New York Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Unfortunately this is more of a fact specific question than one someone would be able to answer just based upon the charges. With that being said, from what you've mentioned you're charged with all misdemeanors so probation is certainly an option. Some factors that may impact the DA's offer or the potential sentencing by the Judge if convicted at trial are, what your prior felony conviction is for, whether the complainant is cooperative in this case, the severity of the alleged conduct, the harm that's alleged to the complainant, your background information, among other factors. Your best bet here is to contact a criminal defense lawyer who can start negotiating with the DA's office on your behalf and who can fight for you at trial if need be. ... Read More

From what you're saying, it's possible that the police department has a warrant out for your arrest. This can come up any time that law enforcement runs your name in their system - such as if you're pulled over for a traffic stop. With that being said, your best bet here is to contact an attorney who can speak to the police department for you, find out whether or not there is an active warrant for your arrest, find out what the charges are against you, and potentially arrange a voluntary surrender to clear up the warrant and start fighting the case.    As far as what you may be charged with, from what you've stated it seems that it's possible you may be charged with petit or even grand larceny depending on the amount of money that they are alleging you stole. With that being said, being charged with a crime does not give you a criminal record in and of itself. After you are charged and arraigned, your attorney will be provided discovery materials related to your case, will be able to examine the evidence and discuss it with you, advise you on what viable defenses exist as well as the potential for plea bargaining with the District Attorney's Office for a favorable resolution to your case. Understand though, that the simple omission of video does not necessarily mean that you can't be charged with a crime. Oftentimes people are charged with a crime where there is not direct evidence such as video or DNA, but rather they are charged with circumstantial evidence such as your pin code having been used to open the register when the money went missing.    At any rate, from what you've said you may be at risk of being arrested, so you should definitely consider consulting an attorney who can fight your case for you. ... Read More

No one can answer your question with any degree of certainty without reviewing your contracts, agreements, and legal documents. However, the general rule is that an employee is either able to perform the essential functions of their job or they are not. In some situations where physical or mental conditions prevent working employees may recover short term disability benefits while they are on Family Medical Leave. Remember that FMLA leave is unpaid unless the employee has accrued benefits or unless some policy of insurance covers their inability to work. Collecting benefits from any source due to disability generally requires full disclosure. For example, if an employee is receiving insurance benefits and returns to work that employee would inform both the insurance carrier and the employer that they have returned to work and both would want to know how much income the employee is earning, having returned to some type of work. Failing to inform insurance carrriers while receiving benefits or informing an employer that an employee is taking FMLA leave while working elsewhere could be fraudulent. That could include charges of insurance fraud although you should pay an attorney to review all of your documentation before working or continuing to make claims. You listed harassment as the area of discrimination or hostile workplace but there were no facts indicating that you were harassed. Hostile workplaces or harassment can occur due to race, religion, sex, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, national origin and any one or more other protected classes of employees. Stressful or uncomfortable or uncivil supervisors are not necessarily harassing nor unlawful. Many employees work for unpleasant supervisors but that does not make those supervisors "hostile" or lawbreaking if they are not targeting you or others because of the protected class or classes to which you belong. Is your stress caused by something you cannot change or control. Is your supervisor targeting you because of your disability or regarding you as disabled or because of some other protected class you belong to? This should be flushed out with an employment lawyer. You definitely should consult with an employment lawyer to confirm that you are not yourself potentially in violation of benefit recovery laws. Stress by itself may or may not be a disability. It depends on its severity and how it was caused or its origination. Remember that workers compensation claims without physical injuries or unusual assaults are rarely compensable and those claims are very fact specific. If your claim does not qualify as work comp it might be covered under STD but that would not necessarily mean that it was caused by a hostile workplace or discriminatory. It also depends on whether the stress stems from general workplace stresses or unlawful discrimination targeting one or more protected classes of employees. Get a legal consultation from employment lawyers sooner than later. Good luck.... Read More

