New York State Senate Passes Equal Rights Amendment to State Constitution
On July 1, 2022, the New York State Senate passed S.51002, more commonly known as the Equal Rights Amendment to the New York State Constitution. Most notably, the Equal Rights Amendment, if passed, will enshrine citizens' right to seek abortions and access contraception within the State Constitution itself. Unsurprisingly, the renewed effort ...
Securities Class Action against Deutsche Bank Survives Motion to Dismiss
On June 13, 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff, in the Southern District of New York, issued an order denying a motion to dismiss a securities fraud class action brought under 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), Rule 10b-5, and Section 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against Deutsche Bank AG and certain of its officers.[1] The suit alleges ...
New Jersey Senate Passes Legislation Affording Greater Protections to Temp Workers
On June 29, 2022, the Temp Workers' Bill of Rights passed the New Jersey Senate and Assembly and will be placed before Governor Phil Murphy for his anticipated approval. The bill will increase transparency in New Jersey's largely unregulated temp agency industry and will improve working conditions for the state's roughly 130,000 temp workers. ...
SEC Moves To Protect The Whistleblower Program From Employee Confidentiality Agreements
July 1, 2022 The SEC whistleblower program is a decade-old program that is an important part of the SEC's enforcement regime. Since its inception, the SEC has issued more than 200 individual awards totaling more than $1.1 billion. By providing a bounty to individuals who report securities law violations to the SEC, the SEC is better able to ...
Understanding the Freelance Isn’t Free Act Recently Passed by the New York State Legislature
The New York State legislature recently passed the Freelance Isn't Free Act ("FIFA") and the bill is expected to be delivered to the Governor later this year. If passed into law, FIFA would provide important protections for independent contractors who are not afforded protections under the employment laws. To be covered by FIFA, an independent ...
Workers’ Compensation Claims, Recent Decision on Death Benefits
In Kelly v. Consol. Edison Co. of New York, 205 A.D.3d 1267, 166 N.Y.S.3d 921 (2022), the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York recently upheld a Workers' Compensation Board decision that the Special Fund is not liable for the death benefits filed after January 1, 2014. This is true even where liability for the original ...
New Benefits for Gig Workers in Seattle
Over the past few years, the gig economy has grown tremendously. Gig workers are independent contractors or freelancers who typically perform short-term work. Gig workers can work hourly, part-time, project-based and can either work on an ongoing contract or temporary position. Gig workers receive 1099 tax forms while employees receive W-2 ...
Employers Must Provide Notice to Employees of Surveillance Practices Under New Law
On May 7, 2022, the Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, signed a new law requiring private sector employers who monitor or intercept their employees' emails, text messages, telephone conversations, or internet use to notify them of such practices. The new law only applies to surveillance practices put in place solely to intercept or monitor ...
Musk Threatens To Cancel Twitter Acquisition Over Bots
Tesla, Inc. CEO Elon Musk is once again threatening to terminate his $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter, arguing in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this month that Twitter's alleged refusal to provide him with information needed "to facilitate his evaluation of spam and fake accounts on the company's platform" is ...
Third Circuit to Review Lower Court Decision Finding That NCAA College Athletes Are Employees Under the FLSA
The long fight for NCAA college athletes to be compensated for their work has heated up in recent years, marked by an unsuccessful Congressional effort to permit student-athletes to organize unions and major win at the Supreme Court allowing them to profit off of their name, image, and likeness. Wisconsin stand-out Johnny Davis—a projected ...
New Proposed SEC Rule Would Require Increased Disclosure of Short Sale Information
Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC was required to propound rules making certain short sale data available no less frequently than monthly. The SEC recently took steps to implement that directive by publishing Proposed Rule 13f-2 on February 25, 2022, in order to increase the scope of short-sale ...
5th Circuit finds SEC’s in-house courts unconstitutional
A Fifth Circuit ruling stating that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house courts are unconstitutional has left legal experts with more questions than answers. The ruling was made on May 18, 2022, by a divided panel. The ruling found the SEC's in-house administrative proceeding against hedge fund manager George R. Jarkesy Jr. ...
As Fatal Crash Rates Rise in NYC, the City Looks to Speed Cameras
During the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City saw a drastic rise in pedestrian deaths caused by vehicle crashes. According to data retrieved by Gothamist, 273 people were killed on City streets in 2021. The City has various tools to control traffic and protect pedestrians, and one that has been the subject of much debate lately is speed cameras. ...
UPDATE: New York City Council Amends Salary Transparency Law, Which Now Awaits the Mayor’s Signature
As previously outlined here, in January 2022, the New York City Council enacted an amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law to require employers to list salary information in job postings. The law will require that employers post what they believe in good faith to be the minimum and maximum salary for any position for which they publish ...
Workers’ Compensation Claims, Recent Decision on Shared Liability
In Abad v Vanety's Service LLC et al., 2022 WL 1177227 (New York County 2020), the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the state of New York recently upheld a Workers' Compensation Board decision which apportioned liability for claimant's benefits award equally between company and staffing agency. In finding that liability for the claim ...
Ukrainian American Bar Association Petitions SEC to Enact Rule Related to an Issuer’s Business Dealings with Russia and Belarus
Last month, the Ukrainian American Bar Association, together with other signatories (collectively "petitioners"), petitioned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), pursuant to Rule 192(a) of the SEC's Rules of Practice, to enact a rule to require issuers to disclose the business they engage in with the Russian Federation ("Russia") ...
Is it Time to Overrule the Lemon Test?
The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the Lemon test in determining whether the government has seemingly endorsed religion. Most recently, concern arose in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District where a football coach at a public high school was put on administrative leave for praying silently on the 50-yard line after every game. During ...
NY Appeals Court Affirms Massive Award for Injured Bus Rider
In 2013, Lusia Reinoso, a home health aide, was helping a patient operate their wheelchair on an MTA bus ramp when the ramp suddenly activated, throwing Ms. Reinoso onto the sidewalk. Ms. Reinoso suffered injuries to her knee, shoulder, spine, and hip. At trial, the jury found the bus operator solely responsible for those injuries. The jury ...
Musk and Tesla’s battle with the SEC continues
Earlier this month, Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk once again publicly aired his grievances with the Securities and Exchange Commission during a TED talk conference. Musk referred to the SEC as "those bastards" who allegedly forced him to "lie" and resolve the regulator's fraud charges over his now-infamous 2018 tweets to save the company from bankruptcy. ...
Elon Musk Reaches Deal On Twitter Takeover
On April 25, 2022, Twitter announced that it accepted a $44 billion takeover offer led by noted Twitter user and world's richest man, Elon Musk. Musk's proposal is subject to closing conditions, including the approval of Twitter stockholders and regulators. When the transaction is complete, Twitter will become a privately held company. The ...