Charles Joseph

Charles Joseph is the founding partner at Joseph & Kirschenbaum LLP. Charles founded Joseph & Kirschenbaum to help workers who had been wronged by unfair employment and wage practices. His firm is dedicated to helping employees win claims for discrimination, sexual harassment, wage theft, retaliation, whistleblowing, and other illegal employer activities.

Charles has won numerous major legal victories for workers in all occupations and industries. His firm has recovered over $140 million for workers across the country.

New York University

J.D.

1990

Joseph & Kirschenbaum LLP

Current

10 Warning Signs to Watch for in a Job Offer Letter

A Lawyer’s Take: What Is Age Discrimination Anyway?

Understanding Workplace Discrimination — and What to Do About It

New York State Bar  # 2434991

Member

Current

National Employment Lawyers Association

Member

Current

New York City Bar Association

Member

Current

New York

Since 1991

District of Columbia Court of Appeals

U.S. District Court, Eastern Districts of New York

Since 1992

U.S. District Court, Northern Districts of New York

Since 2006

U.S. District Court, Southern Districts of New York

Since 1992

• Free Consultation
• Contingent Fees
  You pay nothing unless we are successful.

• Discrimation Law
• Sexual Harassment
• Whistleblower law

Q. Received a severance agreement from my employer. Will signing agreement impact my ability to apply for unemployment?

September 25, 2020

A: It depends.

You are not eligible to receive unemployment benefits if you are receiving dismissal/severance pay at a rate that equals or exceeds the maximum weekly unemployment insurance benefit rate.

However, if your weekly severance payments are less than the maximum unemployment insurance benefit rate you may still be eligible to receive unemployment benefits. And you may be eligible to receive unemployment benefits when the severance pay stops or falls below the weekly maximum unemployment benefit rate.

Also, if you receive your first dismissal/severance payment more than 30 days after your last day of employment, you will be able to receive unemployment benefits if you meet the other eligibility requirements.

Just make sure you accurately describe your situation in your application for benefits.

You can read more about the legal protections for employees in New York at https://www.workingnowandthen.com/

This response is not legal advice, but is general information only, based upon the information stated in the question and general legal principles. It is provided for general educational purposes of the public who may have similar questions, not for any specific individual or circumstance. It is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Legal issues depend on all the specific facts of a situation, which are not present here. If you would like to obtain specific legal advice about your issue, you must contact a local attorney who is licensed to practice law in your state. ... Read More

Q. Can a business owner of a restaurant require their servers to engage in minimum wage work responsibilities

February 3, 2020

A: Restaurant employers are allowed to pay servers less than minimum wage if the servers’ wages plus their tips add up to at least the minimum wage for each hour worked. This is called a “tip credit.”

However, if a server performs non-tipped work for more than 2 hours OR more than 20% of their shift, whichever is less, the employer cannot take the tip credit for any hours the server worked that day.

You can read more about the legal protections for tipped employees at

https://www.workingnowandthen.com/new-york-wage-theft/new-york-tips/

This response is not legal advice, but is general information only, based upon the information stated in the question and general legal principles. It is provided for general educational purposes of the public who may have similar questions, not for any specific individual or circumstance. It is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Legal issues depend on all the specific facts of a situation, which are not present here. If you would like to obtain specific legal advice about your issue, you must contact a local attorney who is licensed to practice law in your state. ... Read More

Q. is it legal to have mandatory event that requires employees to work for little to no pay.

January 28, 2020

A: If the mandatory event takes place outside of your normal working hours and you are non-exempt employee who is paid by the hour, your employer must pay you for that time. If you have already worked 40 hours during the normal workweek, then you must be paid time and a half for the overtime. However, if you are a salaried employee, the employer probably does not have to pay you for this time.

If you believe your employer has violated the wage hour laws, you should discuss your situation with an experienced employment attorney as soon as possible.

You can read more about some of the common forms of wage theft at https://www.workingnowandthen.com/new-york-wage-theft/

This response is not legal advice, but is general information only, based upon the information stated in the question and general legal principles. It is provided for general educational purposes of the public who may have similar questions, not for any specific individual or circumstance. It is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Legal issues depend on all the specific facts of a situation, which are not present here. If you would like to obtain specific legal advice about your issue, you must contact a local attorney who is licensed to practice law in your state. ... Read More