Does DC 37 have an own occupation policy?  I'm not even sure what type of policy this refers to but you'll need to get a copy of your Collective Bargaining Agreement to find the answer.  Am I allowed to work in another field while collecting dc 37 short-term disability? No. The Union has advised you to take FMLA and STD. STD is a statutory benefit available to all New York employees. When you take STD leave, you are certifying to the insurer that you are unable to work. Absent a separate Union benefit that would provide for paid leave pending a dispute (which probably doesn't exist given the advice you received), your only other option would be to take an unpaid leave of absence while working in another field.  ... Read More

Correct. Once you have complained of some type of "employment discrimination" which might include sexual harassment or racial harassment or national origin harassment then that might be a hostile work environment. That is much different from being harassed because you are not performing your job duties exactly in the manner your supervisor wishes. Harassment because of discrimination is not ok. Harassment because you are not following exactly what is being asked of you and others who do similar work is just a conflict with a supervisor which is often best resolved by moving to some new position like a transfer or new job. HR will investigate unlawful discrimination and the employee does not conduct their own investigation which could be insubordination which can result in termination. HR does not investigate just complaints about a supervisor which have no reason to believe discrimination is being alleged or just sour grapes. The latter usually resolves itself with the employee's new job voluntarily or involuntarily. So yes you may not violate instructions from HR. But if you did not say words which usually include discrimination because of .... don't expect much to happen. Start looking for other positions if the hostility is not discriminatory. Hostile does not mean generally not nice or not civil. At work it means discriminatory or it's probably nothing the law is designed to protect. That's the reality check for employment law.... Read More

It's worth a private consultation but any lawyer will need more specifics to be of any assistance.  I see at least 3 topics to discuss, specifically whether: (i) the employer has a basis to oppose unemployment for misconduct; (ii) the employer's on-site substance abuse testing was lawful; and (iii) there is any basis to infer your termination was discriminatory or retaliatory as opposed to a lawful exercise of at-will termination rights. ... Read More

For starters, you're posting from New York (apparently). New York law, called long-arm jurisdiction, specifically excludes out-of-state defamation about someone in New York. So you'd have to sue this guy in Florida. You can write letters and make demands from New York, assuming you know who he is, but a lawsuit has be to in Florida. Being called a pedophile is probably going to qualify for libel in any state, but consult with a Florida counsel to discuss the specifics including any Florida SLAPP Act and privileges that may apply. ... Read More

Unless you have a clear connection with the UK, you may find that the embassy will be less than sympathetic to a request for an H-1B visa appointment as third country cases are generally disfavored. You may wish to continue monitoring the situation in India to see if a slot opens up, and if it does, to grab it. Hopefully, you will be able to obtain a slot to fulfill your plans of returning to the US in January. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

First, congratulations on your third anniversary. Second, without the ability to ask clarifying questions, any response I give here will be inadequate, so please keep that in mind as you read this. Based on what I can glean from your statement, I think a few things are happening.  1. Your primary objective is to get health insurance for your wife. So that you know, your wife doesn't need an SSN to apply for private health insurance. She might need an SSN for government health insurance. You need to talk to a security disability benefits attorney to determine if she needs an SSN. 2. Your wife is a noncitizen who doesn't appear to have a Green Card. I recommend that you talk to an immigration attorney to help apply for your wife's green card. In the meantime, please visit the USCIS website to become familiar with the green card process. https://www.uscis.gov/green-card All that said, your question was about her eligibility for an SSN. The social security administration (SSA) is responsible for issuing SSNs. The SSA has different eligibility requirements for the two types of noncitizen-applicants (immigrant vs. nonimmigrants). Please refer to SSA's website or visit your local SSA office for up-to-date information. Here is a link to the SSA eligibility requirements for noncitizens: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10096.pdf.If you meet the qualifications, you can apply online at their website (https://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber/) or visit your local office and apply in person. ... Read More

