Articles Tagged with retaliation lawyer long island

Matthew Weinick is a Long Island employment lawyer and a founding partner of the Long Island employment law firm of Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC.  Today’s employment law blog highlights Matt’s work and experience in the field of employment law.

Matt graduated cum laude from Hofstra Law School.  While at Hofstra, Matt served as notes and comments editor of the Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal, which also published his article about workers’ rights.  Matt interned for United States District Judge Denis R. Hurley while in law school.

After graduating from law school, Matt worked for the Nassau County Attorney’s Office where he was assigned to the General Litigation Bureau, handling employment law matters as well as “Constitutional torts” in which Matt defended Nassau County employees such as police officers and corrections officers, in lawsuits alleging violations of citizens’ Constitutional rights.  Among the high profile cases Matt worked on was a lawsuit alleging the police department’s use of mounted police was unconstitutional and another case alleging Nassau County’s decision to post pictures of individuals arrested for DWI was unconstitutional.

The Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) is a federal law which allows eligible employees to take a leave of absence from work for several reasons such as when dealing with a serious health condition of the employee or their family.

FMLA Retaliation and Interference

On July 19, 2017, in Woods v. START Treatment & Recovery Centers, Inc., the highest federal court in New York decided a case relating to the FMLA and answered two important questions.

Retaliation takes many forms in Long Island’s workplaces.  Employees can face demotions, terminations, reductions in pay, or employers will refuse to promote employees as retaliation for employees complaining about discrimination or for engaging in other protected activity.  Famighetti & Weinick PLLC are employment lawyers on Long Island, New York who can assess cases of workplace retaliation.

Retaliation in Suffolk and Nassau Counties Long Island

Retaliation can and does take place in Long Island’s workplaces.  Only certain activities, however, can trigger protections against workplace retaliation on Long Island. The federal anti-discrimination statutes provide protections.  For example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects employees who complain about or oppose discrimination.  It further protects employees who participate in EEOC discrimination investigations or testify in discrimination lawsuits. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), all have similar protections for employees who exercise rights under the statutes.

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