Employment Litigation

The basic law in New York State is employment at will.  This means that an employer is generally free to terminate an employee in their employment for any reason (or no reason at all) so long as the reason is not one that is illegal or based upon the employee’s protected status.

However, the New York Human Rights Law provides a broad definition of protected status.  The New York Human Rights Law states that an employer may not terminate, refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate against an individual because of “age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, or marital status, or domestic violence victim status.”

In addition, there are various federal statutes such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and others that specifically prohibit sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of gender, age, and disability.  There are also New York State and Federal Statutes that require employers to pay most employees at a premium rate for overtime and not to take deductions from employees' pay unless allowed by statute. The lawyers at Burns & Schultz are experienced in prosecuting and defending cases dealing with all of these employment law statutes.

Employment Counseling

In addition to handling litigation, we offer a range of employment and labor services including drafting and reviewing employee handbooks and policies; employment contracts; independent contractor and consulting agreements; severance and separation agreements; non-competition agreements (restrictive covenants); and employee and supervisor training. We also provide counseling in the areas of severance negotiating, wage and overtime audits, and discipline and termination.

For potential plaintiff cases, Burns & Schultz offers a free consultation to determine if your employment case can be taken on a contingency fee basis.  If we accept your case, you will not pay for our legal services until there is a recovery.

To discuss our representation of your company or you in an employment matter, contact Jill Schultz or Andrew Burns.

At Burns & Schultz LLP, we provide big firm experience and capability with small firm personal attention and service.