Long Island Employment Law Blog

Employees with disabilities who feel their employer’s “accommodation” was little more than a token gesture just got a helpful reminder from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit: an accommodation isn’t reasonable simply because the employer did something. It has to actually work. That was the central holding in Raymond v. 1199SEIU National…

On July 15, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an important decision in Bergin v. New York State Unified Court System, No. 25-721, that changes how employees in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont must prove failure-to-accommodate religion claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For employees…

Famighetti & Weinick PLLC has won an appeal of a housing discrimination case. The decision was unanimous from the panel of appellate judges. Today’s blog discusses the case. The facts below are taken from the publicly available documents filed in the case of Forrester v. Tichenor, et. al. F&W filed a discrimination lawsuit on behalf…

On April 29, 2026, Famighetti & Weinick PLLC won an appeal of a civil service determination which disqualified the firm’s client from his dream job of being a police officer. The firm’s arguments were so robust and powerful, that it took the civil service just one day to issue a decision. Today’s Long Island employment…

New York Labor Law Section 201-d provides some workplace protections for employees who engage in, among other things, lawful recreational off-duty activities. This broad protection is somewhat ill-defined. The law, passed before the proliferation of social media and other electronic communications, could not have considered whether these modern day internet activities fall under the statute’s…

In a decision issued December 3, 2025, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in New York affirmed a substantial jury verdict in favor of a former high-school principal — one that underscores the continued vitality of gender-discrimination protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State Human…

The First Amendment familiarly protects free speech rights. Through the nation’s history, courts have had to decide whether there are boundaries to free speech, and if so, what are those boundaries? In two particular circumstances — public employment and public schools — individuals maintain free speech rights. But, because of the nature of those circumstances,…

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. So-called “reverse discrimination” claims arise when a member of a majority group is discriminated against, i.e. if a white male were to face employment discrimination on the basis of…

Under New York Labor 191, employers are required to pay manual workers every week. But, what happens if an employer pays all the wages that are due to an employee, but pays them late? For example, if an employer pays a manual worker every other week, can the employee sue the employer for violating the…

On May 8, 2025, the New York State Board of Regents passed a significant rule change concerning the suspension of teachers in New York State. Newly amended Rule 83.7 allows the Commissioner of Education to issue an interim suspension of a teacher’s license who had been accused of a sex offense or boundary violation. What…