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Labor Law

Pennsylvania Arbitration Employment Labor Law

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

Freeport Area School District v. Freeport Education Association — Commonwealth Court Reinstates Arbitration Award on Teacher’s Right to Decline FMLA Designation

/ July 18, 2026

The Commonwealth Court reversed a trial court order vacating an arbitration award and reinstated the award in favor of a teachers’ union, holding that where a CBA incorporates FMLA and the applicable FMLA rule is not subject to well-established case law or clear precedent, judicial review is limited to the deferential essence test — and the arbitrator’s conclusion that a school district could not unilaterally designate an employee’s absence as FMLA leave was rationally derived from the CBA.

New York Construction Law Labor Law Scaffold Law

Appellate Division, Second Department

Chacho v. Cudney — Property Owners Cannot Escape Labor Law § 240 Claims at the Pleading Stage

/ July 17, 2026

Second Department affirms denial of property owners’ motion to dismiss Labor Law § 240(1) and § 241(6) claims arising from worker’s elevation-related injury during renovation — Scaffold Law claims survive CPLR 3211 and must be addressed through discovery.

New York Labor Law Personal Injury Scaffold Law

Appellate Division, First Department

Barbosa v. 1169 Hoe LLC — § 241(6) Slipping Hazard Claim Upheld; § 240(1) Dismissed for Floor-Level Accident

/ July 11, 2026

The First Department upholds Labor Law § 241(6) liability for rainwater and oil on a construction floor, while affirming dismissal of § 240(1) where the concrete form being lifted never fell or moved uncontrollably. Post-Bazdaric, defendants must show the hazardous substance was inherent to the specific task.

New York Employment Labor Law

Appellate Division, First Department

Martinez v. Bronx County Historical Society — Historical Society Is an Employer Under Labor Law; Non-Monetary Pay Offsets Wages, Not Liquidated Damages

/ July 4, 2026

The First Department holds that the Bronx County Historical Society is an “employer” subject to the Labor Law’s minimum wage obligations, and clarifies that in-kind compensation (rent, utilities) offsets unpaid wages owed to a live-in caretaker — not liquidated damages.

New York Insurance Coverage Labor Law Scaffold Law

Appellate Division, First Department

Santacruz v. 58 Gerry St. LLC — First Department Parses Multi-Party Scaffold Law Liability, Anti-Subrogation Doctrine, and Workers’ Compensation Bar

/ June 27, 2026

The Appellate Division, First Department modified a multi-party construction accident ruling, addressing Labor Law § 240(1), § 241(6), and § 200 claims alongside complex third-party indemnification issues including the anti-subrogation doctrine and the Workers’ Compensation Law § 11 grave-injury bar.

New York Administrative Law Class Actions Employment

Appellate Division, Third Department

Matter of Gui Zhu Chen v. Reardon — Third Department Affirms DOL Must Reopen Home Health Aide Wage Complaints, Rejects SAPA-Violating Arbitration-Closure Policy

/ June 27, 2026

The Appellate Division, Third Department affirmed that the Department of Labor’s blanket policy of closing home health aide wage complaints whenever a mandatory arbitration clause exists was an unlawful ‘rule’ promulgated without SAPA compliance, upholding annulment of the closures and class certification.

New York Civil Procedure Labor Law Scaffold Law

Appellate Division, First Department

Sarmiento v. Method Gen. Contrs. — First Dept. Reinstates Indemnification Third-Party Claims Despite Owner’s Default Judgment in Labor Law Case

/ June 25, 2026

The First Department reversed a ruling that dismissed an owner and general contractor’s third-party indemnification claims against a subcontractor, holding that a default judgment against defendants is not a merits finding of 100% negligence and does not preclude them from seeking contractual or common-law indemnification from the subcontractor that employed the injured worker.

New York Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort Scaffold Law

Appellate Division, First Department

Gomez v. Brookfield Props. One WFC Co. — First Dept. Grants Summary Judgment on Labor Law § 240(1) After Ladder Shifted During Sheetrock Installation

/ June 25, 2026

The First Department reversed and granted plaintiff summary judgment on liability under Labor Law § 240(1) after his testimony that an eight-foot A-frame ladder moved from side to side and caused him to fall while installing sheetrock — rejecting the owner’s argument that contrary hearsay in post-accident reports raised a triable issue.

Pennsylvania Administrative Law Employment Labor Law

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

Freedom Foundation v. PLRB — PERA’s Four-Month Limitations Period Applies to Reports of Union Illegal Political Contributions

/ June 24, 2026

The Commonwealth Court affirmed the PLRB’s dismissal of a nonprofit’s report of alleged illegal PSEA political contributions as untimely, holding that PERA’s four-month statute of limitations in Section 1505 applies to Section 1701 reports of union political-contribution violations—not only to traditional unfair practice charges—because the Board’s own regulation treats such reports as “charges” subject to the Board’s investigatory framework established in Trometter.

New York Civil Procedure Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort

Appellate Division, Second Department

Fehringer v. MLJ Contracting — Pre-Litigation Release That Does Not Name Negligence Cannot Bar Labor Law Claims

/ June 19, 2026

The Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed denial of a CPLR 3211 motion to dismiss, holding that a pre-litigation covenant not to sue did not “clearly and unequivocally” release the defendant from its own negligence and therefore could not bar the plaintiff’s Labor Law §§ 200, 240(1), and 241(6) claims.