Sorry to hear what happened to you.  As owner and operator of the NYC subway system, the MTA / NYCTA has a legal responsibility to maintain the platform in a reasonably safe condition.  It is responsible for any dangerous conditions on the platform about which it had notice, either actual notice (it knew about the condition) or constructive notice (the dangerous condition was visible and apparent and existed for a long enough period before your fall to have permitted the MTA / NYCTA to discovery it).  Unless you can demonstrate that the MTA / NYCTA either knew or should have known about the dangerous condition, they will not be legally responsible for your fall and resulting injuries.  In other words, if the condition that caused you to fall existed for only a few minutes (or even seconds) before your fall, the MTA / NYCTA would not have had sufficient time in which to discover it and correct it.   Keep in mind that before you can bring a lawsuit against the MTA / NYCTA, you must first file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the incident, .  If you do not file a Notice of Claim during such time period, you will be unable to bring a lawsuit later on. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Sorry to hear what happened to you.  As owner and operator of the NYC subway system, the MTA / NYCTA has a legal responsibility to maintain the platform in a reasonably safe condition.  It is responsible for any dangerous conditions on the platform about which it had notice, either actual notice (it knew about the condition) or constructive notice (the dangerous condition was visible and apparent and existed for a long enough period before your fall to have permitted the MTA / NYCTA to discovery it).  Unless you can demonstrate that the MTA / NYCTA either knew or should have known about the dangerous condition, they will not be legally responsible for your fall and resulting injuries.  In other words, if the condition that caused you to fall existed for only a few minutes (or even seconds) before your fall, the MTA / NYCTA would not have had sufficient time in which to discover it and correct it.   Keep in mind that before you can bring a lawsuit against the MTA / NYCTA, you must first file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the incident, .  If you do not file a Notice of Claim during such time period, you will be unable to bring a lawsuit later on. Best regards, Jonathan R. Ratchik, Esq. Kramer, Dunleavy & Ratchik, PLLC 61 Broadway, Suite 2220 New York, NY  10006 (212) 226-6662 www.kdrpilawyers.com... Read More

Based on your facts you may have a claim against the contractor. You may be able to sue him for breach of contract, negligence, violations of NY General Business law, etc. I strongly suggest that you speak with an attorney to assist you with suing the contractor. Keep in mind that you need to move quickly. ... Read More

The Occupational Safety and Health Act is a federal law which requires reasonably safe workplaces for everyone. Constructive discharge is VERY hard to prove. It means that an employee is forced to quit and that no reasonable employee would have remained and tolerated the workplace, often because the employee is being discriminated or subjected to a hostile work environment. OSHA can be more challenging to prove. Have you spoken to your employer or contacted OSHA if the employer is not interested in discussing the situation with you? Hopefully the employer does not have a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason to fire you. If you had reason to believe that you are a whistleblower, your facts unclear in that regard, the employer could not retaliate against you. But if the employer has other valid, legitimate reasons to let you go those could deny you unemployment since gross misconduct and quitting are usually unemployment benefits disqualifiers. If you don't already have a job lined up, start looking, and definitely speak with several employment lawyers before you take any action. Your facts are not specific enough to support any type of action based on your disclosures herein. You need to speak with employment lawyers before doing anything. Good luck.  ... Read More

Surrendering with an attorney has some advantages, the most important of which is that once you're represented by counsel, the police should NOT interview you without your lawyer present. As far as going straight to Court, the police will still have to process you (fingerprint, get your pedigree information, etc.) however, many times if you're represented by an attorney they can speak with the detective to arrange a beneficial time for you when the detective is not otherwise busy that may result in a reduced processing time and get you out more quickly. ... Read More

The question would appear to be the relevance of the divorce document. If it was not relevant to the question of your qualification for naturalization, you can submit a new application. If it is germane to the qualification, you should obtain it either by the time that you file for naturalization or by the date of your interview. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

