Category: News

Two professors at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine are at the center of a growing controversy over academic freedom, due process, and racial profiling.

Represented by Kent Hirozawa of Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss LLP, the professors—both of Chinese descent—were suspended by the university amid allegations of failing to disclose research collaborations and funding connected to China. Despite no formal findings of misconduct, NYU swiftly cut their salaries, banned them from campus, revoked access to university systems, and prohibited them from speaking with colleagues.Hirozawa has challenged the university’s actions.

The case comes amid heightened scrutiny of Chinese and Chinese American scientists across the U.S., where federal investigations and institutional crackdowns—often under the banner of national security—have disproportionately targeted researchers of Asian descent. Critics warn that this trend risks fueling anti-Asian sentiment, stifling international collaboration, and undermining the U.S.’s role as a global leader in science and innovation.

The NYU professors’ case underscores the growing need for legal safeguards to ensure that universities uphold academic freedom and resist the politicization of research oversight. As the professors await the outcome of their case, advocates are watching closely, seeing it as a bellwether for how institutions respond to both national security concerns and civil liberties in an era of rising xenophobia.

Coverage by Bloomberg Law can be found.

A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) judge has ruled that a New York rehabilitation facility illegally fired two employees and a supervisor and engaged in unlawful surveillance during a 2019 union organizing campaign.

The decision stems from a case involving NCRNC LLC, which operates as the Northeast Center for Rehabilitation and Brain Injury in Lake Katrine, NY. The case was brought on behalf of union 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, with legal representation by Amelia Tuminaro of Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss LLP.

In his ruling, Administrative Law Judge Ira Sandron found that the company terminated two union-supporting workers, Josh Endy and Cathy Todd, without valid cause. The judge also concluded that supervisor Tara Golden was fired after refusing to carry out management’s directive to monitor and report on employees’ union views—an action protected under federal labor law, despite her supervisory status.

According to the decision, NCRNC brought in an outside consultant to guide management in responding to the union campaign, instructing managers to engage with staff off the clock to subtly assess their views on unionization. Judge Sandron determined this practice constituted unlawful surveillance. The ruling also criticized the company for falsely attributing a wage freeze to the union’s filing of an unfair labor practice charge, another violation of federal labor law.

Judge Sandron rejected the company’s stated reasons for the firings. Todd, a 12-year employee with no prior discipline, was allegedly dismissed over patient complaints, which the judge found unsubstantiated. Endy’s firing was allegedly due to behavioral issues, but the judge found no credible evidence to support that claim. Golden’s dismissal followed her refusal to participate in what she called a “witch hunt” against pro-union staff, a comment made during a meeting with the consultant.

The judge recommended reinstatement for all three workers. The decision follows an earlier federal court ruling in 2020 that granted a preliminary injunction against the company related to the same allegations.

Read the judge’s decision.

Coverage by Law360 can be found.

1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, represented by Jessica Harris and William Massey of Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, is backing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in federal appeals court, defending a ruling that found a New Jersey nursing home operator violated labor law by cutting employees’ hours without union consent.

1199SEIU filed a brief with the D.C. Circuit urging the court to enforce the NLRB’s June 2020 decision against 800 River Road Operating Co. LLC, which runs the CareOne facility (also known as Woodcrest Health Care Center) in New Milford, NJ. The union is intervening in the appeal to preserve the board’s finding that the company unlawfully reduced work hours for 20 bargaining unit employees.

According to court filings, the workers had regularly worked 40-hour weeks until mid-2014, when the company unilaterally reduced their schedules to 37.5 hours per week—without notifying or bargaining with the union. The NLRB ruled this was a clear violation of the National Labor Relations Act.

The union argues that payroll records provide strong evidence of the change, showing a consistent drop in weekly hours immediately after the employer’s unilateral move. In its brief, 1199SEIU dismissed the company’s claim that its written policy allowed for hour fluctuations, contending that long-standing practice—not policy documents—determines the employment status quo under labor law. The union also rejected the employer’s claim that the relevant “status quo” should be assessed as of the 2012 union election. Instead, 1199SEIU argued the correct baseline is the period just before the 2014 changes, calling the company’s position “preposterous.”

1199SEIU continues to press for contract negotiations at the facility, where workers have been unionized since 2012 but have yet to secure a collective bargaining agreement.

Read the Union’s brief

Read Law360’s coverage

A federal judge in New York has confirmed an arbitration decision in favor of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. The decision affects approximately 100,000 home care workers, reinforcing that wage-related disputes under collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) must be resolved through arbitration. 1199SEIU was represented by Laureve Blackstone of Levy Ratner PC and Jim Reif of Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, LLP.

