Litigation

Now more than ever, employers are being faced with a barrage of lawsuits, whether they be wage and hour claims, claims related to COVID-19, or discrimination and retaliation claims. Lewis Johs’s Labor and Employment practice group regularly litigates these cases in all New York venues. Given Lewis Johs’s vast experience in the insurance defense space, our team is acutely aware of the risks that litigation imposes on employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) carriers. Our team has worked with carriers such as The Hartford/Maxum, Great American, and RSUI, among others, in order to develop case-specific solutions for carriers and their insureds. Our team represents employers in litigation with respect to all types of matters, including:

At Lewis Johs, we bring our extensive experience in dealing with nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, assisted living facilities, and home health care agencies for representing those entities in the labor and employment law sphere.

We are also adept at handling complaints from employees, which are filed with various administrative agencies such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the New York State Division of Human Rights, the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board’s Discrimination Unit, and the New York State Department of Labor.

Recently, our team successfully represented a rehabilitation facility against a claim brought in the New York State Division of Human Rights (“NYSDHR”). The claim alleged that the facility discriminated against a former employee based on her religion. Per New York State Department of Health (“NYSDOH”) regulations, employees who could potentially expose patients or residents to COVID-19 are required to be fully vaccinated against this infectious disease. The NYSDOH regulation has been upheld by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Finding that the facility’s adherence to the NYSDOH regulations was legitimate and non-discriminatory, the NYSDHR found that there was no probable cause to believe that the facility discriminated against the employee based on her religion and dismissed the claim.

Our team also recently secured a directed verdict in a discrimination claim brought in the Discrimination Unit of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. The trial hearings began with claimant’s direct testimony, followed by cross-examination. During cross-examination, the claimant admitted that she had not been terminated, demoted, or otherwise negatively impacted by the employer since having filed for Workers’ Compensation benefits. At the close of cross-examination, our firm moved for a directed verdict which argued that the claimant had failed to meet her evidentiary burden to demonstrate that the employer had discriminated against her because she had filed for Workers’ Compensation benefits. After deliberation, Workers’ Compensation Law Judge Michelle Richburg issued a verbal decision granting that motion and dismissing the claim.

Here are some other representative litigation matters handled by Lewis Johs’ Labor and Employment Practice Group:

For a complimentary consultation, please contact Michael J. Del Piano () at (631) 755.0101.