Employer Counseling

Many individual owners of closely held businesses want to hire an employee for the business, but lack the cash flow to do so. Periodically, owners of a cash-strapped, closely held business in Manhattan, NYC, who want the business to hire a worker, will ask me whether, instead of paying the worker the minimum wage and any overtime pay, the business may…Read More

Under the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act,  N.Y. City Admin. Code § 6-134 (the “New York City Fair Wages Act,” the “Fair Wages Act,” the “Act,” or the “NYCFWA”) and then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's Executive Order No. 7 dated September 30, 2014 ("Executive Order No. 7"), companies or individuals who receive, from New York City or…Read More

On October 29 and October 30, 2012, Hurricane Sandy, a tropical cyclone, struck New Jersey and New York City (including the borough of Manhattan). Hurricane Sandy killed over a hundred people, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, and left millions without electric power for days or weeks. As a result of Hurricane Sandy and the blackout that the hurricane caused,…Read More

Yes, up to a point.  Regardless of the workers' gender, workers in New York State are eligible for up to twelve (12) weeks of family care leave at 67% of the employee’s average weekly wage, up to a maximum of 67% of New York State’s average weekly wage.  Among the circumstances in which a worker in New York State may…Read More

On March 13, 2013, the New York City Council, by a vote of 43 to 4, overrode then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s February 22, 2013 veto of Local Law 14 of 2013 (“Local Law 14” or the “Act”). Effective June 11, 2013, Local Law 14 prohibits any employer in New York City (including the borough of Manhattan) from basing an employment decision…Read More

Potential clients often ask me questions along the lines of: “My company is just a small employer. Does this [New York State or New York City] statute apply to me?” That is, prospective clients often inquire whether, in light of the number of workers that their businesses employ, their businesses must comply with a particular, labor-related statute enacted by, or a given,…Read More

In general, yes. Employees’ claims for wages, salaries or commissions earned before the filing of a corporate employer’s bankruptcy petition are dischargeable, unless such pre-petition wage claims are debt for “willful and malicious injury by the debtor [the employer] to another entity [the employees] or to the property of another entity [the employees].” 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6). The case law of the U.S. Court of…Read More

On June 11, 2013, in Glatt v. Searchlight Pictures Inc., No. 11 Civ. 6784, 2013 WL 2495140 (S.D.N.Y. June 11, 2013) (Pauley, J.), vacated and remanded, 811 F.3d 528 (2d Cir. 2016), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that defendants Fox Searchlight Pictures Inc. (“Fox Searchlight”), a producer and distributor of feature films, and Fox…Read More

On July 7, 2014, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the New York Compassionate Care Act, N.Y. State Senate Bill S07923, N.Y. State Assembly Bill A06357E (the “NYCCA” or the “Act”), which, effective immediately, legalizes and comprehensively regulates the manufacture, sale and use of medical marijuana in New York State. The New York State Assembly had passed the…Read More

On July 23, 2015, in Lola v. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, No. 14-3845 (2d Cir. July 23, 2015), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, reversing the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York’s order dismissing the plaintiff contract lawyer’s putative collective action, held that the plaintiff stated a claim upon which relief can…Read More