Harassment is usually associated with sex. A hostile work environment or a hostile workplace can be created by discrimination of various sorts. Hostile workplaces can be motivated by sex, race, religion, national origin, disability, perceiveed disability or various other protected classes of persons. Everyone is protected by sex, gender, and race discrimination because we are all classified by those classes which cannot be changed or only with some extensive and often expensive measures. Schools prohibit bullying of students within those institutions. But employees generally are not protected from workplaces which are not nice, not civil, or unpleasant. Supervisors, in general, can be mean to the employees they supervise. They just can't be mean to one or more employees because of an employee's race, sex, gender, religion, disability, national origin, etc... You get the picture. So we are always on the lookout for discrimination, if we can prove it. And in many cases nasty or unpleasant supervirsors get away with it. What you should be careful about is not becoming involved in a personal dispute or disagreement with your supervisor. A supervisor who does not like someone might be able to get rid of them in a non-discriminatory way and there is nothing illegal about that. There are some very sneaky, sometimes nasty, sometimes slightly unhinged supervisors who get away with some pretty bad behavior. Make sure you are not insubordinate. If the supervisor directs an employee to act the employee should do so. Take notes. Pay attention. Keep a lookout for discrimination and document it if you hear or see it. But this supervisor has already sent you a message that they might want you to leave. If this is not the right place start looking for a job now. Because supervisors don't have to act perfectly and they can fire someone for absolutely no reason. Unless you have evidence of discrimination, always a challenge to prove, consider moving on if this is not the place because nasty, evil supervisors are usually not the first ones for firing. Sometimes it's the good employees who had enough and spoke out one too many times who are asked to leave first and that's not illegal. Call the NLRB about unionizing at work.... Read More

Whose name a particular item is held in is not usually relevant to determining how the asset is to be divided in a divorce. With narrow exceptions (premarital property, inheritance, gift to an individual, award in a personal injury lawsuit) the question is whether the asset was obtained during the marriage, which is defined as from the date of marriage to the date of the first filing for divorce. Whether you earned approximately the same amount during the marriage is also generally irrelevant when it comes to a discussion of equitable distribution.... Read More

COVID is a very serious virus and as a country we might have a false sense of normalcy when that is not reality. My dentist attended a wedding and came down with a bad sinus infection. When other wedding party family called her with similar illnesses they all got tested and most of them had COVID. All vaccinated and one became very ill. So this is not over. Schools are potential incubators for mass outbreaks. They are apparently sending you a message that ill employees should stay home and always get tested after any illness. I think any of us who become ill and want to return to indoor workplaces will get tested following illnesses for years to come. The new reality. You should discuss the matter with a union attorney. That's why they represent you in exchange for paying union dues. Private lawyers will likiely charge thousands to represent you at a hearing with NO guarantees. If your union believes this may be a terminable offense that might be the case with private counsel or a union attorney. Any lawyer who advises you should: 1) Carefully review your union contract and all policies, procedures, handbooks, and documents governing your employment. 2) Carefully review your entire personnel file which may be FOIL requested by you or anyone else. If you don't have a complete copy this may be the time to request it because any disciplinary decisions will be made on anything and likely everything in that file. You will definitely not want to ever return to work in the future after any illness without a test or doctor's visit showing that you are clear. 3) All COVID protocols and policies especially the Tuesday testing one to determine whether you complied with those. 4) Any other memos, postings, prophylactic policies, state or federal mandates, DOE requirements, etc... associated with COVID. 5) DOE licensure or certification requirements. Depending on your own credentials you may want to investigate whether you violated any laws protecting the vulnerable. Children and elders are specially covered by the Justice Center and other agencies so make sure, maybe through your union, that your licensure or certifications will not be affected and hire private counsel if there is any potential issue there.  ... Read More

As a federal employee you need to consult with employment lawyers who focus on or specialize in representing federal employees. Although the general anti-discrimination laws apply to federal employees the rules and procedures for handling their claims are rather unique. Most of us in the City know enough to defer those claims to attorneys who handle them regularly and are therefore more familiar with the codes, regulations, rules, procedures applicable to federal employees. There are a few attorneys in NYC with NELA or in the greater DC area also with NELA. If an attorneys focuses or specializes in federal employment matters they can likely handle your claim from anywhere since the very specific questions they ask you will reveal that both of you understand the challenges of federal employment and federal government claims.  Google NELA and that should provide a list of options to choose from. Good luck.... Read More