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On July 6, 2011, after an 11-day hearing, an arbitration panel of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. ("FINRA"), sitting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, awarded compensatory damages of $4,300,000 to broker Gregory P. Kipple ("the claimant broker," "the broker," or "Mr. Kipple"), who allegedly was fired by respondents Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC ("Wells Fargo") and Wachovia Securities, LLC ("Wachovia Securities") for writing a…Read More

A company in Manhattan, NYC makes a written offer of employment to an individual. Before the individual begins working at the company, the company’s profits plunge or its budget is cut significantly. If the company withdraws the written offer of employment before the individual starts work, does the individual have a valid cause of action against the company for breach of…Read More

The federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (the "ICRA") preempts "any State or local law imposing civil or criminal sanctions (other than through licensing and similar laws) upon those who employ, or recruit, or refer for a fee for employment, unauthorized aliens" (emphasis added).  8 U.S.C. § 1324a(h)(2).  This post sometimes refers to the italicized clause as the "savings clause" of…Read More

“I could have been a contender.” — Marlon Brando as Terry Molloy in On the Waterfront When, in a promissory note arbitration brought before FINRA in Manhattan, NY, the respondent broker’s promissory note contains a merger clause or integration clause, the question arises: Does the merger clause prohibit the broker from successfully maintaining a counterclaim against the claimant brokerage firm for fraudulently inducing him to…Read More

On June 1, 2011, in Voss v. Tranquilino, No. A-110-09 (N.J. June 1, 2011), the New Jersey Supreme Court, affirming the judgment of New Jersey's Appellate Division, held, in a per curiam opinion from which two Justices dissented, that a driver of a motor vehicle who is convicted of, or pleads guilty to, driving while intoxicated ("DWI"), N.J.S.A. § 39:4-50(a), may recover damages under the New…Read More

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219 (the “FLSA”), and its corresponding regulations, 29 C.F.R. § 510 et seq., require that most employees in the U.S. be paid not less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked and overtime pay at 1½ times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of…Read More

On May 6, 2011, after an eight-day hearing, an arbitration panel of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”), sitting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, held that a discharged broker of Bank of America Corp. (“BAC”)’s Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“Merrill Lynch,” the “brokerage firm,” or the “firm”) need not pay Merrill Lynch $3.3 million due on a forgivable loan.…Read More

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219 (the "FLSA"), and its corresponding regulations, 29 C.F.R. § 510 et seq.,  require nearly all employers to pay most employees not less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked and overtime pay at 1½ times the regular rate of pay for all…Read More

Effective June 1, 2011, a new statute in New Jersey prohibits businesses from excluding unemployed individuals in advertisements for job vacancies.  The new statute does not require companies in New Jersey actually to consider hiring the unemployed. Specifically, on or about April 24, 2011, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed into law a statute, Public Law 2011, Chapter 40, codified as…Read More

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219 (the “FLSA”), and its implementing regulations, 29 C.F.R. § 510 et seq., mandate that most employees in the United States be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked and overtime pay at 1½ times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked…Read More