Tag Archives: Matt Funk

Q&A With Senior Partner Matt Funk: Mandatory Arbitration, Sexual Harassment Legislation, Scaffolding & More

Senior Partner Matt Funk

Matt Funk is the president of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and is a senior partner at Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano. The New York Law Journal recently asked Funk to share his opinions on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision on employment contracts and new laws on sexual harassment and scaffold protection.

Q: Do you think the Supreme Court’s recent decision that employment agreements that ban class actions do not violate federal labor laws will have an impact on workers?

A: The Supreme Court decision is a blatant misinterpretation of labor rights that will ultimately harm workers across the country. Individual workers typically lack the resources to take on major corporations by themselves. Through class-action lawsuits, workers can join together to hold negligent employers and bad actors accountable.

By allowing employers to strip this fundamental right away from workers, the Supreme Court is forcing victims to take reported violations to paid third-party arbitrators, usually from an arbitration firm chosen by the employer, which creates a strong potential for bias. It removes the dispute-resolution mechanism from an independent court, and places it into the hands of decision-makers in the pockets of the accused party, making it difficult to hold employers responsible for misconduct and labor violations.

Q: When did mandatory arbitration clauses really become so entrenched in the agreements and contracts that consumers regularly encounter?

A: Mandatory arbitration clauses have their roots in the Federal Arbitration Act, a law passed in 1925 that granted businesses the ability to resolve disputes outside of the courtroom through third-party arbitrators. The law was designed for business-to-business transactions but over the past 30 to 40 years, the courts have made it easier for corporations to include these clauses in contracts where the individual consumer or employee has no real power to change the contract terms. Eventually, these clauses became par for the course, often cloaked in legalese unrecognizable to the untrained eye.

Consumers often overlook these clauses, unaware of how their rights are being limited until it’s too late to avoid them or take action. The only way to level the playing field, and make sure corporations take consumer safety seriously, is to ban mandatory arbitration clauses in employment and consumer contracts.

Q: What is the association’s reaction to recent sexual harassment legislation passed and signed into law in New York City?

A: The legislation is a major step in the right direction, at a critical moment in the fight for gender equality. Over the past year, women across the country have shared their experiences in the workplace, demonstrating how institutions have reinforced sexism to physically harm and intimidate women, discourage their ambitions, prevent career advancement, and create hostile workplaces.

The City Council recognized that it was imperative to do more than just listen—they needed to act and do something to change the status quo. The legislation will help ensure that all managers and employees are properly trained and educated, creating a foundation for institutional reform that reverberates across businesses and organizations of all stripes in New York City.

Q: I know the association has taken a position on the Scaffold Safety Law in New York. What are the concerns?

A: It’s no secret that construction work is one of the most dangerous jobs in New York. In 2016 alone, 71 construction workers in New York State died in on-the-job incidents, the highest total we’ve seen since 2002. The Scaffold Safety Law is a much-needed source of justice and accountability that is essential to protecting workers and making safety paramount.

Given the risks involved, it’s up to owners and general contractors who have ultimate control over the work site to create a secure working environment, by following safety guidelines and providing proper equipment. When owners and general contractors ignore basic rules and fail to provide adequate gear, they put workers at risk and create tragedies out of sheer negligence and disregard for their employees’ lives.

The Scaffold Safety Law offers workers and their families a way to hold negligent owners and general contractors accountable. In instances where workers are seriously injured or killed as a result of unsafe working conditions, their families are forced to take on the costs of lost wages, medical bills and other impacts that are not adequately covered by workers’ compensation, not to mention the physical and emotional pain that results. The Scaffold Safety Law can help mitigate the financial stresses and devastation facing victims and their families, while delivering them justice. At the same time, it insists that owners and contractors follow safety guidelines and promote worker safety so workers can return home to their families at the end of a hard day’s work.

Q: You’re nearing the end of your term as NYSTLA president. What achievements are you most proud of?

A: Over the last year, I’m particularly proud of NYSTLA’s leadership in expanding and strengthening the legal rights of everyday New Yorkers. Working with a broad network of affected residents and families, advocates, and legislators, NYSTLA has been able to achieve legislative and regulatory victories that deliver justice and practical, meaningful results.

In January, Lavern’s Law was enacted, establishing legal rights for patients harmed by negligent failure to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor by changing the statute of limitations to reflect the date of discovery. And in 2017, legislation was passed that expands access to SUM auto insurance, promoting better insurance coverage for drivers. Elsewhere on the road, we successfully fought for the implementation of a regulatory framework for ride-share services that is the best in the nation when it comes to protecting consumers, including proper insurance coverage. Not to be forgotten, we also reinforced victims’ legal rights through a bill that allows lawsuits to proceed in the same county where the violation occurred. And, finally, as a workers’ compensation attorney, I am particularly proud of our success working with the labor movement to beat back harmful changes that were proposed that would have gutted the workers’ compensation system.

At the same time, NYSTLA has continued to help young lawyers develop professionally and gain the knowledge they need to make a significant impact through a continuing legal education program that has repeatedly been voted the best in the state.

