Amy J. Traub

Experience

Advice and Counsel Experience

• Provides ongoing advice and counsel to companies of all sizes. Advises chief executives, human resources and legal departments on all aspects of the employer-employee relationship, including discrimination harassment, retaliation, leaves of absence, religious and disability accommodations, background check processes and forms and compliance with employment laws. Counsels clients on termination and restructuring efforts, including New York WARN Act compliance and related issues.
• Provides ongoing counsel to numerous healthcare institutions and hospitals on COVID-19 vaccination mandates and other pandemic protocols.
• Counsels clients related to federal and state wage and hour concerns, including misclassification of employees, meal and rest periods, off-the-clock work, interns, rounding practices, tip pools and other wage laws. Conducts wage and hour audits for clients across variety of industries, including healthcare, hospitality and retail.
• Navigates laws and advises clients in all industries regarding the morass of ever-changing COVID-19-related legislation, executive orders and guidance for employers.
• Works with human resources, legal and compliance departments to ensure compliance with employment policies and procedures. Prepares and modifies employee handbooks and policies, and drafts and negotiates employment, separation and restrictive covenant agreements. Trains managers, employees, human resources professionals and members of legal departments on employment laws and requirements. Conducts audits of human resources policies, practices and procedures.

Litigation Experience

• Serves as designated outside employment law counsel for a number of clients with respect to federal, state and city agency complaints, and federal and state lawsuits involving all manner of employment disputes.
• Representing multiple hospitals in connection with mandatory vaccine-related litigation, including disability and religious discrimination allegations.
• Successfully represented a hospital employer in a federal lawsuit brought by a former employee concerning the classification of the employee's position, obtaining summary judgment.
• Successfully defeated federal disability discrimination litigation involving the Family and Medical Leave Act.
• Successfully defended a staffing company against charges brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regarding concerns of discrimination.
• Successfully represented multiple international retailers in putative nationwide collective wage and hour actions, in which salaried store managers alleged they were misclassified as exempt.
• Representing multiple clients in a variety of industries in federal and state putative class action lawsuits alleging numerous wage and hour violations.
• Successfully defeated contract claims by a former employee of a religious organization on the basis of the ministerial exception in a matter of first impression case in the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
• Lead counsel for a health plan provider in connection with a religious discrimination enforcement action brought by the EEOC on behalf of former employees.
• Representing a health company in a case of first impression regarding alleged religious discrimination centering on a voluntary communications program offered in the workplace.
• Represented a major food company in a Fair Credit Reporting Act putative class action case, successfully obtaining dismissal of all claims.
• Successfully mediates and negotiates settlements in a wide variety of single-plaintiff and class action cases.
• Represented large hospital system in connection with 19 cases filed against it pertaining to mandatory vaccine requirements.

Memberships

• New York University School of Law, Center for Labor and Employment Law: Board of Advisors (2020 to 2022)