Virginia & Ambinder in the Press

"A Manhattan appellate court on Thursday held that freelancers can bring liability claims under the state’s freelance worker protection law even in certain circumstances where they work with other people. The New York Supreme Court First Appellate Department’s ruling modifies a lower court order that denied summary judgment to a freelance photographer and model who said they performed work for, but weren’t paid by, a Manhattan bridal shop. The appellate disagreed with the shop’s argument that the photographer wasn’t entitled to recovery of damages under the state’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act—which defines a freelancer as one person—because he brought three assistants... Virginia & Ambinder LLP represents the model and photographer."

"Bus company Coach USA... failed to give drivers a timely notice of mass layoffs as required by state and federal law, according to a proposed class action filed in New Jersey federal court.

The company... violated the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act and the New Jersey Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act when it implemented mass layoffs on Aug. 16 without the 60 days' advance notice required under the federal law and the 90 days' notice mandated by the state law, the complaint said.

Former employees... said the layoffs resulted in the loss of employment for at least 33% of the Coach USA workforce and at least 50 full-time employees, not including part-time employees.

The bus company failed to pay wages or salary, benefits, vacation and holidays, or severance pay..."

"LatinoJustice PRLDEF and Virginia & Ambinder, LLP today filed a lawsuit NY HHAs v Fadmo Home and Home Health Care Agency, INC. in the New York State Supreme Court.

The lawsuit is on behalf of seven home health care aides who allege they have experienced systemic wage theft, unsafe work conditions, as well as other violations at their job.

The plaintiffs are New York home health care workers who are or were employed by Fadmo Home and Home Health Care Agency, Inc. Home health aides care for homebound, disabled, and elderly clients in their homes."

LatinoJustice PRLDEF and Virginia & Ambinder, LLP today filed a lawsuit NY HHAs v Fadmo Home and Home Health Care Agency, INC. in the New York State Supreme Court on behalf of seven home health care aides who allege they have experienced systemic wage theft, unsafe work conditions, as well as other violations at their job...

"Virginia & Ambinder, LLP is proud to stand with LatinoJustice PRLDEF and fight for the unpaid wages of these brave workers,” said LaDonna M. Lusher, Partner at Virginia & Ambinder, LLP. “As home health aides, these workers have the important job of caring for our loved ones, yet they are severely underpaid and experience tremendous wage theft. No other industry forces employees to work 24-hour shifts and only pays them a minimum of thirteen hours for the hard work they endure. We hope to recover their unpaid wages and vindicate their rights."

"A former Amazon worker urged a New York federal court to greenlight a more than 9,000-member class of military reservists in her lawsuit accusing the e-commerce giant of failing to provide paid leave for employees on active duty, saying the dispute is best suited for class treatment...

Won is represented by Alanna R. Sakovits, Michele A. Moreno and LaDonna Marie Lusher of Virginia & Ambinder LLP."

"ERISA cases surged in New York on Wednesday. At least six federal ERISA suits were filed, four of which were brought by Virginia & Ambinder on behalf of the Pavers & Road Builders District Council Welfare Fund; the complaints seek allegedly unpaid trust contributions from Litehouse Builders, Minelli Construction, Safeco Construction and Tristate Mason."

"An employee at the Union City Burger King filed a lawsuit in Hudson County Superior Court this week alleging age discrimination and assault by a co-worker... Through her attorney, Kara Miller, of Virginia & Ambinder LLP, Rosas says the fight prevented her from working and therefore lost wages... Rosas is seeking lost wages, damages for physical injury, compensatory damages, punitive damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, pre and post judgment interest, along with any other relief the court deems just and equitable."

A New York federal judge said Amazon cannot dodge a former employee's paid military leave suit... U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis denied Amazon's bid to dismiss Caonaissa Won's proposed class action, saying the reservist made a plausible comparison between jury duty and military leave because, in both cases, employees don't know when they will be out of work.

"Military leave is compulsory in the way described by Won because 'guardsmen have no individual voice in selecting the weeks they will be on active duty,' rather, '[m]ilitary superiors set the time for training which is both compulsory and short,'" Judge Garaufis said.

"In a unanimous, unpublished opinion, the panel revived Savannah Barrows' suit against Brinker Restaurant Corp., which owns Chili's Grill and Bar. The panel said the former server did present enough evidence through her declaration denying she ever signed an arbitration agreement with the company to move her suit forward, despite the lower court's concern that Barrows' testimony alone could not survive Chili's bid to compel arbitration and summary judgment... James Emmet Murphy of Virginia & Ambinder LLP, who represents Barrows, told Law360 on Tuesday that his team is pleased the court found that, at minimum, an arbitration agreement can only be enforceable if a worker actually agreed to it. 'All too often employers are able to prevent workers from vindicating their rights through the use of mandatory arbitration agreements that workers do not understand, assent to nor are even aware of,' Murphy said... Barrows is represented by James Emmet Murphy and Michele A. Moreno of Virginia & Ambinder LLP."

But Won, represented by Virginia & Ambinder, says that since at least 2004 Amazon has refused to pay workers who take 30 days or less of military leave even while it covers the wages of employees who take short-term, non-military leave.

"Benjamin worked at a Manhattan CVS from February 2019 through October. She was paid the minimum wage in New York City of $15 an hour. Jack Newhouse, an attorney for Benjamin, told Law360 on Friday that she did not leave the job for reasons related to the lawsuit."

"In a one-page order Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman backed a November arbitration win for the New York City District Council of Carpenters and trustees of related benefit funds that awarded them over $3 million for unpaid contributions from New Jersey-based J.H. Reid General Contractor."