New York Civil Procedure Class Actions Employment

Appellate Division, Second Department

Abdelhamed v. XYZ Limousine — Appellate Division Revives Black Car Drivers’ Wage Class Action

/ June 19, 2026

New York’s Appellate Division, Second Department reversed summary judgment for a limousine company, holding that the Labor Law “taxicab exception” does not apply to Labor Law Article 6 wage claims, and that black car drivers operating under corporate service contracts may not fall within the Article 19 exception either.

New York Civil Procedure Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort

Appellate Division, First Department

DePhillips v. Tishman Construction — Labor Law §241(6) Upheld for Snowy Staircase Fall

/ June 18, 2026

The Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed Labor Law §241(6) liability for a construction worker who slipped on a snow-covered staircase, and held that joint-venture partners and investor entities with site-management authority qualify as ‘owners’ subject to strict Scaffold Law liability.

New York Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort Scaffold Law

Appellate Division, First Department

Martin v. Poe Affiliates — Shared Insurance and Co-Location Do Not Make Entities Alter Egos for Workers’ Comp Exclusivity

/ June 13, 2026

First Department affirms Labor Law § 240(1) summary judgment and rejects a Workers’ Compensation exclusivity defense, holding that shared insurance and the same building location do not prove alter ego status between a property owner, manager, and general contractor.

New York Construction Law Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort

Appellate Division, First Department

Ochoa v. 3475 Third Avenue — Labor Law § 240(1) Covers Material-Retrieval Trips as Ancillary Construction Activity

/ June 13, 2026

First Department affirms Labor Law § 240(1) summary judgment for a plumber injured when an extension ladder slid, holding that trips to retrieve materials for ongoing work constitute protected ancillary activity under the Scaffold Law.

New York Construction Law Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort

Appellate Division, First Department

Woodward v. J.T. Magen — Labor Law § 241(6) Passageway Claim Revived; Integral-to-Work Doctrine Rejected

/ June 13, 2026

First Department reinstates a Labor Law § 241(6) claim for a worker who tripped on a floor inlay in a corridor after finding genuine fact issues on whether the space was a ‘passageway’ under the Industrial Code, and holds the integral-to-work doctrine inapplicable absent evidence of active work on the hazard.

New York Civil Procedure Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort

Appellate Division, First Department

Carranza-Rafael v. LRC Construction — Scaffold Law Verdict Affirmed, Spanish Affidavit Struck Under CPLR 2101(b)

/ June 13, 2026

First Department affirms Labor Law § 240(1) summary judgment for a sheetrock worker who fell from an unsecured ladder, and holds that a Spanish-language affidavit lacking a translator certification was inadmissible under CPLR 2101(b), taking down all documents it purported to authenticate.

New York Construction Law Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort

Appellate Division, Second Department

Herrera v. City of New York — Triable Issue Preserved on Labor Law § 240(1) Where Backhoe Load Moved Under Force of Gravity

/ June 12, 2026

The Appellate Division, Second Department affirms denial of summary judgment on a Labor Law § 240(1) Scaffold Law claim where conflicting testimony created a triable issue of fact as to whether a worker was struck by a suspended load moving under the force of gravity when a backhoe’s tire entered a depression in the roadway.

New York Construction Law Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort

Appellate Division, First Department

Sinera v. Bedford-Webster — Floor Collapse Supports Labor Law §§ 241(6) and 200 Liability; Full Contractual Indemnification Awarded Against GC

/ June 11, 2026

The First Department upheld Labor Law §241(6) and §200 liability arising from a Bronx building floor collapse caused by stored-material overloading, and modified the order to award full contractual indemnification against the general contractor.

New York Evidence Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort

Appellate Division, First Department

Villanueva v. J.T. Magen — Summary Judgment Denied on Scaffold Law Claim Where Medical Records Suggest Lifting Injury, Not Falling Object

/ June 11, 2026

The First Department affirmed denial of § 240(1) summary judgment where a 350-pound duct fell on a construction worker, because medical records recorded by a treating physician described the injury as occurring during manual lifting—raising a triable issue on whether an elevation-related hazard was involved.

New York Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort

Appellate Division, First Department

Perez v. Parkside Terrace — Scaffold Law Liability Confirmed for Inadequate Ladder at Ceiling Work; Ro-Sal Indemnification Dismissed

/ June 11, 2026

The First Department affirmed Labor Law § 240(1) summary judgment where a worker was forced to use an A-frame ladder leaning against a wall for ceiling work, while reversing indemnification claims against a plumbing subcontractor whose prior work had no causal connection to the accident.

New York Arbitration Labor Law

Local Union No. 3 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Centennial Elevator Industries, Inc.

/ June 7, 2026

Second Department affirms default confirmation of arbitration award despite death of respondent’s counsel, holding bare allegations of fraud and bias insufficient to show meritorious defense under CPLR 7511.

New York Civil Procedure Labor Law

Hodges v. 37-11 30th Street, LLC

/ June 7, 2026

Second Department reverses denial of summary judgment motion that was rejected solely for missing word count certification, remitting for determination on the merits.

New York Labor Law Personal Injury

Fahey v. Worship House & Outreach Ministries, Inc.

/ June 7, 2026

Second Department partially reverses dismissal of Labor Law Section 241(6) claim in emergency demolition power saw injury, finding triable issues on Industrial Code violations while affirming dismissal of Section 240(1) claim.

New York Labor Law Personal Injury

Beaton v. Tomco Mechanical, Inc.

/ June 7, 2026

Second Department reverses denial of summary judgment in Rikers Island injury case, granting dismissal of Labor Law Section 200 claim where plaintiff relied on undisclosed witness and hearsay testimony.