Evan J. Spelfogel will be recognized by the Southern District of NY Federal Court for his contributions and service as a mediator, at the Eighth Annual James Duane Award Dinner on November 19th

Congratulations to our partner and Chair of the Labor and Employment practice on her appointment to Chair of the New York City Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law committee and to Evan J. Spelfogel on his appointment to Secretary of the Committee.

On August 20, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas set aside and deemed unlawful and unenforceable the Non-Compete Rule (“Rule”) promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”).  In Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission (“Ryan”), 2024 WL 3879954 (N.D. Texas August 20, 2024), the Court determined that the Rule was violative of the FTC Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Declaratory Judgment Act.  The Court ruled that the FTC “exceeded its statutory authority in implementing the Rule” and further declared the Rule to be “arbitrary and capricious” for being unreasonably overbroad and not reflective of reasonable alternatives.  The Court held that the Rule “shall not be enforced or otherwise take effect on September 4, 2024, or thereafter.”

New York, NY, August 19, 2024 -- Phillips Nizer LLP is pleased to announce that 8 lawyers have been included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®. Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are reviewed by their peers based on professional expertise and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.

Effective Date:  Enacted on November 22, 2023 and initially scheduled to become effective on May 20, 2024, New York State’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act (“FIFA”) now has an effective date of August 28, 2024.  All FIFA requirements will be effective as of that date and not retroactively.  

FIFA greatly mirrors and does not preempt the requirements of the New York City FIFA which took effect on May 15, 2017.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) went into effect on June 27, 2023 and applies to employers with at least 15 employees.  The PWFA was intended to fill gaps in the federal and state legal landscape regarding protections for employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions.  In many respects, the PWFA expands employers’ obligations to accommodate pregnancy-related conditions beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).   
 
On April 15, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued its final regulations (the “Final Regs.”) which interpret the PWFA and provide insight into how the EEOC will enforce the law.  The Final Regs. will take effect on June 18, 2024.  Below are the key takeaways from the Final Regs. and implications for employers’ compliance with the law.

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) approved its final rule banning non-compete agreements, with some exceptions.  The FTC ruled that the use of non-compete agreements is an “unfair method of competition” in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”).  The FTC initially proposed a rule banning the use of non-compete agreements in January 2023, receiving numerous public comments regarding the proposed rule.  The final rule, which becomes effective 120 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register, effectively bans all existing and future non-compete agreements for all types of workers, with exceptions described below. 
Phillips Nizer will provide further updates as developments occur. 

The United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a final rule on April 23, 2024,  “Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees,” revising certain salary thresholds under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).  The final rule has an effective date of July 1, 2024, with further delineated changes on January 1, 2025.

For background, the FLSA provides categories of employees that are “exempt” from overtime payments; relevant to the instant rule are the salary requirements for exemptions for executive, administrative, professional, as well as the highly compensated employees.

Regina Faul, Chair of Phillips Nizer's Employment & Labor Law practice, will co-chair The New York City Bar Association Employment Law Institute's annual conference, to be held on March 1, which will examine current trends, developments, and cutting-edge issues in employment and labor law.

Effective Wednesday, November 22, 2023, the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) has been amended to prohibit discrimination based on height or weight in employment, housing, and public accommodations.  New York City now joins the following seven jurisdictions that include height and weight as classifications protected from unlawful discrimination and harassment:
 
(1) Binghamton, New York; (2) San Francisco, California; (3) Santa Cruz, California; (4) Washington, D.C.; (5) Urbana, Illinois; (6) Madison, Wisconsin; and (7) the State of Michigan.  Similar legislation presently is pending in New York State, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

As we get closer to 2024, employers should consider a review of employment practices and rules for the new year.  This is especially so given the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) decision this year in Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB 113 (2023).  In Stericycle, the NLRB laid out a new legal standard for the evaluation of work rules, adopting a case-by-case review.  Stericycle overrules the categorical approach contained in The Boeing Co., 365 NLRB 154 (2017) and revises the standard in Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia, 343 NLRB 646 (2004), presenting a change to a more employee-friendly approach to the evaluation of work rules.

Phillips Nizer LLP is pleased to announce that 12 lawyers have been selected to the 2023 New York Super Lawyers list. No more than five percent of the lawyers in New York are selected by Super Lawyers.

Effective September 17, 2023, New York employers with four or more employees must comply with certain statutory disclosure requirements when advertising for positions physically within and some outside the workplace or office.  The law applies to advertising for available jobs, promotions, and transfer opportunities.  “Covered employers” also includes employment agents, agencies, and recruiters regardless of size, excepting temporary help firms. “Advertise” is defined as “to make available to a pool of potential applicants for internal or public viewing, including electronically, a written description of an employment opportunity.” 

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

Evan J. Spelfogel, Senior Counsel, Employment & Labor Law Practice, moderated a prestigious panel for the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers’ webinar, “No-No’s on Confidentiality & Non-Compete Agreements”, held on May 17, 2023. 

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. 

On March 3, Phillip Nizer’s Senior Counsel, Evan Spelfogel, will be a featured participant at the New York City Bar Association’s Annual all day Employment Law Institute.  Mr. Spelfogel will be speaking on a program concerning “Labor and Employment Law Issues in Business Mergers and Acquisitions.” 

Best Lawyers® recognized Alan Behr, Jan L. Bernstein, Helene M. Freeman (Copyright Lawyer of the Year), Michael W. Galligan, Marc A. Landis, Donald P. Perry, Jeffrey Q. Smith, Evan J. Spelfogel, Martin B. Wasser and Elliot J. Wiener. 

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.

U.S. News - BestLawyers® recognized Phillips Nizer LLP as one of the nation's "Best Law Firms" for 2021. The annual rankings are presented in three tiers. A total of eleven areas of the firm's practice were recognized nationally and in the New York City metropolitan area.  The rankings were announced on November 5, 2020.

We are proud to congratulate our selected attorneys.

Best Lawyers® recognized Alan Behr, Jan L. Bernstein, 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. 

On Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 5:30 p.m., the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers hosts a 3-hour Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program on the #MeToo movement, workplace sex discrimination and recently enacted New York State and New York City requirements concerning mandatory sexual harassment workplace training.
  
Guest Speakers: Caroline Downey, General Counsel, New York State Division of Human Rights, and Dana Sussman, Deputy Commissioner, New York City Commission on Human Rights. 
 

Evan Spelfogel co-chairs the NYS Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section 3-Day Commercial Litigation Mediation Training at Fordham University School of Law

Seventeen Phillips Nizer attorneys were announced on September 13, 2018 as selected for inclusion on the 2018 New York Metro Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists. Attorneys represented a cross-section of several practice areas and industry teams.

Best Lawyers® recognized Alan Behr, Helene M. Freeman, Michael W. Galligan, Donald P. Perry, Evan J. Spelfogel,  Martin B. Wasser and Elliot J. Wiener.