Keith Markel’s Post

We are excited to announce the launch of our Luxury Brands practice! With a long history of representing many of the most exclusive and sophisticated public and private brands, Morrison Cohen's luxury group helps clients ranging from startups to the most established names in luxury fashion with a full spectrum of legal services, including day-to-day strategic advice and counseling on operations and employee relations, labor and employment, real estate and construction, corporate transactions, commercial contracts, technology, brand protection and intellectual property matters, and business-related disputes.   The group is led by Keith Markel, co-chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment practice, Andy Bank, chair of the firm’s Real Estate practice, and Karim Momin, co-chair of the firm’s Emerging Company and Venture Capital practice.   “After advising countless luxury brands on the most sophisticated matters for years, we are excited to formally launch this A-team to further support our clients and prospective clients in this ever-growing sector,” said firm Chair & Co-Managing Partner, Y. David Scharf. “As our clients’ needs have expanded and we’ve started to provide multidisciplinary services to meet them, it inspired us to move from providing à la carte offerings to a full-service package.” “We are thrilled to bring together our collective, in-depth knowledge of the luxury retail market,” said Keith. “We are incredibly grateful for the long-term partnerships we’ve developed with our clients over the years, and we are looking forward to building on those relationships as we work together to help brands navigate the ever-evolving post-pandemic retail climate in a manner that ensures their continued success. We don’t just provide legal guidance; we provide sustainability advice for our clients to prosper in any financial climate.”  Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ePGDnCdP #LuxuryBrands #LuxuryLaw

Attention Employers: Minimum Salary Thresholds for Overtime Eligibility to Increase July 1, 2024 The U.S. Department of Labor issued its highly anticipated final rule to increase the minimum salary thresholds for overtime eligibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act on April 23, 2024. The final rule includes a two-step increase of approximately $23,000 over the next year to the required annual minimum salary thresholds for white-collar overtime exemptions under the FLSA. While the DOL’s new rule does not implement any changes to the job duties tests for overtime exemptions, the minimum salary thresholds to be considered exempt under the FLSA will significantly increase from the current minimum. The new final rule also puts in place a mechanism for continuing increases to the minimum salary threshold, beginning July 1, 2027, to be implemented every three years based on then current nationwide earnings data. The new final rule will expand overtime eligibility for millions of workers throughout the country. Employers should be preparing for compliance by evaluating their employee classifications and pay practices to understand potential adjustments needed before the new final rule takes effect on July 1, 2024. Read more about the DOL’s final rule in the latest Client Alert from Labor & Employment lawyers Jeffrey Englander, Keith Markel, John B. Fulfree, Cassandra Branch, Alana Mildner Smolow and Kayla West. https://lnkd.in/ezMEDTUt #LaborLaw #EmploymentLaw #NewYorkLaborLaw #WageandHour #Overtime 

Attention Retail Employers: New York State Passes Retail Worker Safety Act Retail employers in New York should be aware of a new law, the Retail Worker Safety Act, which will provide certain safety measures for retail employees in the workplace. The law takes effect 180 days after Governor Hochul signs it into law or declines to veto it. Under the Retail Worker Safety Act, employers with at least 10 retail employees must adopt a workplace violence prevention policy and implement annual training to educate retail employees about workplace violence. The State Commissioner of Labor will adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement this law. To learn more about the Retail Worker Safety Act, read our latest Labor & Employment Client Alert by Jeffrey Englander, Keith Markel, John B. Fulfree, Cassandra Branch, Alana Mildner Smolow and Kayla West. Our Labor & Employment team is available to assist employers in navigating full compliance with New York Labor Laws, including assisting with development of workplace safety and violence prevention policies and trainings.   https://lnkd.in/ewFRKmmj #Retail #EmploymentLaw #EmploymentPolicies #Training #WorkplaceSafety

Attention Employers: The U.S. Supreme Court has eased the threshold for employees to prove Title VII discrimination in claims relating to job transfers.   Given the general direction in which recent decisions of the Court have moved, its recent decision in Muldrow v. St. Louis, surprisingly, moves in the opposite direction. The Court held that for a plaintiff-employee to make a claim of discrimination under Title VII based on a job transfer, the transferee does not have to show that the harm incurred as a result of the transfer was significant, serious or substantial.   Employers should note the lower threshold now in place for an employee to establish a discrimination claim under Title VII, which for other than those within the DC Circuit likely represents a new, less stringent standard.   Our Labor & Employment team is available to assist employers in navigating full compliance with Title VII (as the standards for such compliance may change) and other anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws. We also advise clients on managing their employer-employee relations and defending against discrimination and all other workplace claims.   To learn more about the Muldrow decision, read our latest Labor & Employment Client Alert by Jeffrey Englander, Keith Markel, John B. Fulfree, Cassandra Branch, Alana Mildner Smolow and Kayla West, and contact our team with any questions.   https://lnkd.in/eAvTcX2Z   #EmploymentLaw #EmploymentPolicies #TitleVII

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued a Final Rule prohibiting the use of non-compete clauses with workers. Following the effective date of the Final Rule, which is 120 days after it is published in the Federal Register, it will be considered unfair competition for an employer to 1) enter into a new non-compete clause with any worker, 2) attempt to enforce an existing non-compete clause with any worker other than a senior executive, as defined by the FTC, and 3) represent that a worker is subject to a non-compete clause (other than a senior executive with a pre-existing non-compete clause). In our latest Client Alert, Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits and Labor & Employment lawyers Jeff Laska, Alina Grinman, Keith Markel, John B. Fulfree, Benjamin Vitcov, Michael Oppenheimer and Michael McGovern discuss the Final Rule and its implications for employers. Our team will continue to analyze the Final Rule and monitor further developments. If you have any questions or require assistance in navigating these changes, please contact us. Read our Client Alert here: https://lnkd.in/dyzCAiXn #EmploymentLaw #EmployeeBenefits #FederalTradeCommission

New York employers who fail to properly pay wages to their employees may pay hefty consequences. In their latest article for New York Law Journal, Partner Keith Markel, chair of our Labor & Employment Practice, and Associates Alana Mildner Smolow and Kayla West discuss how New York is taking wage theft very seriously. A recent headline involves the owner and a manager of Grimaldi’s Pizzeria who allegedly stole more than $20,000 in wages from employees and were indicted for the crime of scheme to defraud in the first degree, as well as several counts of failure to pay wages in violation of New York Labor Law. Even in much less extreme cases of wage theft, under both the New York Penal Law and New York Labor Law, New York prosecutors can file criminal charges against employers. Given the scope and severity of potential criminal liability, employers are advised to remain vigilant about complying with wage and hour laws by reviewing their payment practices and utilizing tools to help maintain accurate payroll records. New York Law Journal subscribers, read the article here: https://lnkd.in/eG7-z9bE #EmploymentLaw #WageTheft #ServiceIndustry

Although nearly all luxury retailers are familiar with the New York City market, they may have missed a developing trend: a significant increase in pay frequency litigation over the past few years.  In this article, Morrison Cohen LLP lawyers Keith Markel and Alana Mildner Smolow discuss these unfashionable developments, and offer guidance with an overview of state and federal cases. The good news? Several pending legislative proposals seek to limit damages or provide employers with additional defences to these claims. However, until the New York Court of Appeals weighs in on this issue or there is legislative action to prevent these claims, pay-frequency litigation in New York will continue to be in style. #luxury #law #litigation #payfrequency #laborlaw #employmentlaw https://lnkd.in/gXH_TUsB