while employed at Google  Her organizing drew from her research, recognizing that a powerful…

As reported in other What You Need to Know Now updates on LR’s website, the recently enacted Family First Coronavirus Response Act (Act) expands emergency paid sick leave and family and medical leave during the COVID-19 emergency. However, the new law also addresses testing for COVID-19. The Act requires all group health plans to cover…

New York and New Jersey have modified the unemployment insurance claim process in order to speed up access to benefits for workers laid off as a result of the Coronavirus public health emergency. Under normal circumstances, New York requires unemployment insurance claimants to wait seven days after losing their jobs before they can claim for…

On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The new law extends protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to workers at companies with fewer than 500 employees and also requires companies with fewer than 500 employees to provide paid sick leave to workers under certain…

In response to the growing COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law legislation to protect workers in COVID-19-related isolation and quarantine. This emergency legislation mandates sick, disability, and paid family leave for employees in government-ordered isolation or quarantine. The COVID-19 sick leave, is separate from any accrued sick-leave which an employee may already have….

Levy Ratner Partner Allyson L. Belovin has been selected as one of City & State’s 100 most impactful members of the New York Law Community. In its March 9th issue, the publication offers a look at the work that earned Belovin’s inclusion in this year’s list: When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was sued for blocking former Assemblyman…

Artnet and other news outlets have identified a rising trend: museum workers across the country are unionizing. These acts of organizing in the art world have been framed as a movement sweeping the nation, yet the complexities of unionization for professionals and institutions have remained opaque. This panel discussion will examine the contemporary state of…

In our role representing the Fast Food Workers Committee, Levy Ratner attorneys helped structure successful workplace actions and demonstrations in New York City that formed a foundation for the national living‑wage movement known as Fight for $15. Micah Wissinger was one of the architects of landmark litigation before the National Labor Relations Board involving McDonald’s Corporation and…

This  case began in 2015 when the Alabama state legislature passed a bill to block the Birmingham City Council’s attempt to raise the minimum wage in Birmingham to $10.10. The wage increase would have made Birmingham the first city in the South to raise its minimum wage. The legislature’s decision to block the wage increase,…

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.