Blog Posts in 2018

Am I Legally "Disabled" if I Have a Heart Attack?

There is some confusion about what constitutes disability discrimination in New York. Simply having a serious medical condition does not make you disabled for purposes of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Rather, the ADA requires proof that your condition “substantially limits one or more major life activities.” For example, having a heart attack does not automatically qualify you as ...

The Danger of Arbitration Agreements in Overtime and Wage Hour Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis reaffirmed the ability of employers to compel employees to sign away their right to sue in favor of binding arbitration. More specifically, the Court said that agreements to arbitrate employment disputes individually rather than on a class or collective basis are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act. This includes ...

The Continuing Struggle to Classify "Gig Economy" Workers in New York

One of the biggest ongoing debates in employment law is how to properly classify workers as “employees” or “independent contractors” in the digital economy. The media throws around the term “gig economy” to describe workers who provide services through online platforms. This provides little guidance for judges and state officials who need to decide which of these workers is entitled to important ...

Court of Appeals Limits Union Employees' Rights in Section 75 Cases

Section 75 of the New York Civil Service Law is designed to give public employees the right to challenge potential disciplinary actions against them. What if the employee is represented by a union? According to a recent (and unsettling) decision from the New York Court of Appeals , an individual employee's rights may be subsumed by the union's collective bargaining agreement. Ex-Sheriff's Employee ...