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Jesse S. Weinstein - Law & Culture

NYC Partner at Phillips & Associates | Sexual Harassment, Discrimination & Employment Lawyers. Commentary only, not legal advice.

Breaking down major legal stories and workplace rights in real time.

18/06/2026

Your employer may be liable for sexual harassment even if it happened outside of work.

One of the biggest misconceptions employees have is that workplace sexual harassment laws only apply inside the office, during business hours, or when the harasser is their direct supervisor.

In New York City, that’s often not the case.

Under the NYC Human Rights Law, employers may be held automatically liable for sexual harassment committed by a supervisor. And “supervisor” does not necessarily mean the employee’s direct manager. It can include other individuals with managerial or supervisory authority within the organization.

That means an employer may face liability when a higher-ranking employee engages in sexual harassment outside the workplace, including at after-work gatherings, business trips, work-related social events, or other circumstances where the supervisory relationship remains relevant.

The law recognizes a simple reality: power and authority do not disappear when employees leave the office.

If someone with authority over your career uses that position to engage in sexual harassment, the fact that the conduct occurred outside of work does not automatically relieve the employer of responsibility.

Workplace rights do not always end at the workplace door.

12/06/2026

Can your employer fire you right before you take medical leave?

In many circumstances, the answer is no.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain medical and family reasons, including a serious health condition, caring for a family member, or the birth of a child.

Unfortunately, one of the most common situations employment lawyers see is an employee who requests leave, starts discussing leave, or is on the verge of taking leave, only to suddenly face discipline, a performance issue, or termination.

Recently, my associate and I represented an employee who alleged she was terminated just before she was scheduled to take FMLA leave.

Rather than resolve the case early, the employer chose to litigate. We took the case through discovery, depositions, and summary judgment—the last major hurdle before trial. After building the evidence and preparing the case for a jury, this week we were able to achieve a substantial resolution that left our client thrilled with the outcome.

Every case is different, and not every termination before leave is unlawful. But timing matters. If an employer’s actions are motivated by an employee’s request for protected leave, federal law may provide a remedy.

One of the biggest misconceptions employees have is that they can only pursue a claim if someone explicitly says, “We’re firing you because you’re taking leave.” In reality, cases are often built through circumstantial evidence, timing, documents, and testimony.

Sometimes justice requires more than a demand letter. Sometimes you have to fight through years of litigation, defeat summary judgment, and be prepared to try the case before a jury.

This was one of those cases.

11/06/2026

A number of people asked to see the BBC interview.
This week I joined BBC to discuss a case involving allegations raised by my client against Kanye West and some of the legal issues surrounding the matter.

Full interview link in the comments.

Thank you BBC Sounds and BBC News for telling Jenn’s story.

10/06/2026

This photo means more to me than the BBC News interview.

This morning, my daughter watched me discuss a case on international television.

She doesn’t understand the legal issues. She doesn’t know what the BBC is. But one day she’ll understand that her dad’s job is to help people who believe they’ve been treated unfairly and to make sure their voices are heard.

The interview will come and go.

Watching her watch it is something I’ll remember for a very long time.

08/06/2026

“Do the carpets match the curtains?”

That was a question a business owner allegedly asked an employee because she had red hair.

Most people hear a comment like that and focus on whether it was offensive.

What I have noticed over the years is that the comment itself is often not the story.

The story is what comes next.

The inappropriate joke becomes intrusive questions.

The intrusive questions become unwanted touching.

The touching becomes intimidation.

And when someone finally pushes back, the retaliation begins.

I recently spoke with a woman who described a workplace where the owner allegedly made comments about her appearance, repeatedly crossed personal boundaries, showed her po*******hy, touched her without permission, and ultimately threatened to report her to immigration authorities if she sought legal help.

What struck me was not how unusual the story was.

It was how predictable the progression felt.

People often view workplace harassment as a series of isolated incidents.

In reality, it is frequently a pattern.

And patterns have a tendency to get worse when nobody stops them.

02/06/2026

Most workplace lawsuits don’t start as legal problems.

They start as culture problems.

A concern that gets ignored.

A manager who thinks the rules don’t apply to them.

A company whose actions stop matching its values.

Eventually those issues can become legal disputes, but by then the damage is often already done.

I recently joined Jess Dewell on the Bold Business Podcast to discuss workplace culture, leadership, and why legal exposure often comes from the gap between what organizations say and what employees actually experience.

If you’re interested, the episode is here:

27/05/2026

Big day today.

My client and I are preparing to sit down with the BBC to discuss a high-profile workplace and entertainment industry matter that has generated significant public attention.

No matter how public the allegations or personalities involved may be, I never lose sight of the fact that these cases are ultimately about real people, real careers, and real consequences.

I’m grateful for the trust clients place in me during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, and I take that responsibility seriously every single day.

Back to prep mode. 🎥⚖️

23/05/2026

“Take your crazy pills and get back to work.”

That was a supervisor’s response after a Marine Corps veteran with PTSD called out of work because he was having a difficult mental health day.

This Memorial Day weekend, I keep thinking about that case.

He worked as a crane operator for a major construction company.

What followed became a significant disability discrimination case under New York City law, which provides strong protections for employees dealing with medical and mental health conditions.

We ultimately negotiated a substantial settlement on his behalf.

But what stayed with me was not the number.

It was the reminder that many veterans come home carrying things most people will never fully understand.

As someone who also served in the military, I have seen how those battles can continue long after service ends.

PTSD is not weakness.

And for many veterans, the hardest battles happen quietly after they come home.

Photo from my own time in the military years ago.

18/05/2026

My 42 year old wife ran a half marathon this weekend in 1:51.

That is an 8:32 pace for 13.1 miles.

She is also a lawyer and the mother of two young kids.

Watching her train while balancing work, parenting, exhaustion, and everyday life reminded me of something I see constantly in my work:

Birthing parents are strong as hell.

Unfortunately, many of my clients are women who were pushed out of jobs during or after pregnancy, maternity leave, or while raising young children.

And almost all of them underestimate themselves.

Then you watch them rebuild.

You watch them endure uncertainty, litigation, financial stress, parenting, and still keep moving forward.

The resilience is honestly incredible.

There is a reason so many employers underestimate these women at their own risk.

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