Workplace Justice

MFY Urges City to Adopt Standards for Collecting Immigration Status

In testimony before the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and other agencies, MFY Supervising Attorney Maia Goodell urged that the city adopt clear standards for all agencies, including law enforcement, to ensure that immigration status is not collected unless essential, that personal information is safeguarded to the maximum extent possible, and that all …

MFY Launches New Program for Worker Safety and Health

Responding to the lack of legal assistance for low-income and immigrant workers injured on the job, MFY Legal Services is launching a new project on Workplace Safety and Health as part of its Workplace Justice Project. The project will provide advice, counsel and representation to workers who are injured on the job or who face …

MFY Files Amicus Brief on Retaliation against Workers

MFY Legal Services and other advocates filed an amicus curiae brief in NY Supreme Court, Appeallate Division, 2nd Department, urging the court to adopt the standard on employer retaliation against workers set by the US Supreme Court, which recognizes that employers violate federal law when they take any action that could dissuade a worker from …

MFY and Elected Officials Demand Justice for Security Guard with Disabilities

New York City Council Member Annabel Palma, Assembly Member Luis Sepulveda and MFY Legal Services joined forces to advocate for a security guard who was discriminated against and fired after he requested a reasonable accommodation from his employer for his Tourette’s and epilepsy conditions. A complaint of discrimination is pending with the federal Equal Employment …

Three-Quarter House Operator Sued for Wage Theft

After receiving no wages after 16 months of work, Bernardo Moreno, a former employee of a three-quarter house operator, filed suit on August 6, 2015 in federal court charging violations of minimum wage and overtime laws. He typically worked 12 or more hours per day as a “house manager.”  MFY is representing Mr. Moreno in …

Home Care Workers Win Class Certification in Wage Theft Suit

A home health care worker formerly employed by First Care of New York, Inc. won class certification allowing his lawsuit against the agency on behalf of hundreds of home health care workers to proceed. The worker, represented by MFY Legal Services and Abbey Spanier LLP, charges that the agency failed to pay him the required …

Judge’s Ruling Means a Second Chance for MFY Client

A Manhattan Supreme Court Judge ruled that the NYC Department of Education’s (DOE) denial of re-employment to a paraprofessional with a past drunk driving conviction despite a record of rehabilitation and successful employment was arbitrary and capricious and ordered the DOE to expedite the employment application. Read the NY Law Journal’s coverage here.

Home Care Workers Win Class Certification in Wage Theft Suit

Home health care workers formerly employed by BNV  Home Care Agency won class certification allowing their lawsuit against the agency to proceed. The workers, represented by MFY Legal Services and Abbey Spanier LLP, charges that the agency failed to pay workers the required wages for their long hours of work, which regularly entailed 70-80 hours …

Food Cart Workers Awarded $60,000 in Unpaid Wages

On July 14, 2014, a Manhattan judge awarded two street food cart vendors over $60,000 in unpaid wages, overtime, and penalties. The decision found that the vendors, represented by MFY Legal Services, had worked 12 hours per day, six days per week in all types of weather, including severe snow conditions. The vendors often received …

MFY Files Class Action Suit on Behalf of Cable Installers

On March 14, 2014, MFY Legal Services and co-counsel Levy Davis & Maher LLP filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of former employees of C & I Associates, Inc., a cable installation services company, alleging that it systematically failed to pay its employees for waiting time and overtime.

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