LABOR LAW ARTICLE 6: A MISUNDERSTOOD LAW THATFULLY PROTECTS ALL EMPLOYEES’ WAGES

Wage theft occurs when an employer fails to pay wages or benefits owed. It harms low-income employees the most. But depriving almost anyone of earned paychecks, commissions, bonuses, or severance pay causes harm. For some, the harm is life-altering, but few can afford the cost of a lawsuit for breach of contract. And those who […]

Does New York’s Wage Payment Law Have a GapingLoophole?

Article 6 of the New York Labor Law (Labor Law §§190-199-a) is a fee-shifting statute, the overall intent ofwhich is to protect employees from having their rightfulwages kept from them.1 The statute “refl ects the state’s‘longstanding policy against the forfeiture of earned but undistributed wages.’”2 To protect employees and rem-edy the imbalance of power between […]

Restaurants Must Fork Over Service Fees

Law360 (February 15, 2008, 12:00 AM EST) — In a potential blow to the New York restaurant industry, the state’s highest court has ruledthat dining establishments must hand over any obligatory service fees to waiters that customers are tricked into believing areinterchangeable with leaving a tip.The New York State Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday […]

3 NY Workers Win $6.2M In Pregnancy Discrimination Suit

Law360, Los Angeles (September 16, 2015, 10:31 PM EDT) — A New York state jury on Tuesday awarded three former employees of aManhattan medical office nearly $6.2 million in a pregnancy discrimination suit, finding that their pregnancies were a determining factorin their firings.Following a monthlong trial, the jury found that G.E.B. Medical Management Inc. and […]

Groundbreaking Legal Precedent: Samiento, et al. v. World Yacht, Inc., et al.

Samiento, et al. v. World Yacht, Inc., et al., 10 N.Y.3d 70, 883 N.E.2d 990,854 N.Y.S.2d 83 (New York, 2008) In a case closely watched throughout New York State’s restaurant andbanquet industry, Scott A. Lucas argued before the State’s highest court onbehalf of 14 waiters suing to recover the “service charge” added tobanquets in place […]

$2.6 Million Verdict: Brown v. Suggs


The Law Offices of Scott A. Lucas represented the plaintiff in a trial thatproduced one of the highest abuse of process awards ($2.6 million) in NewYork State history. The case, Brown v. Suggs, involved a 7½ year litigation against WillieKathryn Suggs, a well-known Harlem real estate broker. After an 8-day trialin November 2007, the jury […]