Media Mention
New City Law Will Permit Suit Over Bias Against Jobless
March 15, 2013 -- New York Law Journal
In an article exploring the potential effects of New York City's new unemployment anti-discrimination law, Mara B. Levin, partner and co-chair of Herrick, Feinstein's employment group, explains how the law allows an employer to consider the applicant's unemployment when there is a "substantially job-related reason" for doing so.
Media Mention
Life vs. Work – Managing Caregivers (Pt. 1 and 2)
March 14, 2013 -- LocalJobNetwork
In an extensive two-part interview Mara B. Levin, partner and co-chair of Herrick, Feinstein's employment group, analyzes the escalated consciousness of caregivers and their place in the workplace.
Media Mention
More male caregivers, more discrimination at work
February 5, 2013 -- Fortune.com
In an article discussing the growing number of male caregivers and the spike in related employment discrimination claims, Herrick, Feinstein partner and co-chair of the Employment Practice Group Mara B. Levin is quoted about the increase in clients seeking advise on the topic.
Media Mention
When Professional and Personal Lives Collide
April 13, 2012 -- Fox Business
Mara Levin was quoted in the Fox Business article "When Professional and Personal Lives Collide," which discusses situations in which an employee's personal life creates a basis for termination and how technology is blurring the once-rigid line between the personal and professional lives of workers.
Media Mention
Three Challenges of Hiring Hourly Employees
March 2012 -- CareerBuilder.com
Gary Young is quoted in “Three Challenges of Hiring Hourly Employees.” Gary explains that it is important for employers to be acutely aware of wage-and-hour laws, particularly as they relate to employees' tips. Gary says that Government regulators—usually, the Department of Labor—and plaintiff-side class action lawyers are forever targeting restaurants and can effectively put you out of business or at least drive you into bankruptcy if you run afoul of those laws.
Media Mention
401(k) fear: Can workers' stock decisions figure in layoffs?
December 26, 2010 -- USA Today.com
Employees who sell shares of company stock from their 401(k) plans are immune from retribution if they follow the rules of the plan, Fred Green says in a Q&A. Companies that establish 401(k) plans that seek to comply with ERISA Section 404(c) cannot even find out whether employees are selling company stock, whereas the plans that do not seek to comply with 404(c) allow employers to monitor -- but not act on -- employees' sales of such stock.
Media Mention
Court reinstates Visteon retiree benefits
July 13, 2010 -- Reuters
Stephen Selbst says the Third Circuit's ruling in Visteon, which prohibited the bankrupt auto parts manufacturer from eliminating retirees' health and life insurance benefits, might go up to the Supreme Court. Stephen said this is the kind of case the Supreme Court is prone to hearing because it has a significant societal layer and because the various federal circuits are divided on the larger issue of whether bankruptcy discharges companies' obligations to pay retirees' benefits.
Media Mention
Hire and Higher?
June 2010 -- New Jersey & Company
Patricia Graham, quoted at length, notes that a recently enacted New Jersey law legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes does not protect employees in the workplace, does not proscribe employers from enunciating policies that prohibit workplace usage, and do not force employers to accommodate such workers. She notes that the statute doesn't address all issues, including how much protection workers have when the medical conditions that gave rise to their legalized marijuana use makes them part of a protected class.
Media Mention
Marijuana in the Workplace
July 1, 2010 -- CNBC's Power Lunch
States that have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes have not protected users from being fired if their marijuana use conflicts with company policy, Carol Goodman tells a live network audience. Carol made her remarks in a five-minute segment that included former U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson, who later was administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, regarding a suit filed by a Wal-Mart worker who was fired for smoking prescribed pot to alleviate pain.
Media Mention
SC Leaves Big Questions Open in Text-Message Privacy Case
June 18, 2010 -- E-Commerce Times
Barry Werbin says the Supreme Court's ruling in City of Ontario v. Quon was based on such a narrow and unusual fact pattern that it leaves open the larger questions of how much privacy employees can expect when they use employers' networks and systems for personal communications during work hours. Barry notes that as the cost of technology drops, more employees will have personal communications devices, which should lessen their reliance on employers' equipment.
