Kathryn J. Barry

Kathryn Barry is an Associate in the Long Island office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Ms. Barry advises clients on compliance with various state and federal laws affecting the workplace, including Title VII, Family and Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Fair Labor Standards Act and New York State and City laws. She also assists federal contractors in the preparation of affirmative action plans and defends contractors against allegations of discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and veteran status in connection with audits by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and in related litigation brought on the OFCCP’s behalf by the Solicitor’s Office at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Firm/Organization: Jackson Lewis P.C.

Blogs: Drug and Alcohol Testing Law Advisor, EPL Risk Mitigation Blog, Labor & Collective Bargaining

Latest Articles

Labor & Collective Bargaining

NLRB General Counsel Seeks to Limit Use of Investigative Subpoenas in Unfair Labor Practice Investigations

By Kathryn J. Barry, Howard M. Bloom & Philip B. Rosen on April 5, 2019

The National Labor Relations Board’s Office of General Counsel is urging Regional Directors to limit their use of investigative subpoenas and instead issue complaints “based on the evidence available,” according to a March 13, 2019, memorandum obtained by Bloomberg Law. The memo is General Counsel Peter Robb’s latest effort to reduce case processing time. It reiterates that charged parties are expected and encouraged to participate fully in a Region’s unfair labor practice investigation. While…

EPL Risk Mitigation Blog

Human Resources Employee Permitted to Pursue Discharge Claim

By Kathryn J. Barry on November 6, 2018

Rather than conduct in breach of an inherent duty of loyalty to the employer, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a human resources representative engaged in protected activity under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when she referred a coworker who complained of discrimination to a plaintiff’s attorney. Gogel v. Kia Motors Manufacturing of Georgia, Inc. The ruling is more surprising in light of the fact that,…

EPL Risk Mitigation Blog

Washington Law Limits Employer’s Right to Plaintiff’s Medical Records in Discrimination Cases

By Kathryn J. Barry on July 5, 2018

Effective June 7, 2018, employers defending claims brought under Washington’s Law Against Discrimination are constricted in their ability to obtain a plaintiff’s medical records, and are entitled to do so only if the plaintiff: (1) alleges a specific diagnosable physical or psychiatric injury as a proximate result of the defendant’s alleged conduct; (2) relies on the records or testimony of a health care provider or expert to support a claim for damages; or, (3) alleges…

EPL Risk Mitigation Blog

New Maryland Law Prohibits Arbitration Agreements for Sexual Harassment Claims, Requires Reporting of Sexual Harassment Settlements

By Kathryn J. Barry on July 2, 2018

Recently, Maryland’s Governor signed the “Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act,” becoming the most recent state to enact tougher sexual harassment laws in the wake of the #MeToo movement. The Act, which will go into effect on October 1, 2018, prohibits employers from including in any agreement, policy, or contract a provision that waives any “substantive or procedural right or remedy” for claims of sexual harassment or retaliation for reporting sexual harassment, effectively barring…

Labor & Collective Bargaining

Employee’s Improper Access to Secured Area Outweighs Right to Engage in Concerted Activity, NLRB Finds

By Kathryn J. Barry, Henry S. Shapiro, Howard M. Bloom & Philip B. Rosen on March 13, 2018

The National Labor Relations Board has held that an employee lost the protection of the National Labor Relations Act when he improperly accessed a secure area of the employer’s hotel, even though he did so in order to engage in otherwise protected concerted activity. KHRG Employer, LLC, 366 NLRB No. 22 (Feb. 28, 2018). The employee, a hotel server and member of the union’s organizing committee, was discharged after leading a delegation of 20 individuals…

Drug and Alcohol Testing Law Advisor

Federal Law Does Not Preempt Connecticut Medical Marijuana Law Employment Discrimination Prohibition

By Kathryn J. Barry & Kathryn J. Russo on August 11, 2017

Federal law does not preempt the Connecticut medical marijuana statute’s prohibition on employers’ firing or refusing to hire qualified medical marijuana patients, even if they test positive on an employment-related drug test, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut has held. Noffsinger v. SSC Niantic Operating Co., LLC, d/b/a Bride Brook Health & Rehab. Ctr. (D. Conn. Aug. 8, 2017). This is a case of first impression that may have potentially sweeping implications…

EPL Risk Mitigation Blog

Ninth Circuit Confirms Prior Salary Can Be a Legitimate Factor Other Than Sex Under Federal Law

By Kathryn J. Barry on May 24, 2017

Relying on salary history to justify differences in employee pay can be a valid defense under the Equal Pay Act, according to a recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Rizo v. Yovino, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 7427 (9th Cit. Apr. 27, 2017). According to the Ninth Circuit, prior salary alone can be a legitimate factor other than sex warranting dismissal of an EPA/Title VII claim, provided the…

Drug and Alcohol Testing Law Advisor

Reporting Reasonable Suspicion Tests To Third Parties When No Suspicion Existed May Give Rise to Defamation and Invasion of Privacy Claims in Louisiana

By Kathryn J. Barry on April 26, 2017

Requiring employees to submit to directly observed reasonable suspicion testing and falsely reporting to third parties that the employees were tested because of reasonable suspicion may give rise to claims for invasion of privacy and defamation, according to two recent decisions by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Cook v. Warrior Energy Servs. Corp., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55310 (W.D. La. Apr. 11, 2017) and Ron Bros. v. Warrior Energy Servs. Corp., 2017…

Drug and Alcohol Testing Law Advisor

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Public Employee For Failing Random Drug Test

By Kathryn J. Barry on March 20, 2017

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas did not violate a public employee’s Fourth Amendment rights by requiring the employee to submit to a random drug test or by terminating his employment when he tested positive for cocaine, according to a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Washington v. Unified Government of Wyandotte County, Kansas, 847 F.3d 1192 (10th Cir. 2017). Roberick Washington was employed as a lieutenant…

EPL Risk Mitigation Blog

Fifth Circuit Permits Emotional Distress Damages for FLSA Retaliation Claim

By Kathryn J. Barry on February 20, 2017

Employees asserting a claim for retaliation under the FLSA are entitled to seek emotional distress damages, according to a recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In Pineda v. JTCH Apartment, LLC, Plaintiff claimed that he was retaliated against by his former employer after he filed a lawsuit seeking allegedly unpaid overtime wages. Although Pineda put on evidence of his purported emotional distress (including testimony about marital discord, sleepless…

Kathryn J. Barry

NLRB General Counsel Seeks to Limit Use of Investigative Subpoenas in Unfair Labor Practice Investigations

Human Resources Employee Permitted to Pursue Discharge Claim

Washington Law Limits Employer’s Right to Plaintiff’s Medical Records in Discrimination Cases

New Maryland Law Prohibits Arbitration Agreements for Sexual Harassment Claims, Requires Reporting of Sexual Harassment Settlements

Employee’s Improper Access to Secured Area Outweighs Right to Engage in Concerted Activity, NLRB Finds

Federal Law Does Not Preempt Connecticut Medical Marijuana Law Employment Discrimination Prohibition

Ninth Circuit Confirms Prior Salary Can Be a Legitimate Factor Other Than Sex Under Federal Law

Reporting Reasonable Suspicion Tests To Third Parties When No Suspicion Existed May Give Rise to Defamation and Invasion of Privacy Claims in Louisiana

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Public Employee For Failing Random Drug Test

Fifth Circuit Permits Emotional Distress Damages for FLSA Retaliation Claim

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