In his decision, U.S. District Judge John Koeltl upheld an April 2020 arbitration award in a class grievance filed by 1199SEIU against more than 40 home health care companies in New York. The union alleged that the companies failed to properly compensate workers under federal and state labor laws—a claim governed by CBAs in place since 2015.

At the heart of the dispute was whether such wage-related grievances belonged in arbitration. Arbitrator Martin Scheinman ruled they did, and Judge Koeltl confirmed that ruling, rejecting an attempt by eight former home care workers to intervene and block the award.

The former employees, who had ongoing lawsuits against some of the companies, argued they were not bound by the arbitration clause since they left their jobs before the relevant CBA changes took effect. They also contended the arbitration provision should not apply retroactively. Judge Koeltl dismissed those arguments, finding that the CBAs clearly designated arbitration as the forum for such disputes and that the union had authority to negotiate binding agreements on behalf of its members. He emphasized that under well-established legal precedent, courts have limited ability to second-guess arbitration outcomes in labor disputes.

The judge also rejected claims that prior litigation precluded the arbitration outcome, noting that 1199SEIU was not involved in those lawsuits. He further ruled that the arbitration award was final and enforceable, even though it only addressed jurisdiction and arbitrability—not damages or liability.

With this decision, the court reaffirmed the enforceability of union-negotiated arbitration clauses in large-scale labor disputes, even over objections from former employees no longer covered by the CBAs.

Read Judge Koeltl’s decision

Read Law360’s coverage

CareOne at New Milford, a New Jersey nursing home, is asking the D.C. Circuit to overturn a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that found it unlawfully cut the work hours of unionized employees from 40 hours a week to 37.5 hours a week, arguing the NLRB misapplied the facts and failed to follow proper legal standards. The employees are represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers’ East, whose attorneys in the case are Jessica Harris and William Massey of Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, LLP.

In its brief, CareOne claims the Board wrongly assumed that a 40-hour workweek was the status quo for full-time employees, when the company’s policy defined full-time work as 37.5 hours or more per week. The facility contends that the NLRB’s general counsel and the union failed to prove that a 40-hour schedule was standard, relying instead on what it called a “cherry-picked” set of payroll records.

The D.C. Circuit will now determine whether the NLRB properly evaluated the evidence and applied the law in concluding that the nursing home violated federal labor law.

Read Law360’s coverage.

1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, represented by Katy Hansen of Gladstein Reif & Meginniss, LLP, has petitioned a federal court in New Jersey to compel Manhattanview Healthcare Center to pay nearly $24,000 in overdue 401(k) contributions and accumulated interest, following an arbitration ruling from almost eight years ago.

The issue originated in 2012 when 1199SEIU filed a grievance claiming Manhattanview failed to make the required retirement contributions for several employees between 2008 and 2011, in violation of their collective bargaining agreement. Under the agreement, the employer is obligated to contribute one-half percent of gross wages for eligible workers.

An arbitrator ruled in favor of the union in May 2012, and the union subsequently submitted its calculation of the unpaid amounts. While Manhattanview did not dispute the numbers at the time, it did not fulfill its payment obligations despite repeated demands from the union.

In May 2020, after the continued delay, the arbitrator ordered Manhattanview to pay approximately $11,500 in outstanding contributions plus around $12,500 in interest accrued through August 2020. The nursing home contested the enforcement, arguing the union was attempting to alter the original award, but the arbitrator rejected this claim.

The union then sought judicial enforcement of the arbitration decision, pointing out that federal law mandates courts to uphold arbitration awards based on collective bargaining agreements. The union maintains that the arbitrator acted within his rights and that Manhattanview must comply with the payment directive.

Read the Union’s brief.

Read Law360’s coverage.

 

Alameda Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare Inc., a New Jersey nursing home, must compensate unionized employees for missed employer 401(k) matching contributions after its retirement plan lapsed for nearly a year, according to a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The ruling partially overturns an earlier administrative law judge’s finding. The union representing the workers is 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, whose legal counsel in the case was Bill Massey of Gladstein Reif & Meginniss, LLP.

The Board ordered Alameda to pay approximately $30,000 to 10 affected workers, covering the matching contributions the company failed to make during the period from April 2016 to February 2017. The Board clarified that while the employer must cover the missed matches and associated investment gains, it is not obligated to pay the amounts employees themselves would have contributed through payroll deductions, as those wages were already paid out.

This case arose when Alameda acquired the Perth Amboy nursing facility and agreed to maintain existing labor terms, including a 401(k) plan with a 50% employer match up to 3% of employees’ salaries. However, the company failed to establish a replacement plan promptly, leaving staff without retirement benefits for over eight months.

Read the Board’s decision.

Read Law360’s coverage here.