We believe in leading by example, and our efforts this year serve as a reminder of how the legal community can make a difference on behalf of the public interest.

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
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Firm News: Edgar Romano Named Managing Partner; Matthew Funk Named Senior Partner

It is with great pleasure that we announce the promotions of two of our colleagues. They have, over decades, demonstrated hard work and dedication to injured workers, to their communities, to the practice of law, and to our firm.

Managing Partner Edgar N. Romano

Edgar Romano, formerly a Senior Partner, has been named the Managing Partner of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP. Mr. Romano litigates workers compensation claims, including cases involving occupational exposure, asbestos and industrial irritants.

His community involvement is extensive – he has lectured extensively to labor unions and medical providers, is a Past President of the Workers Injury Law and Advocacy Group, and is on the Board of Directors of the New York State Workers Compensation Bar Association.

Among is many passions, Mr. Romano is dedicated to helping those injured on September 11th and to help in this cause he serves on the Advisory Committee of the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program at Mt. Sinai Hospital and on the Advisory Board of the I.J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

 

Senior Partner Matthew Funk

Matthew Funk has been elevated from Partner to Senior Partner. He handles workers compensation cases for the firm. Mr. Funk is the current President of the  New York Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) and the Co-Chair of the NYSTLA Workers’ Compensation Committee, a member of the Legislative Committee, No-Fault Committee and Labor Law Committee. Since 1999, he has written for the NYSTLA Decisions program and has lectured at the Decisions program on the topic of Workers’ Compensation.

Matthew serves on the Executive Board of the Injured Workers Bar Association, participating in online round table discussions regarding the rights of injured workers. He is a Workers Compensation Committee member of the New York Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH). Matthew regularly lectures on the workers compensation law to various labor organizations. In 2017, Matthew was honored with a City & State Corporate Social Responsibility Award in the Law sector.

 

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Dangerous Toys Remain Serious Concern, CPSC Under Attack

Dangerous toys remain serious concern, especially with CPSC under attack. New York personal injury attorney Matt Funk explains.

Dangerous toys remain a serious problem, even though the Consumer Product Safety Commission has focused on banning unsafe toys since the CPSC was created 45 years ago, thanks to repeated warnings by attorneys focused on consumer safety.

But the CPSC and its power to recall dangerous toys are now under attack, according to New York attorney Matt Funk, president of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and a partner at Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP.

Last year, 240,000 people were hurt by dangerous toys, according to CPSC statistics. The CPSC also issued 28 voluntary recalls for dangerous toys, according to the CPSC.  But since the recalls are voluntary, many dangerous toys remain in households throughout the country.

That’s why attorneys play such a vital role in removing dangerous toys from the marketplace. Examples of dangerous toys that attorneys have pressured the CPSC to recall include:

“With the prospect of the federal government reducing its already inadequate consumer protection activities, the task of defending the public will once again fall on consumers. And their lawyers,” Funk wrote in the New York Law Journal.

The power of the CPSC is under attack in two major ways. First, President Trump has proposed cutting the CPSC’s budget by 17 percent, according to The New York Times. Second, Trump has nominated attorney Dana Baiocco to run the CPSC, according to the New York Daily News. Baiocco has reportedly “represented companies accused of selling dangerous and defective products—including toy manufacturer Mattel when it was facing lawsuits because of lead in its products… Can consumers be sure that she will be looking out for them the next time a company is accused of selling a dangerous product,” Funk wrote.

“As lawyers, we have a special opportunity to make sure the toys and other products on the store shelves are safe,” Funk added. 

Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton and Romano LLP

 

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Congratulations To Partners Matthew Funk And Cathy Stanton On Roles With NYSTLA For 2014

Partners Victor Pasternack, Catherine Stanton, and Matthew Funk, and Senior Associate Kelly Koster at the 2014 NYSTLA Induction ceremony.

On June 24 at Oheka Castle on Long Island, Partner Matthew A. Funk was elected Deputy Treasurer of the New York State Trial Lawyers Assocation. Mr. Funk has been practicing law since 1999 and became a partner at the firm in 2007. He is a member of the Injured Workers Bar Association, participating in online round table discussions regarding the rights of injured workers. He is a Workers Compensation Committee member of the New York Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH). Mr. Funk regularly lectures on the workers compensation law to various labor organizations. Currently, he is actively engaged in extensive workers compensation litigation.

We also congratulate Senior Partner Catherine Stanton who was installed as a member of the Board of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. Ms. Stanton began working with the firm as an attorney in 1990 and became a partner in 1998.  Ms. Stanton is immediate past president of WILG, Workers’ Injury & Law Advocacy Group. WILG is the national non-profit membership organization dedicated to representing the interests of millions of workers and their families who, each year, suffer the consequences of workplace injuries and illnesses. Catherine is a member of both the New York State Bar Association and New York State Trial Lawyers of America.  Ms. Stanton has once again been named as a Super Lawyer for 2014 in the area of workers compensation by Super Lawyers magazine. In addition, Super Lawyers named Ms. Stanton one of the Top Women Attorneys in New York.

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