Employment Lawyer Blog

A three-year battle over New York racial discrimination has finally come to a close, as a US District Court Judge awarded current and former African-American employees of Elmer W. Davis Inc., (a Rochester, NY based roofing company) $1 million pursuant to charges that African-American employees had been singled out for mistreatment over many years.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed the lawsuit back in 2007 after Samuel Crenshaw, a former roofer, came forward with allegations that Elmer Davis employees had made threats against him and called him racial slurs. Other African-American employees also complained about mistreatment. Dilanjan Jackson, another ex-employee, was quoted saying: "I was called a Hebrew, the N-word, and a drug dealer." When Jackson reported these problems to supervisor, the manager "laughed at my face and I was laid off." Another employee, Phil Byford, alleged that his supervisor had sprayed him with tar.

Elmer W. Davis Inc. is the biggest New York roofing contractor with revenues approaching $30 million annually. In response to the verdict, the company maintained that the allegations of racial discrimination were untrue. CEO Jeff Davis said that the firm capitulated to the EEOC settlement because "we simply do not have the unlimited resources and deep pockets that the federal government has to continue litigating."

In addition to having to pay out $1 million to African-American employees, Davis Inc. has agreed to (per the AP) "use seniority as the basis for layoffs and employees recalls, to make a good faith effort to hire qualified African-American for foremen and supervisory positions, and to provide anti-discrimination training to employees."

Overcoming racial discrimination, harassment, and retaliation can be challenging, even if you know that wrongdoing has been perpetrated against you and/or your coworkers. Fortunately, there are great resources available to help you fight back. For a free and confidential consultation about your potential New York workplace discrimination case, get in touch with attorneys at Joseph, Herzfeld, Hester & Kirschenbaum by dialing 866-348-7349 or emailing the firm through its official website, www.jhllp.com.

The New York Daily News, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, and many other mainstream publications are all reporting on a classic restaurant wage and hour violations case. This time, it's Mario Batali (famous for starring in Molto Mario and Iron Chef America) who is in the hot seat.

According to the plaintiffs, Batali and his co-owner, Joseph Bastianich, underpaid their workers, illegally skimmed tips from waitstaff, and compelled staff to work more than 10 hours a day (and more than 40 hours a week) in violation of the law. Waitress Stephanie Capsolas and kitchen runner Hernan Alvarado claim that they had to split their tips with management based on the amount of wine they sold every evening at Batali's Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca.

Other claimants include: Jeffrey Cutaiar, Nicole Medvitz, Paul Toro, Daniel Jansen, Roger Caro, Chris Ell, Chris Forbes, Jesse Patrick, and Diana Dietrich.

Attorney Maimón Kirschenbaum (who along with attorney Denise Schulman has filed the suit on behalf of the claimants) was quoted in the Post saying "it is sad to see a prestigious employer line his pockets with money belonging to the little guys."

Here are some more quotes from the mainstream media about this case:

From the Wall Street Journal (7.22.10): "Whenever someone on that level is stealing money from someone on such a low level of income it is very egregious," said Mr. Kirschenbaum, well-known for filing such cases against restaurants.

From PRNewsWire (7.30.10): D. Maimon Kirschenbaum stated, "Mr. Bastianich and Mr. Batali are not above the law. It is a stunning response to a lawsuit to announce to the world a commitment to fight one's employees until the end. At some point, we hope restaurant owners will learn that service employees also have rights, and they are fully able to vindicate them."

From Eater NY (8.5.10): Attorney Maimon Kirschenbaum - yarmulke wearing and bespectacled - makes for an unlikely buccaneer, but the wunderkind of the plaintiff's bar has racked up an impressive number of wins/settlements by making the case to New York City restaurateurs that it's cheaper to settle than fight.

If you or a co-worker believes that you had your wages unfairly docked or you've been forced to work overtime without being duly compensated, turn to the experienced and highly reputable lawyers here at Joseph, Herzfeld, Hester & Kirschenbaum to get a free and confidential consultation. Maimón Kirschenbaum in particular has built a reputation for going up against some of the most prestigious restaurants in New York City to demand justice for wait staff, bus boys, kitchen staff, and others who often get the short-end of the stick in the restaurant business. Call 1-866-348-7394 or visit www.jhllp.com for immediate assistance with your wage and hour, discrimination, or retaliation case.

On July 20th, a massive demonstration in the heart of Las Vegas' Strip shined a light on sexual discrimination and gender identity discrimination. Eight activists got arrested on misdemeanor counts for blocking traffic in a protest to compel Nevada Senator Reid to bring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (also known as ENDA) to vote in the U.S. Senate.

Although Senator Reid supports ENDA - Nevada in fact is one of 11 states to have passed a statewide measure prohibiting employment discrimination based on same sex partnerships - the protesters did not believe that Reid was moving fast enough on this issue. Two dozen activists (part of a coalition called Get Equal) participated. Many of the activists - including Jimmy Gurender and Lieutenant Dan Choi - are veterans of gay rights protests against President Obama and Senator John McCain (pursuant to the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy).

Curiously, the protest took place right outside the MGM Grand and New York Casinos. MGM Resorts has positioned itself as a very gay friendly spot, and MGM was the first resort on the Strip to offer health benefits to same sex partners of employees.

Although the battle over the future of ENDA may have just begun, thousands of workers across the nation face hostile work environments. If you or a loved one has suffered harassment, discrimination, wage and hour violations, or retaliation for complaining about unfair practices at work, you may need legal assistance to protect your rights, protect your job, and ensure that justice gets done.

To that end, look to the trusted firm of Joseph, Herzfeld, Hester & Kirschenbaum. Call the offices right now for a free consultation at 1-866-348-7394, or peruse www.jhllp.com to get more information about the firm, its philosophy, and possible remedies available to you.

An ex-stage manager is suing late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon for New York sexual discrimination and retaliation. Paul Tarascio served as a stage manager for Conan O'Brien for nearly 14 years before moving onto Fallon's show, which premiered in March 2009. Tarascio quickly got demoted to second stage manager - replaced by a woman whom he considered an inferior worker. Tarascio has alleged that the TV host preferred to take his stage directions from a female and that show executives falsely chalked up Tarascio's demotion to "performance issues," when the real problem was gender discrimination - and retaliation against him for complaining about the discrimination.

Tarascio filed suit with both the New York Division of Human Rights and the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Thus far, Fallon's camp has remained mum. An NBC spokesperson said: "we've yet to see any of the charges... any claim of sexual discrimination is without merit."

In the lawsuit, Tarascio alleges that other crew members on Fallon's show suffered gender discrimination as well. In particular, crew members assigned to clip microphones on to the host were all initially women, until it became clear that the female employees could not perform this task. Afterwards, Fallon allegedly begrudgingly let male technicians put the microphones on him.

This case of New York City gender discrimination illustrates how common allegations of unfair work treatment are. If you or a family member or co-worker has been victimized by what you perceive to be gender discrimination, sexual harassment, racial discrimination, or any other kind of unfair treatment, talk to the experienced lawyers here at Joseph, Herzfeld, Hester & Kirschenbaum at 1-866-348-7394 (toll free), or send the team an email via www.jhllp.com.