This article was originally featured by Law360 in its "Expert Analysis" section on March 23, 2020. Broadway supports over 87,000 jobs and draws millions of attendees each year. In 2019, 14.6 million ticket purchasers attended a Broadway show which generated $1.75 billion in direct revenue. But two weeks ago Andrew Cuomo,...
Last month, my colleagues reported on the changes to New York discrimination laws and minimum wage and overtime exemption requirements that took effect at the start of the year—two of several significant, new employment legal initiatives of which U.S. employers and employees should be aware. Two others of particular note...
This week, fast food giant McDonald’s announced the firing of its CEO, Steve Easterbrook, because Mr. Easterbrook engaged in a consensual relationship with another McDonald’s employee. Consensual romantic and sexual relationships between coworkers are quite common in the modern workplace, with roughly 1 in 3 employees having engaged in one. But...
On March 12, 2019 Reavis Page Jump Counsel Ethan Krasnoo delivered a presentation to the New York City Bar Association Entertainment Law Committee entitled “#MeToo Year Two and the Entertainment Industry.” His presentation first focused on the law underlying claims of sexual harassment as well as recent New York statutory...
As of January 1, 2019, we are pleased to announce that RPJ Associate Ethan Krasnoo has been elevated to the position of Counsel. We congratulate Mr. Krasnoo on all his hard work and success. Mr. Krasnoo advises companies, organizations and individuals on a broad range of complex commercial litigation, arbitration,...
As summarized below, in December 2018 the New York Federal courts handed down three significant opinions relevant to entertainment and media professionals. Court Finds Hearst Engaged in Copyright Infringement by Reposting a Photograph Taken from Instagram The District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Hearst Communications...
As discussed in my prior article, “Exploring the Role of Defamation in the #MeToo Narrative,” defamation has played a central role throughout the development of the #MeToo movement to advantage both the accused and the accusers. For the accusers, claiming defamation by the harasser has, on occasion, served as a...
Recently, defamation claims have taken center stage as a legal mechanism for victims of sexual harassment to seek some justice for situations where they are otherwise prevented from bringing direct legal claims of sexual harassment. Alleged harassers who claim to be falsely accused have also recently used defamation as a...
On March 21, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a jury verdict that found that Robin Thicke’s and Pharrell Williams's “Blurred Lines,” the number one song in the world in 2013, infringed the copyright in Marvin Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up.” Although the Ninth...
As the rate of sexual harassment claims in the entertainment industry continues at a breakneck pace, artists gained a new avenue last week for resolving disputes surrounding such claims. The HR4A Mediation Pilot Program opened its doors on January 16, 2018, and offers a free and confidential mediation program platform for...