Media Mention
Pot & The Workplace
April 20, 2010 -- CNBC's Power Lunch
Carol Goodman tells a national cable audience that even in states that have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, workers can be dismissed if they use marijuana -- or even have traces of it in their bloodstreams -- contrary to their employers' policies. She cautions employers, however, to consider whether the marijuana has been prescribed for conditions that might quality as disabilities under various federal and state laws.
Media Mention
When Cupid Strikes at the Cubicle
April 11, 2010 -- The New York Times
In the workplace column Career Couch, Mara Levin is quoted at length on what employers and employees should do when two employees begin -- or escalate -- an office romance. Mara insights include her dubious view of so-called love contracts, which, she says, offer little protection because they cover only the romance and not the break-up.
Media Mention
Sony Loses Bid to Enforce Agreement With Competitor's Top Executive
March 24, 2010 -- New York Law Journal
Lead defense attorney Mara Levin analyzes why our client, an executive with a major competitor to Sony Music Entertainment, prevailed on a motion to dismiss Sony's suit, in which it alleged that our client breached an employment contract. David Feuerstein was on the litigation team.
Media Mention
Marijuana In the Workplace
March 19, 2010 -- CNBC's Power Lunch
In a live network appearance, "Marijuana In the Workplace," Carol Goodman analyzes what workplace issues businesses must consider if they are in a state that has decriminalized marijuana and any of their employees have prescriptions for medicinal marijuana.
Media Mention
Marijuana In the Workplace
March 19, 2010 -- CNBC's Power Lunch
In a live network appearance, "Marijuana In the Workplace," Carol Goodman analyzes what workplace issues businesses must consider if they are in a state that has decriminalized marijuana and any of their employees have prescriptions for medicinal marijuana.
Media Mention
Wal-Mart worker fired over medical marijuana
March 17, 2010 -- MSNBC.com Your Career
Even though 14 states have laws legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, they have not enacted legislation requiring that employers accommodate the use of medical marijuana in the workplace, Carol Goodman says. She notes receiving numerous calls from employers, wondering whether they must accommodate such use or revisit their employee handbooks, particularly after New Jersey recently passed a medical marijuana law.
Media Mention
When an Employee Stock Ownership Plan Makes Sense
March 16, 2010 -- MSN Business on Main
Gary Young analyzes when Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) make sense, how they are best implemented, and the costs and possible downsides of them. Tax advantages and a parallel agenda, where employees' and management's fortunes are intertwined, are among the advantages.
Media Mention
To Tweet or Not to Tweet
March 9, 2010 -- NJ & Company
Companies should enunciate clear policies regarding employees' personal use of employers' computers, servers and other electronic communication devices and enforce those policies, Patricia Graham says. In this story, she analyzes the rights and responsibilities of employees and employers, both public and private.
Media Mention
Medical marijuana bill doesn't give employees free rein
February 15, 2010 -- The Star-Ledger
In New Jersey's largest newspaper, Carol Goodman analyzes the rights and responsibilities of the state's employers and employees under a new law that allows patients with certain conditions to use marijuana to relieve their symptoms. Carol addresses the law and practical solutions to various issues in this Q&A, which notes that she has been flooded with calls from New Jersey employment law clients on this topic.
Media Mention
Textual overtones: Digital dogging is new tool for office sexual harrassers
October12, 2009 -- New York Post
Text messages and instant messages have overtaken email as tools of workplace sexual harassment, Mara Levin says in an article about how various forms of digitial technology are effective as work tools but can be misused to harass others. She notes that in general, instant messages and text messages can be used as evidence in trials where sexual harassment has been alleged.
