By Karen Best

It has been almost a month since Election Day and Nassau County still has not declared a winner for the Nassau County Executive position nor for the Nassau County Comptroller position. The votes for both positions are still being counted and as of today for Nassau County Executive, the Democratic incumbent Tom Suozzi trails Republican challenger Edward Mangano by 213 votes. For the Nassau County Comptroller position, Democrat incumbent Howard Weitzman trails Republican challenger George Maragos by 500 votes.

The final tally is supposed to be entered as early as Wednesday and as late as next week. All of the voting machine ballots have been counted. The reason behind the hold up is the paper ballots. The counting of the paper ballots are being held at the Board of Election Headquarters in Mineola. When Suozzi was asked if he would appeal the final count if it was unfavorable he stated he would not “unless there is some crazy fraud that took place.”

Leeds Morelli & Brown, PC is a nationally recognized leader in the area of employment law. Over the last two decades, we have established ourselves among as one of the leading alternative dispute resolution and litigation firms in the New York City area. For more information, contact Leeds, Morelli and Brown, PC at 1-800-585-4658 for a free consultation.

By Karen Best

Drunk driving has been a continuous problem in our nation. New York Governor David Patterson has signed a new law to stiffen the penalty. If someone drives drunk with a passenger under the age of 15 it will be an automatic felony.  Previous to the passage of the bill, driving drunk with a child in the car was only a misdemeanor. Now, the minimum blood alcohol level will be 0.08 and will apply to first time offenders. The law also requires that anyone convicted of driving while intoxicated must install an interlock on their car. The interlock is a device that acts like a breathalyzer and disables the car if alcohol is detected on the driver’s breathe.

Leandra’s Law is named after Leandra Rosado an 11 year old girl who was killed in an accident on the West Side Highway. In October, Leandra was a passenger in a van driven by her friend’s mother. The mother is alleged to have been driving drunk when she caused the van to flip over, killing Leandra.

Leandra’s father was present when Governor Paterson signed the bill and said “I guarantee you that my daughter’s death will not be in vain.” He also added, “Today I consider this a victorious day and a glorious day-not only for me and my family but all New Yorkers”.

Having represented many well-respected, high-profile individuals over the last two decades, we can say with a great degree of certainty — anyone can be investigated, arrested, charged and prosecuted for a crime. Having read news reports, articles and magazine features on stories of innocent people for much longer, we can also say — anyone can be convicted. While we do not hold ourselves out to be a “criminal defense law firm,” many of the lawyers at our firm have experience as prosecutors. As a result, we understand prosecutorial approaches and the strategies DAs use to try and convict you. For more information, contact Leeds, Morelli and Brown, PC at 1-800-585-4658 for a free consultation.

By: Elizabeth Lopez

Elizabeth Williams was a fundraiser at Binghamton University. In March 2009, Williams filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that two senior officials with Binghamton’s athletic department encouraged her to flirt with potential donors with the hopes of attaining donations for the school. The suit also alleges department officials tried to use her as a sexual “plaything” to ply money from donors, and that university officials took punitive measures against her once she reported the harassment.

Williams has been with the university since 2008, and the athletic department since January. Her lawyer writes in the suit: “She discovered that her new bosses viewed women as playthings and expected women in the department to raise money by exploiting their sexuality”.

The suit claims that Binghamton University bosses even would remember the type of women certain donors liked. One such donor reportedly liked “big-chested, loud-mouthed women”. One donor even solicited Williams to join him and his wife in bed, for a donation of course. The University’s response? “Binghamton University has zero tolerance for harassment or discrimination of any kind.”

On July 9, 2009, Williams officially filed the sexual harassment suit in Manhattan Federal Court. She alleges not only that her bosses sent her to New York City to flirt with potential donors, but also said that a boss groped her in an elevator. Elizabeth Williams’ allegations are detailed in a huge $11.5 million suit filed in New York’s Federal Court.

At Leeds Morelli & Brown we educate our clients on the proper procedures for filing a claim with the EEOC for sexual harassment and also give our clients advice on how to handle their situation appropriately until a claim has been filed. At Leeds Morelli & Brown, we strive to ensure the safety of our clients and help our clients manage a stressful situation. For more information, contact Leeds, Morelli and Brown, PC at 1-800-585-4658 for a FREE CONSULTATION.

