V. Jonas Urba

I have focused on Employment Law for 20 years. Since 2011 my practice is exclusively across New York State. It is limited to Employment Law.

As a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association since 1997, although not continuously, I represent mostly employees. I do list some small employers, representative clients, who I have helped for years.

Typical cases include:

1) Race Discrimination or Retaliation
2) Gender or Sex Discrimination or Retaliation
3) Disability or Perceived Disability Discrimination or Retaliation
4) Hostile Workplaces from which Employees sometimes are forced to leave (these cases are rare and resignation is highly unusual, rarely recommended)
5) Noncompetition and Severance Agreement reviews
6) Wage and Hour Law Cases. These often include salaried employees who have been misclassified as exempt from overtime pay. Again, these are rare cases and very fact specific.

I am admitted to all of New York's federal trial courts.

2014 - Southern District of New York
2015 - Eastern District of New York
2020 - Northern District of New York
2020 - Western District of New York

Representing clients from long distances is not new to me. I have done so for almost a few decades. I began doing so in New York almost five years ago after I won a telephone hearing representing a client I had never met in-person. That's not unusual. What was unusual about that case is that I was able to rehabilitate my client's perjured testimony without leading him. The transcript was reviewed and authorities found that I had actually done so without giving my client the answer. It made me realize that person-to-person meetings were unnecessary and I have continued that since that phone hearing.

Employment Discrimination matters are always about the facts. And every potential client and I speak on the phone to gauge whether we might be good for one another. Not every lawyer is the right lawyer for a potential client and vice versa. I suggest calling many lawyers.

Valparaiso University School of Law

J.D. (1988) | Law

1986 - 1988

University of South Florida

MBA (1983) | Business Administration

1982 - 1983

Indiana University - Indiana University-Bloomington

B.S. (1980) | Psychology, Business Administration

1976 - 1980

Employment Lawyer

Urba Law PLLC

2014 - Current

Represent mostly discriminated employees. Also help small businesses with employment law matters. Practice exclusively limited to employment law. Serve the entire state from Buffalo to Manhattan and all places in between.

Human Rights Lawyer

Central Florida Law Office of Jonas Urba, P.A.

2004 - 2012

Human Resources Director

Modern Business Associates, Inc.

2003 - 2004

Labor Lawyer

Fowler White Boggs Banker, P.A.

2002 - 2003

Labor Lawyer

Miller Kagan Rodriguez & Silver, P.A.

2001 - 2002

Labor, Employment and Personal Injury Lawyer

Law Office of Jonas Urba, P.C.

1996 - 2001

Labor Lawyer

McCrea & Keck, LLC

1995 - 1996

Assistant General Counsel - Internal Affairs / Litigation

State of Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation

1990 - 1994

Assistant State Attorney

Office of the State Attorney 20th Judicial Circuit Florida

1988 - 1989

Law Clerk for Civil Rights and Labor Lawyers

Law Office of Joseph Vassallo, P.A.

1987 - 1988

Employment Law Reality Check, Over 50 employment law related videos posted since 2018, YouTube

November 1, 2018

Urba Law PLLC

Ongoing YouTube videos called Employment Law Reality Check on various employment law issues from 2018 through the present.

Protecting LGBT-Headed Families, University of Miami School of Law CLE, Miami, Florida

January 26, 2007

University of Miami School of Law and National Center for Lesbian Rights

Florida continuing legal education workshop / seminar. Panel member / speaker.

Highest Scholastic Achievement

Valparaiso University School of Law

1988

National Employment Lawyers Association, New York

Member

Current

New York City Bar Association

Member

Current

New York State Bar Association  # 4974333

Member

Current

Colorado

1994-2012

Florida

1988-2012

Massachusetts

Since 2008

New York

Since 2011

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Since 2015

United States District Court for the Northern District of New York

Since 2020

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Since 2014

United States District Court for the Western District of New York

Since 2020

• Free Consultation
  Initial telephone conference.
• Credit Cards Accepted
  All major credit cards.
• Contingent Fees
  The facts of each case determine whether contingent fees are appropriate.
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  Severance agreements, non-competes, and employment contracts are usually flat rates. Litigation is sometimes on a contingent fee basis. Fee agreements are memorialized in writing.

Employment Law

Employment Contracts, Employment Discrimination, Overtime & Unpaid Wages, Sexual Harassment, Wrongful Termination

Q. Looking for help in differentiating between independent contractors and employees.

24 February 2021

A: This link may answer most of your questions: https://www.labor.ny.gov/ui/dande/ic.shtm I recall litigating this issue years ago on appeal. My client, who was paid 4 figures a day, had a written contract establishing them as an independent contractor. Both the employer and employee agreed in writing that this 4-figure daily pay person was independent. They were not. "Control" determines independence. You may find that the control you have over these persons will make them employees regardless of what you and they agree to be called. Retain an employment lawyer to analyze their insurance payments, licenses, business accounts, public advertisements, skills, tools and supplies, and actual control over when, how, and where they work, who they hire, and how they are paid. Such an analysis might document their true independence, control and genuine assumption of risk or maybe not. Generally, workers in the same industry as those who pay them are usually employees. For example, plumbing companies who hire plumbers do so as employers. A plumber may hold his own local license but even they are often not truly independent. Most do not control their own profits or losses. They do not bid on jobs themselves. If a bid turns out to be too low, the individual plumber is not the one who absorbs the loss. They are not in control. If a plumber floods a customer's home or accidentally burns it down with a torch, the individual plumber is usually not responsible. And if the plumber loses a limb on the job, their "true" employer's workers compensation insurance picks up the tab, regardless of whether they agreed to be called "independent" by contract.

Q. Im 17, not old enough to start my online buisness. So im starting it in my girlfriends name. Need help

16 February 2021

A: Unemployment requires that everyone who intends to be self-employed discloses that fact to the DOL when they first apply for benefits. It does not matter if someone earned no money from their business while unemployed. The key factor is disclosing an applicant's intent up front. DOL then helps and monitors those who try to pursue self-employment. It's almost impossible to look for work and start a business at the same time. Doing so can doom both efforts. So the most important thing is disclosure. Otherwise when DOL discovers self-employment, sometimes years later, even if no money was earned from the effort to be self-emploed, DOL will likely demand repayment if misrepresentations were made to secure benefits. Insurance fraud can be raised by the DOL itself even after the DOL initially approved an applicant. And that may happen years later.

Q. What are the requirements for hiring a healthcare worker example “ecg technicians” for a Telehealth company?

11 February 2021

A: Regardless of what the parties call themselves, an employee is an employee. Many employers misclassify employees as 1099 independent contractors. Maybe the following example will help. When most people hire plumbers, the hiring persons are not in the plumbing business. A licensed plumber, carrying their own liability and workers compensation insurance shows up. The hiring person does not provide tools for the plumber, does not tell them how to do their job, nor how long the job should take to perform. The plumber arrives when their schedule permits and plumbers usually have many customers unless all of their plumbing is performed for one company. Then they are usually employees. An ecg technician might work for several medical care providers but they should have their own business name, bank accounts, insurance, equipment to perform their jobs, show up as they please, be paid not by the hour but usually by a job or patient, usually working for other providers concurrently, etc... All of these conditions may still not make them a 1099 contractor since both primary care provider and ecg technician are in the same business of providing healthcare services. The DOL could deem such a person an employee and assess penalties against the employer after reclassifying the employee. The analysis is more complex and requires evaluation on a case by case basis. There is no one size fits all. Call some employment lawyers and request their assistance because mistakes can be rather costly.