Labor & Employment Litigation

In these harsh economic times, it is often difficult to distinguish between a bona fide cost-driven “layoff” and a discriminatory termination.  Over the past year, we have seen a tremendous increase in inquiries from residents of Nassau and Suffolk counties who have lost jobs at all financial levels under circumstances that are worthy of legal scrutiny. 

New York is an “at will” State: unless an individual has a binding contract (union or other), for a specified duration, the employer can fire him for no reason, a good reason, or a bad reason, as long as it is not a “discriminatory” reason.   Employment, therefore, is at the will of the employer, and in Nassau and Suffolk counties, it seems that many businesses have been exercising that will of late.  Most individuals who lose their jobs are surprised to learn that the employer does not have to give a reason, does not have to explain his motivation, and quite frankly, does not have to be “nice” about it, regardless of how “indispensable” the person thinks he was or how long she was there.  An employer discriminates in violation of the law, however, if race, color, national origin, religion, disability/handicap, pregnancy (if its disabling), age, gender, sexual orientation or whistleblower status, retaliation and sexual harassment, is a motivating factor.  If the employee’s attorney creates an inference of discrimination, the employer must demonstrate that it was motivated by a legitimate business interest (a cost-cutting initiative, for example); if the employer does so, the burden shifts to the employee to prove that the “reason” was merely a pretext to unlawful discrimination.

Note: As of February 1, 2009, New York’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN”), sponsored by State Assemblywoman Patricia Eddington (Suffolk County), requires companies with 50 or more employees to give at least 90 days advanced written notice of a mass layoff (25 employees or more, if they comprise 33% of the workforce, or 250 full-timers) or a non-emergency plant closing.  The legislation imposes stricter time and numbers requirements than the comparable Federal law, and while hailed by the unions, it is criticized as ambiguous by employer groups. 

KLA represents individuals prosecuting and companies defending wrongful termination lawsuits in both the State and Federal courts, particularly in Nassau and Suffolk counties.  We have litigated extensively before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Federal) and the New York State Division of Human Rights (State) in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and have negotiated numerous settlements in those forums. We are very well-versed in the nuances of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (Section 1981); the Equal Pay Act; the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA); the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA); the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the 2007 Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act, and New York’s Labor Law and Executive Law. We also have extensive experience successfully litigating cases of libel, slander, defamation, assault and battery, false arrest, and any other matter that arises out of or relates to the employment relationship in the Nassau and Suffolk courts.