By Brandon Sipherd

This last week marked the one-year anniversary of Barack Obama’s victory over Senator John McCain.  Reflecting on this past year, we cannot help but ask if President Obama’s victory really brought about change?  Despite the many criticisms the President has received this last year, he has left a mark on one important area: pay equity.

Over 45 years ago, President Kennedy singed the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform the same work.  At that time women received 59 cents to every dollar earned by men.  Today that has increased to about 78 cents for every dollar paid to men; in New York the average is slightly higher as women receive 82 cents for every dollar.  Although the pay gap is closing, women across America continue to suffer from this discriminatory practice.

In January 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which is a step forward in improving pay discrimination laws.  This substantive piece of legislation reverses the Supreme Court’s ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., which severely limited a worker’s ability to vindicate her rights under federal anti-discrimination laws.  This reversal of the Supreme Court’s ruling restores the protections against pay discrimination that used to exist.  Now people who suffer pay wage discrimination based on sex, race, national origin, age, religion and disability may file a claim when they became subject to discriminatory practice or affected by a discriminatory practice.  This includes any time an employee receives a discriminatory paycheck.  Therefore, the 180-day statute of limitations for filing a pay discrimination lawsuit resets with each new discriminatory paycheck.  Thanks to President Obama’s signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, anyone who is subjected to pay discrimination will now have a greater ability to challenge and vindicate their rights in a court of law.

At Leeds Morelli & Brown, PC, we believe that discrimination has no place in a democratic and free society.  Our employment law attorneys are dedicated to resolving issues of wage discrimination and pay equity in the workplace and elsewhere.  Our firm has had considerable success in handling matters such as these throughout Long Island and the New York City area.  We take great pride not only in providing quality legal service and representation, but also in being there for clients when they need it most.

For more information, contact Leeds, Morelli and Brown, PC at 1-800-585-4658.

By: Elizabeth Lopez

A local lawmaker in Belmont, Massachusetts is hoping to tighten the rules on so-called non-compete agreements through legislation, which it’s supporters say “too often hamstring workers’ ability to find new jobs”. State Rep. Will Brownsberger, filed legislation earlier this year that would not only restrict employers’ ability to write “broad” non compete agreements but also require employers’ to present a written version of the agreement to the employee prior to their first day of work.

State Rep. Brownsberger said such agreements are intended to allow employers to protect trade secrets and confidential information. But he said the agreements are often written so broadly that they force former employees out of their chosen field to avoid leaving themselves vulnerable to legal action from their old employers. The new legislation would add new requirements to the law regarding the agreements, which are often a prerequisite to employment. The bill would also ban such agreements for employees earning less than $75,000 per year. The Legislature’s Committee on Labor and Workforce Development heard testimony on the bill on Oct. 7.

Brownsberger said he first decided to pursue the legislation after hearing from Caroline Huang, a Belmont resident, about her experience with a non compete agreement in the early 1990s. Huang said she signed the agreement in the early 1990s when she took a job writing speech synthesizing software. When she left the job a few years later hoping to continue working in speech technology, she said the agreement was so broad that it barred her from taking any other job in that field for the next year.

She was able to find another job, writing text recognition software, but said the experience set her back financially and hurt the momentum of her career.

“It wasn’t a disaster for me, but I was in a lucky situation,” said Huang, adding that her husband’s job helped fill the financial gap. “It could have easily been terrible for someone else.” Huang said she doesn’t blame her former employer because the agreement was completely legal. But she believes it would be best for workers if the agreements were banned altogether, though she’s willing to live with a compromise like the one Brownsberger is proposing.

Non compete agreements are known for what they contain–restrictive covenants. Because restrictive covenants can be tailored narrowly or broadly, it is how they are drafted that matters. If contested in court, it is the scope of the restriction that will be scrutinized. Broadly worded non compete agreements may be viewed by some courts as too restrictive, giving former employees’ little leeway when it comes to using reasonable amounts of general knowledge gained on the job in future positions with other employers. Courts also may frown on wording they see as vague, which could provide employees too little guidance as to what limitations are being placed upon them.

Leeds Morelli & Brown, PC is a nationally recognized leader in the area of employment law. Over the last two decades, we have established ourselves among as one of the leading alternative dispute resolution and litigation firms in the New York City area. Our lawyers’ commitment to the principles of justice in the workplace has led to precedent-setting decisions by many courts, a number of highly publicized verdicts and settlements, and even new legislation in Nassau County. For more information, contact Leeds, Morelli and Brown, PC at 1-800-585-4658 for a free consultation.