The Second Circuit affirmed $100,000 in sanctions against Alaris Health at Hamilton Park and subcontractor Confidence Management Systems LLC for failing to comply with an arbitrator’s order requiring them to adhere to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and produce payroll records for unionized workers. The workers are represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, whose legal counsel in the case was Katy Hansen and Kent Hirozawa of Gladstein Reif & Meginniss, LLP.

The companies had argued that a 2018 district court order confirming the arbitration award was unclear about their compliance obligations. However, the appeals panel found the order unambiguous, noting that any confusion was addressed by subsequent court instructions.

The dispute stems from a 2008 CBA covering dietary, maintenance, and housekeeping employees at the Hamilton Park nursing facility. After Alaris and CMS determined in 2013 that the agreement did not apply to certain workers, the union pursued arbitration to enforce wage rates and benefit payments. The 2018 arbitration ruling mandated the companies to comply and make necessary payments.

When the companies continued to resist, the union sought enforcement in federal court. Judge Jed S. Rakoff enforced the arbitration award and later sanctioned the companies for contempt, awarding $100,000 in fees due to prolonged litigation caused by their noncompliance. The companies claimed the award lacked specific instructions on payments, but the Second Circuit rejected this argument, upholding the sanctions.

Read the Second Circuit’s decision.

Read Law360’s coverage.

As it appeared on NPR.

By: Hansi Lo Wang

A group of New York City emergency medical service workers who gave interviews to the news media, including NPR, are suing the city for allegedly retaliating against them after speaking about their experiences responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday with the federal court in Manhattan, four EMS workers allege the city is violating their right to speak on issues of public concern under the First Amendment, as well as their due process rights.

In late April, the New York City Fire Department sent letters notifying three paramedics — including Elizabeth Bonilla, who spoke to NPR earlier that month — that they were restricted from treating patients, according to the complaint. Workers on restricted status are not allowed to receive overtime or work for any other emergency medical services in the city’s 911 system. The letters, the complaint says, gave no reason why they were put under restrictions.

EMT John Rugen, a union officer of FDNY EMS Local 2507, was put on restricted status after the fire department first suspended him without pay for 30 days, claiming that he violated the FDNY’s social media policy and patient privacy laws without providing any evidence, according to the complaint.

The fire department referred NPR’s request for comment to the city’s law department, which declined to answer questions about why Rugen, Bonilla and the other EMS workers who filed the lawsuit were put on restricted status and if any other workers who have spoken to the media have been restricted.

“The FDNY respects the First Amendment rights of its employees but those rights must be carefully balanced to respect the privacy rights granted under the law to patients receiving emergency medical care,” Nicholas Paolucci, spokesperson for New York City’s law department, said in an email.

Paolucci also declined to answer NPR’s question about whether the city has received any complaints that the plaintiffs’ interviews disclosed any patient’s protected health information.

“We don’t litigate these matters in the press,” Paolucci added.

Terry Meginniss, one of the attorneys representing the EMS workers in the lawsuit, says any implication that they have not respected their patients’ privacy is “absolute hogwash.”

“If the fire department isn’t really motivated by its interest in stopping the union from publicizing what’s going on in the streets, then it would behoove the fire department to tell these individuals exactly what they think they did wrong and give them a chance to say something because these folks are the heroes of the city,” Meginniss says. “These are the people who go out and treat people, and they have been living through incredibly difficult times.”

All of the paramedics who filed the lawsuit are union members of Local 2507, which has been fielding interview requests from journalists during the pandemic to help promote the work of paramedics and EMTs as the union continues contract negotiations with the city.

“Every agency likes to take pride of itself. However, EMS is known to be the stepchild of the fire department,” says Oren Barzilay, the president of Local 2507 who is also among the lawsuit’s plaintiffs. “We always get the crumbs of the pie, so when we decided to do this campaign on our own, this is when it became a problem.”

A federal appeals court has upheld a decisive victory for union workers, affirming that a New Jersey healthcare company violated federal labor law by unlawfully delaying the reinstatement of striking employees. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reinforced the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling that workers who strike to protest unfair labor practices must be reinstated immediately and unconditionally—regardless of industry-specific challenges.

At the heart of this case is a 2014 strike involving more than 400 employees represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. The employer had argued that contractual agreements with staffing agencies justified a month-long delay in rehiring the strikers. However, the court emphatically rejected this defense, clarifying that the National Labor Relations Act allows no exceptions in cases of unfair labor practices—even within the sensitive healthcare sector.

The union’s legal team, led by Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, LLP, played a pivotal role in securing this outcome. This ruling serves as a reminder that workers striking over unfair labor practices cannot be sidelined or delayed in returning to work—no matter the logistical challenges employers claim.

Read the opinion.

Coverage by Bloomberg Law can be found.