New York Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

In the first place you need to understand that one thing is the expiration of your visa and another is your authorization to stay in the US. Usually B1/B2 holders receive a 6 months authorization. Additionally, you would need an employer sponsor. H1B visas are subject to a lottery. Finally, there maybe other options like doing some study first. ... Read More

You cannot handle this without spending money. You need a lawyer. If your website is ADA compliant and you refuse to settle out of principle, you must pay to defend yourself. If you'd rather make a cost-benefit decision to pay the nuisance plaintiff to go away an amount less than it will take to defend yourself, it'll be quick but there will still be money involved. Your representatives wrote these laws and they can fix them. Until they do, this a cost of doing business.... Read More

Yes, you have a case. That's wage theft. It's completely illegal. You're entitled to the wages worked and liquidated damages, meaning the employer will probably have to pay double. Lawyer up and educate yourself. The NYS Department of Labor has resources available including agency complaints. https://dol.ny.gov/unpaidwithheld-wages-and-wage-supplements... Read More

Could you have performed "physical labor instead of my administrative duties as shift leader"? If not, why not? Do you suffer with some physical condition or limitation in performing physical labor? Did your employer know of such limitations? If yes, have you signed any contracts or agreements in the past 7 days which you might be able to rescind or take back? Have you discussed any of these facts with labor and employment lawyers? Will you keep looking for work and continue to work? Have you applied for unemployment benefits? Did the employer know that you were considering retiring or had you shared that you wanted to retire? There are way too many questions which an employment lawyer might ask you. But being forced out, what we call constructively discharged, has a very specific legal meaning. And what you told your employer and what they knew about you is key. None of these claims are straight forward or easy. But they all depend on the specific facts of the potential client. And the only way to flush them out is to speak with an experienced labor and employment lawyer. In today's remote world there are many competent employment lawyers across New York State and some will even talk with you no charge. Good luck.... Read More

Not legal advice but Unclean Hands Doctrine applies to most employment matters. If an employee has done something unlawful, for example taking property / money which does not belong to them, misrepresented material facts on an employment application (i.e. including relevant training, education or experience which the employee knows to be false but represents as true), or committing some other relevant and material act which calls into question whether the employee is trustworthy with essential job duties which include collecting money it's often a problem. There are exceptions, such as being paid below minimum wage, but those are very limited and require a careful analysis of the specific facts of each situation. In your case, you admit that you were not entitled to the money and no other allegations point to wrongdoing or unlawful pay practices by that employer. New York has many unique to New York Labor Laws. The food industry includes many practices which may rise to being unlawful. Reaching out to a labor and employment lawyer might be a good idea. They will need to collect more information about the details of how you were paid, your pay history, the agreement you and your employer made, and the actual hours you regularly worked. If other pay laws were not followed by the employer a demand letter might be an option but your "stealing" admission will not disappear. If everyone on the interstate was driving 90 mph but you were the only one pulled over by the state police would your carelessness be excused? Probably not right?... Read More

Yes. Employees diagnosed with such conditions can still request (and are entitled to) reasonable accomodations. Employers in NY State must engage in an good-faith dialogue to provide a reasonable accomodation and can only reject accomodation when it creates an undue hardship. Work with your physician to assess what types of accomodations may be appropriate. A word of caution, the brief information you shared sounds more like a ruse than good-faith business necessity. Such a dramatic change in the personnel managment can correleate to age discrimination. The more senior an employee, generally the more they are earning, the more benefits, etc. By increasing the pressure and driving them out for performance, they can be replaced with cheaper and younger cogs. So get a consultation as well with an emploment attorney. Know your rights and work with your physician to discuss how to continue in what may be a hostile work environment. ... Read More

Depending the status of your position (at-will free market, union, civil service), managment can generally change your shift, subject to whatever contractual or union protections rights you may have to a particular shift (non-union at-will positions generally have none).  But under no circumstances can the employer dock your earned pay for not picking up extra shift or declining voluntary work.... Read More

