Philip M Berkowitz

March 13, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Philip M. Berkowitz, a partner at Nixon Peabody, writes that the decision in O'Mahony v. Accenture Ltd. takes the reasoning of New York courts applying the Human Rights Law to employees working overseas a step further, applying the anti-retaliation provisions of SOX to non-residents, and even non-citizens, regardless of where they work or reside, so long as an alleged illegal decision was made here - an unprecedented expansion of the extraterritorial reach of U.S. employment law.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

11 minute read

December 23, 2004 | New York Law Journal

Philip M. Berkowitz, a partner at Nixon Peabody, writes that, over the two years since the enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley in more than 300 whistleblower cases filed with the Department of Labor, only three have gone against the employer on the merits after a trial, while six have been decided in the employers' favor.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

10 minute read

July 10, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Philip M. Berkowitz, a partner at Nixon Peabody, writes that the Second Circuit has recently endorsed a theory that says that it is illegal to discriminate against an employee not only because she has protected status - e.g., because of her gender, race, age, religion, or disability, or because she has complained about discrimination against another employee - but because she is merely associated with an individual who possesses these traits.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

10 minute read

May 12, 2011 | New York Law Journal

In his Employment Law Issues column, Philip M. Berkowitz, a shareholder of Littler Mendelson, writes: Broad anti-Muslim sentiments, anticipated by the EEOC immediately after Sept. 11, have not risen to the level seen in Europe. However, U.S. employers must continue to be vigilant and address discrimination and harassment directed toward Arab and Muslim workers before they become problems that could expose companies to financial and reputational damages.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

9 minute read

March 13, 2002 | New York Law Journal

L aw firms are attractive targets for discrimination and sexual harassment claims. The issue is of critical importance to U.S. law firms, as well as foreign firms with offices in the United States.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

10 minute read

November 12, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Philip M. Berkowitz, a partner at Nixon Peabody, writes: These days, difficult people tend to self-identify. They create blogs. They create Facebook and MySpace pages. They tweet on Twitter. They also create trouble for employers. But with a little common sense and a few ground rules, employers can prevent careless and possibly liability-producing use of social media.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

9 minute read

March 12, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Philip M. Berkowitz, a partner at Nixon Peabody, writes that it may be too early to assess whether there will be significant legal fallout over the layoffs being announced on an almost daily basis by the nation's largest law firms. Law firms, though, may make particularly attractive targets for lawsuits, he warns: This is not only for the obvious reasons - the potential back-pay and front-pay recovery for highly paid, dismissed attorneys is high; law firms are not interested in washing their laundry in public; and as for a scandal involving lawyers, the schadenfreude factor can't be beat.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

10 minute read

May 11, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Philip M. Berkowitz, a partner at Nixon Peabody, reviews a recent Second Circuit decision which may hold out hope for employers sued in Sarbanes Oxley whistleblower cases. The court held that the extraordinary remedy of reinstatement of the whistleblower to his or her job, prior to any hearing on the merits, is unenforceable.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

9 minute read

May 08, 2002 | New York Law Journal

T he events of Sept. 11 caused companies to reevaluate their programs for crisis management in the United States. That crisis`s resultant dislocation of workers (and worse) were extreme, but other kind of crises with substantial negative results also confront employers. In the employment arena, these may include class action discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuits, initiated by groups of employees, former employees, applicants for employment, or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

7 minute read

May 18, 2006 | Law.com

Employers who are sued in SOX whistleblower cases need to win in the first round because an employee who establishes reasonable cause is allowed reinstatement, prior to any hearing on the merits. But preliminary reinstatement is now in a state of doubt, thanks to last week's 2nd Circuit ruling that this remedy is unenforceable. The decision leaves the remedy's viability unsettled partly because two of the judges cited different reasons for their decision.

By Philip M. Berkowitz

9 minute read