Media Mention
NFL owners OK opt-out of pension plans
April 13, 2009 -- Sports Business Journal
The National Football League joined mainstream Corporate America when it recently decided to allow teams to cease offering pensions to non-player employees, Gary Young says. The league was an anachronism in offering the pensions, with only government and union employees -- plus those of a few bloated companies, such as GM -- enjoying pension plans.
Media Mention
Daughter joins Gabelli's board, raising new questions
March 3, 2009 -- The Journal News
Louis Goldberg analyzes why a daughter joining the board of directors of a public company controlled largely by her father is legally and ethically sound, as long as the company discloses the relationship and meets all other relevant requirements as to composition of the board. Louis notes that many Fortune 500 companies are essentially family businesses, with familial relationships among officers and directors.
Media Mention
Chernin's Reel Deal
February 24, 2009 -- CNBC's Closing Bell
In a live segment opposite a major shareholder, Carol Goodman analyzes the package that News Corp's No. 2 executive will receive upon leaving the company. Carol acknowledges that the raw numbers are robust but notes that the deal was made in a far better economy and that News Corp received great value from his services.
Media Mention
Negotiating Your Severance Package
November 24, 2008 -- ExecuNet's CareerSmart Advisor
Carol Goodman is quoted on the best ways for executives to negotiate severance packages.
Media Mention
Wyeth admits to racial comment but wants lawsuit tossed
November 12, 2008 -- The Journal News
Carol Goodman notes here that courts generally do not find that a single offensive comment meets the standard for a hostile work environment. She is quoted as saying that for plaintiffs to prevail in discrimination suits, they generally must show that the company's actions interfered with their job performance.
Media Mention
Required: Empathy and Kleenex
November 9, 2008 -- New York Times
In this Fresh Starts column in the Sunday business section, Stephen Selbst examines the restructuring and workout job market for people laid off from financial services positions. He notes that professionals who put together the real estate finance deals that ultimately failed but understand collateral, and M&A bankers who have negotiating and deal-making skills, are best suited for the transition.
Media Mention
Should You Sue?
November 3, 2008 -- New York Post
In this sidebar to a main story in which she is also featured prominently, Mara Levin opines that there are relatively few causes of action upon which plaintiffs can rely to sue their employers successfully.
Press Release
Herrick advises Quiet Flight in Sale of Retail Operations to Billabong International
June 12, 2008 -- Herrick, Feinstein LLP
Herrick, Feinstein LLP advised renowned surf shop chain Quiet Flight in the sale of its retail operations to Australia-based Billabong International Limited. Quiet Flight is a leading U.S. east coast retailer and the operator of 13 stores, including the flagship Billabong and Element retail stores in New York, and has been one of Billabong Group’s key retail partners in the U.S.
Media Mention
Gauging the Glass Ceiling
April 21, 2008 -- CNBC
Carol Goodman, live on network television, discusses why more women are not on corporate boards and how more women can achieve that status.
Media Mention
"Hot Babes" Blog
February 13, 2008 -- CNBC
Susan Dwyer discusses on live network television the implications of inappropriate blogging content in an office setting.
Media Mention
Gender Discrimination Litigation
September 27, 2007 -- CNBC
Carol Goodman, live on network television, discusses gender discrimination litigation against Bloomberg LP and ways that companies can avoid and defend against such suits.
Media Mention
Executive Compensation: Who Should Decide?
May 29, 2007 -- CNBC
Carol Goodman, live on network television, analyzes what roles the government and corporate boards of directors and compensation committees should have in determining executive compensation.
Media Mention
Executive Compensation
April 19, 2007 -- Forbes.com
Carol Goodman discusses on Forbes’ financial video program MoneyMasters why boards of directors are more qualified than shareholders to make compensation decisions.
Media Mention
Paycheck Mistakes
October 6, 2006 -- American Public Media
Mara Levin analyzes on public radio the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees when an employer accidentally overpays an employee, who tries without success to return the overage.