To answer this question we would need to know more specific facts. Did the owner of the home supply the alcohol? Were they aware of the party? If they weren't aware of the party, where were they when it was going on? What is their relationship to the 18 y/o? Was anyone injured? Were there narcotics as well?    Generally speaking anyone who supplies a minor with alcohol can be charged with a misdemeanor offense. If the minor just opted to have the party without the homeowner's knowledge though, that's a bit of a different story. The law generally requires a degree of knowledge or intent (mens rea) to be charged and convicted with a crime. Because of that, the specific facts of your situation become critical in doing any type of analysis.    If you're considering allowing your 18 y/o to throw a party with alcohol, that's probably not going to be a good idea. If you've been contacted by police regarding a party that happened in your home, then your best bet is going to be to consult with an attorney who can try and help you resolve the situation. ... Read More

The answer here may depend on whether you are pre or post conviction. If you pled guilty for instance, (or were found guilty at trial) and you now stand convicted of a criminal charge, you may have to give DNA because you were convicted. With that being said, you should ask your attorney about that if that's the case.    If you are pre-conviction and the case is still pending, then it will be specific to your case - in certain circumstances the D.A. can attempt to get a force order to have you swabbed for DNA. Again, this is really something you should be speaking with your attorney about, and he/she should be able to advise you on this. ... Read More

It depends on the terms of the settlement. Some parties want to keep the terms confidential, in which case the settlement agreement imposes secrecy on the parties.  That is common in commercial and employment disputes. Most parties to personal injury cases in NY do not bother with confidentiality. If a lawyer won't tell you the amount, it's probably because its confidential. But just because a laywer may tell you, doesn't mean he or she will. If someone asked me how much a client received in a non-confidential settlement, I imagine I'd tell them to ask the client unless I specific authority to speak on the subject.... Read More

If you do not have employment during the last five years then you would write None. If you do not have sufficient income to sponsor mom, then you will have to engage the support of a joint financial sponsor. This could be anybody that is a US citizen or green card holder that lives in the United States and meets the minimum income threshold.         ... Read More

Your rights are defined in the contract. No one can advise you without it. I'm not sure if your post intended to convey that your lawyer agrees with the replacement, but you should start this conversation with your lawyer. If you don't have one yet, now is a good time to find one to discuss a $7,000 pre-closing repair request under the terms of the contrat you signed.... Read More

You argreed to arbitrate your disputes with TikTok when you accepted the terms of service. https://www.tiktok.com/legal/terms-of-service-us?lang=en The terms of servcie refer to the AAA Consumer Dispute rules. https://www.adr.org/sites/default/files/Consumer-Related%20Disputes%20Supplementary%20Procedures%20Sep%2015%2C%202005.pdf You need to wait for a decision on the appeal. If it is decided against you, you can file in AAA unless you opted out of the arbitration clause within 30 days of creating your TikTok account. It's $200 to file (see page 12 of the rules). If the amount of money is worth pursuing, you should consult an attorney before you file. ... Read More

If you have the new attorney's offer to take the case for free in writing, you should be good. If he never put that in writing, I suspect the attroney will argue that he never said that or you misunderstood him. I often look at a case for free, but I rarely take one on for free. If I do, I put it in writing.  You should have an engagement letter with the attorney and that document will control. If he did not give you an engagement letter, then he probably can't collect his fee. Ask him for the engagement letter now before he sues. If it says you owe him money, find a way to pay it.... Read More

A deed to a property listing multiple joint tenants with rights of survivorship will take precedence over a will that leaves that same property to another party. It is not clear from your facts who holds title to the property, i.e. who is listed on the deed, and who is named as a beneficiary under your grandma's will. You should take all those documents to an attorney in your state for his legal analysis. ... Read More

Hi Edwin. If you have a video -and hopefully a license plate or other identifying information for fire truck number- and there was property damage or you were injured- you have a case. An experienced personal injury attorney (such as myself, with over 20 years in practice) will know just how to go about getting your case started. Even if you haven't been to a doctor yet, it's not too late to get yourself checked out and you should do so immediately. Head neck & back injuries sometimes don't start to cause real pain until weeks after an accident. Treating them immediately and steadily is crucial to your health and to building a case. With the FDNY at fault, if you're injured this case is potentially worth a great deal of money.  ... Read More

Prepare the following information: Title, Court, & Index Number of the prior lawsuit that you settled. Name of your & contact information of your lawyer that settled the case. A list of things you believe your prior lawyer did wrong. A copy of the settlement agreement. Then find an attorney on Martindale.com or Avvo for a consultation to discuss the apparent errors. Many lawyers like will be happy to offer a free initial consultation to assess your rights. I'm in Mineola, NY.  Matt Bryant matt@nyrightslaw.com ... Read More