Best Lawyers® recognized Alan Behr, Jan L. Bernstein, Regina E. Faul, Helene M. Freeman, Michael W. Galligan, Marc A. Landis, Donald P. Perry, Jeffrey Q. Smith, Evan J. Spelfogel, Martin B. Wasser and Elliot J. Wiener. 

Labor & Employment Law Practice Chair, Regina Faul was quoted in the Hollywood Reporter discussing time constraints on sexual abuse cases and the impact on employers.

Regina Faul, Partner and Chair, Employment & Labor Practice, participated as a panelist in a workshop on “Legal Advocacy in Mediation” for the New York State Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section's annual meeting on January 20, 2023.  The workshop provided practical strategies and techniques for successful client-advocacy in mediation.

Regina Faul, partner and chair of the Employment & Labor Practice, facilitated a table topic at the 2022 Ally Law AGM meeting in Switzerland on the subject of returning to work/office and employers' efforts and challenges to balance its needs and the needs of employees.

At the 2022 Ally Law AGM meeting in Switzerland which brought together Ally Law's member firms, Phillips Nizer managing partner Marc Landis was elected Vice President of the Ally Law Executive Board. In addition, partners Karen Monroe and Regina Faul presented at the event. Regina facilitated a table topic on the subject of returning to work/office and an employers efforts/challenges to balance its needs and the needs of employees.

NYS DOL has provided guidance to employers on the immediate requirements for compliance with the NY HERO Act, as previously covered in our last alert.  By August 5, 2021, employers must have adopted airborne infectious disease exposure plans.  Employers face a $50 per day penalty in place for failure timely to adopt a plan.  Employers can create a plan following NYSDOL standards or use a Model Plan created by the NYSDOL.

On May 5, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (NY HERO Act), which is intended to protect workers from airborne infectious diseases in the workplace.  The law will require employers to comply with minimum standards for workplace safety, which are to be developed, implemented and enforced by the NYS Department of Labor (NYSDOL) and the New York Department of Health (NYSDOH).  These standards, once implemented, will address testing, PPE, social distancing, hand hygiene, disinfection, and engineering controls. 


 

When former Boston Mayor and construction trades union member and leader Marty Walsh was confirmed as the 29^th U.S. Secretary of Labor on March 22, 2021, he became the first union member Secretary since the 1970s.  Walsh’s background, priorities and experience point to a significantly more pro-labor agenda than in recent years, and early action on a number of major labor initiatives, including rollbacks of Trump labor regulations. 

The Labor and Employment Law Section of the New York State Bar Association has announced that Phillips Nizer LLP Senior Counsel Evan J. Spelfogel, has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.

We are proud to congratulate our selected attorneys.

New York State has joined New York City and Westchester County in mandating that employers provide guaranteed sick leave to employees. The New York State Sick Leave Law (the “NYSSLL”) was passed earlier this year and goes into effect on September 30, 2020. For existing employees, the leave begins to accrue on September 30 and employees may begin using sick leave under the NYSSLL on January 1, 2021. The NYSSLL guarantees all individuals employed within New York State (full-time and part-time) sick leave each calendar year based on eligibility and employer status.

“It is recommended that employers review their policies and training protocols to ensure that they adequately address the extended protections,” says Regina Faul, labor and employment chair at Phillips Nizer, a law firm specializing in labor issues. “Additionally, further training of managers, supervisors and employees should include best practices for implementing and maintaining a diverse workforce with a culture of inclusion and acceptance.”

Higher EPLI rates are possible, but not in places such as New York State and New York City where these individuals were already protected, said Regina E. Faul, New York-based partner who chairs Philip Nizer LLP’s employment & labor practice.

On Wednesday, November 28, 2018, Regina E. Faul, Chair of the Employment and Labor Law Practice at Phillips Nizer, presents a free, 90-minute program, which intends to provide insight to lawyers about the changing NYS and NYC law addressing sexual harassment and other workplace issues, and also provide information that lawyers can use to recognize issues for their clients. | Registration, breakfast and networking: 8:00 - 8:30 a.m.; Program: 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. | RSVPs required by November 20th. (space is limited): events@phillipsnizer.com

Regina joins panelists to address "Settlement of FLSA Claims" at the inaugural Wage & Hour ExecuSummit on November 27, 2018.  The two-day program will be held at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The panel will convene at 1:00 p.m. | Agenda and registration details in the attached file.

A program for business owners, company executives, human resources managers and employee relations representatives. 

 

This week, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a package of 11 bills requiring most employers to provide annual sexual harassment training for workers, beginning April 1, 2019. | Read: "NYC mayor signs sexual harassment training mandate into law: Training required for employers of 15 or more by April 2019"

In April, the New York City Council overwhelmingly approved a bill to prohibit employers from inquiring about or relying on, a prospective employee’s salary history. The bill was signed into law by Mayor Bill De Blasio on May 4, 2017. [Note: The AP has since been republished by several news sites including, The New York Times, The Washington Post and ABC News.]