Michael Scimone

Partner

(646) 825-9806

My Legal Practice

I handle class and collective action litigation, with a particular focus on cases that can broadly impact labor standards and the lives of workers.

These types of cases are driven by activist employees who care about their co-workers and want to fundamentally improve their workplaces.

My clients are working people who see an imbalance of power at work, and who want change. I’ve represented workers who have experienced wage theft, loss of overtime pay, independent contractor misclassification, and the erosion of basic workplace standards. The classes of workers I represent can range from a few dozen people to tens of thousands. 

I believe in using every tool in the toolbox. Labor standards are protected by law, and advanced by workers who organize together. My clients work in offices, warehouses, restaurants, and on the road, but all of them face employers who try to evade responsibility for fair pay and other workplace standards. My job is to help them enforce their rights.

Notable Cases

  • Representing a group of immigrant detainees who are confined in a privately-run immigration detention center, where they are threatened with solitary confinement if they don’t agree to do janitorial work for $1 a day.
  • Representing employees who serve in the National Guard or military reserves and are not properly paid when they take leave. My litigation pushes for them to have paid leave benefits that are equivalent to what they would get as a civilian.

Credentials

  • B.A., Vassar College
  • J.D., City University of New York School of Law
  • Admitted to practice law in New York
  • Admitted to the following federal courts: The United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York; and the Northern District of New York
  • American Bar Association, Employee Vice-Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section™ National Programs Subcommittee
  • Member, Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee, American Bar Association (ABA), Labor & Employment Law Section
  • Member, National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA)
  • Member, National Employment Lawyers Association, New York Affiliate (NELA/NY)
  • Member, Labor & Employment Committee, National Lawyers Guild, New York City
  • Member, New York City Bar Association
  • Member, New York State Bar Association
  • Co-Chair of National Employment Lawyers Association, Department of Working Labor Group
  • During law school, I participated in CUNY’s Immigrant and Refugee Rights Clinic, representing employees in wage and hour cases

My Story

My first career was as a union organizer. Those five years organizing workers in retail, laundry, and logistics taught me about the power of collective action. It also helped me understand the challenges that come with working inside and outside of institutional structures. 

Like unions, workers’ rights litigation only moves when the people who are directly affected stand up for their interests. That’s why I went to law school – to give working people another tool that builds their collective power and helps them change their workplaces for the better.

Contact

Need legal advice?

(646) 825-9806

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