New York Employment Legal Questions

YES if you gave written orders to the attorney to accept the offer of the defense exactly as offered, then either the attorney follows your directive or resigns. There is no such thing as a Plaintiff in Workers Compensation (and there is no such thing as 'workmen's compensation', so I do not believe you grasp the offer nor what rights and benefits you are surrendering... you should very, very seriously reconsider accepting an offer when you do not know the name of the law you are pursuing nor your standing as an Applicant. IF the offer is too low as are most defense opening offers the attorney will spend hours getting all the necessary signatures then submitting it to the court only to have the WCAB Judge refuse to approve it and set the matter for a conference, wasting hours and hours and hours of your attorney's time for no money. Why are you so eager to take such a low sum?... Read More

Although your NY office may only have 7 employees, if the Corp office in CA is the same corporation you work for in NY, (and not a subsidiary) then you may still be protected by federal age dsicrimination laws.  You should also look at your state, city or county where the office is located to see if have an agency that handles discriimination claims.  These agencies typically require only a few employees to have jurisdiction.  An employment lawyer in your area would know about these agencies. As to commissions, your contract or payment agreement will control your right to commissions.  If there is no such written agreement, then you would be entitled to this by state law if you did all you had to do and closed the sale before the termination.  The agreement, if there is one, would talk about when commissions are earned, and when they are payable.  The date the commission is earned is the key date... Read More

Unfortunately, in NY, employers are not required by law to pay severance and for employees, there is no entitlement to severance pay (with the exception that if there is an employment contract that says something different)  The employer could have actually paid you nothing if it wanted to (again unless there is a contract in place that says you are entitled to severance).   Just note, my answer does not address the issue of accumulated vacation pay or sick days which an employer may have to pay. ... Read More

you may sue the employer. Good luck with that. But, you should be prepared to eventually lose some money. Therefore, it is a judgment call on your part: Do I find another job now and limit my losses, or do I keep working for them and likely loose even more later. Or, you could decide to work with the company and help them get back on their feet, at which time, you will again receive regular pay checks. What do you think the chances are of that happening?... Read More

The old H1 visa is of no use to you. When you quit working for your first sponsor without transferring your H1 to another employer, your H1 status ended. Your new employer will have to apply for a new H1. Te only importance of your previous H1B is that the time you were in the U.S. in H1B status will be counted against the 6-years limit on these visas.... Read More

Federal law and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission require that your employer have at least 15 employees for discrimination laws to apply.  BUT, there are some agencies that have the same laws and cover employers that employ as few as 1 employee.  For example, both Chicago and the County of Cook in Illinois have laws that protect against pregnancy and gender discrimination for employers with only one employee.  You may have something similar in your city or county.  Speak to a employment law attorney in your area who can inform if you have a similar agency where you worked or where you lived.... Read More