Proskauer houses one of the most recognized and established labor and employment practices. Its national reach restson what one peer describes as a “broad-based practice” which coversthe fullgamut of related litigation. Practitioners in the labor and employment practice span the US, especially in major markets such asNew York, California, Chicago, and Boston – with New York as the cornerstone of the practice. “They’re so prolific in NY,” comments one peer.
The New York team continuously displays its renowned capability in employment litigation and traditional labor dispute resolution. Many of the firm’s lawyers have held top-tier recognitiaon, including Elise Bloom,who is distinguished as a Top 20 Employment Litigator. She has acted on behalf of New York’s most well-known individuals and companies against former employees, including Rockefeller University. Bloom is accompanied by Top 10 Traditional Labor Lawyers Neil Abramson and Adam Lupion. Both have recently been involved in various labor disputes and complex collective bargaining negotiations. In addition to their labor practices, they also represent major sports leagues in litigation. They acted as lead counsel for Major League Baseball in defense of a nation of origin discrimination lawsuit brought by Angel Hernandez, a current umpire for the league. Both parties moved for summary judgment, but Abramson and Lupion prevailed as the Southern District of New York denied the plaintiff’s motion as moot, and further denied his motion for reconsideration. Labor and employment litigator Joseph Baumgarten also represented a major sports league recently, the National Hockey League, in an arbitration against the National Hockey League Players Association acting on behalf of Nazem Kadri of the Colorado Avalanche. The matter arose after Kadri delivered a forceful hit on an opposing player and was suspended by the league’s Department of Player Safety, which the NHLPA argued was inappropriately severe. Both the NHL Commissioner proceeding and the arbitration found in favor of the NHL and affirmed the suspension.Co-head of the employment litigation and arbitration group, Steven Hurd,obtained a victory on behalf of the MTA-New York City Transit in a putative Fair Labor Standards Act collective action. The court dismissed the case, agreeing that the plaintiff, a current employee, did not satisfactorily assert the allegations of unpaid overtime under the act. The plaintiff has appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. In a matter that involved commercial and employment issues, Lloyd Chinn obtained a favorable decision on behalf of Altice USA against two former executives alleging breach of contract, New York Labor Law (NYLL) violations, and fraud causes of action. In July 2021, the partial motion to dismiss was granted by the Southern District of New York, successfully dismissing the breach of contract and unlawful withholding of wages under the NYLL, among other claims. In particular, the court agreed that the alleged wages owed were not “wages” under the NYLL, and bonus payments were based on the company’s success, and thus excluded from the statutory definition. After the court’s decision, which limited the plaintiffs’ action, Chinn filed counterclaims on the client’s behalf. The case concluded in a settlement for a five-figure amount. Another New York partner who has received acclaim from the market for is Keisha-Ann Gray. One peerdeclares, “Keisha-Ann Grayat Proskauer really does a fantastic job.”
In California,Los Angeles-based partner Anthony Oncidi has gained a spot on the Top 20 Employment Litigators this year. Over the last year, he has been a key player in employment litigation related to the entertainment industry. He represented the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciencesin a matter against its former president and CEO Deborah Dugan. While the case is settled, Oncidi is now representing the academy in a related Equal Employment Opportunity Commission proceeding. Oncidi and Kate Gold affirmed their victory forViacom in its high-profile litigation against Netflix after the streaming company voluntarily dismissed its appeal against the injunction granted against it, effectively enjoining the company from interfering with the client’s employee agreements.
Chicago-based Steven Pearlman also partnered with Gold, representing Cross Country Healthcare in a class-action lawsuit on appeal before the California Court of Appeals. The parties focused on whether an arbitration agreement was enforceable as a non-signatory to the agreement. The team was successful and obtained a favorable decision from the California court. Nigel Telman,also of the Chicago office, recently defended McDonald’s in lawsuit filed by a former employee who alleged claims of sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and retaliation,aswell as a common law intentional infliction of emotional distress claim and constructive discharge. The case was litigated in the Northern District of Illinois, where the court ruled in favor of the client, obtaining a partial dismissal on the latter two claims.
