Our cases are regularly covered in the media. When seeking expertise from a New York employment attorney, journalists also call on Kevin Mintzer to comment on matters involving employment law, discrimination in the workplace, sexual harassment, and sexual assault, among other topics. Our recent media appearances include the following:
In a New York Times examination of New York State’s attempts to evade responsibility for sexual harassment of its own employees, Kevin Mintzer is quoted concerning his representation of two employees of the New York State Assembly who were sexually harassed by a prominent elected official.
CNN reports on the statement issued by Kevin Mintzer and co-counsel, representing one of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers, regarding the reported global settlement in the Weinstein sexual assault and sexual harassment cases.
In a Times Union article about the New York legislature’s agreement to improve the sexual harassment and other employment discrimination laws of the state, Kevin explains the significance of the changes, including the abandonment of the unfair “severe or pervasive” standard and the so-called Faragher-Ellerth affirmative defense.
National media organizations, including the New York Times, report on Kevin’s representation of one of Harvey Weinstein’s alleged rape victims, and her objections to the reported global settlement of rape and sexual assault cases brought against Weinstein, his companies, and associates. Kevin and co-counsel said in a statement: “The proposed deal would provide millions of dollars to the ultra-wealthy directors of the Weinstein Company. . . and their big firm lawyers.”
In the New York Post, Kevin is asked for comment about a New York City councilmember who admitted to sexually harassing a member of the council staff: “‘Given what’s admitted — over a year of unwanted hugs and kisses — why is he being allowed to stay on the council?’ asked attorney Kevin Mintzer, who secured a $545,000 settlement in 2015 for two woman who accused former assemblyman Vito Lopez of sexual harassment.”
The New York Times and the New York Daily News cover the $1 million settlement of Dr. Marina Stajic’s First Amendment retaliation suit against the City of New York and the New York City Chief Medical Examiner. Dr. Stajic was the long-time Director of the Toxicology Laboratory at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office. The resolution is believed to be one of the largest settlements of a First Amendment employment dispute in New York. Kevin Mintzer was lead counsel for Dr. Stajic.
The Albany Times Union discusses the New York Legislature’s upcoming hearings on sexual harassment in the workplace, which is the first such hearing in 27 years. Kevin Mintzer comments on the need to remedy the disparity between the legal protections against sexual harassment in New York City and the rest of New York State.
In an article in the New York Post concerning the passing of one of Bill Cosby’s alleged victims, Kevin Mintzer provides expert commentary concerning whether a sexual assault lawsuit may proceed if the plaintiff dies.
Along with co-counsel, Kevin Mintzer represents an actress who claims that Harvey Weinstein raped her while they were supposed to be meeting to discuss a television project. In response to Weinstein’s efforts to have the criminal charges against him dismissed and the civil case stayed, our brief, quoted by the New York Daily News, argued that the “criminal accusations that have been leveled against Weinstein are not a shield that he can wield to deflect and delay civil liability.”
The Post summarizes the latest developments in the whistleblower retaliation suit against the New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). The plaintiff, represented Kevin Mintzer and co-counsel, alleges that she pushed for OCME to disclose the scientific basis of its controversial DNA analysis program, and as a result she was fired from her job as the head of OCME’s toxicology laboratory after 29 years of service. The court recently rejected the OCME’s effort to have the case dismissed, and a trial is scheduled for the spring.