Jeffrey H. Ruzal
JEFFREY H. RUZAL is a Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the New York office of Epstein Becker Green. He leads the firm’s Hospitality service team and represents clients in such diverse industries as hospitality, financial services, retail, health care, and technology. In 2018, Mr. Ruzal was recommended in The Legal 500 United States, in the Workplace and Employment Counseling category.
Mr. Ruzal:
• Advises employers in all aspects of the employment relationship, from pre-employment and hiring to terminations and post-employment restrictions
• Provides regulatory advice and conducts labor and employment due diligence in connection with significant M&A deals
• Conducts audits of employers' policies and procedures to determine compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws
• Counsels employers with respect to federal and state wage and hour compliance, including exempt employee and independent contractor classification audits, compensation reviews, and non-exempt recordkeeping practices
• Prepares and advises on bonus and commission plans and various other compensation agreements and arrangements
• Provides advice and workplace training on wage and hour compliance, reductions in force, discrimination, and other employment issues
• Prepares employment, consulting, separation, and non-compete agreements
• Counsels employers with respect to the avoidance of employment-related disputes, employee discipline, leaves of absence, accommodation requests, and termination of employment
• Represents employers with respect to class actions and collective actions involving a variety of employment and wage-hour issues, including, among others, claims of misclassification, failure to pay for all time worked, unlawful tip credit and pooling, and failure to provide required meal and rest periods
• Represents employers with respect to various employment-related investigations and claims before state and federal agencies, such as the federal and state departments of labor, EEOC, and New York Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board
Mr. Ruzal has been interviewed and quoted by NPR News, Law360,Bloomberg BNA Daily Labor Report, and the Society for Human Resource Management. He has also written numerous articles on significant employment law issues that have been included in, among other leading publications, Law360, Thomson Reuters Practical Law, and Bender’s Labor & Employment Bulletin. Mr. Ruzal frequently speaks at national conferences and webinars on a variety of important employment law topics.
Mr. Ruzal is a co-editor of Epstein Becker Green’s award-winning Wage & Hour Defense Blogand Hospitality Labor and Employment Law Blog. He is also an Editorial Advisory Board Member of Hospitality Law Magazine and a contributing author to Lexis Practice Advisor. In addition, Mr. Ruzal represents Epstein Becker Green on The Cornell Institute for Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations (CIHLER) Advisory Board.
Prior to joining Epstein Becker Green, Mr. Ruzal served as a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, in New York, New York, where he was responsible for civil enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act and its implementing regulations from wage and hour investigations through trials. While at the DOL, Mr. Ruzal was primarily responsible for coordinating and participating in wage and hour investigations with senior investigators from the Wage and Hour Division. Among other issues, Mr. Ruzal was responsible for advising on investigations and enforcement actions concerning employee misclassification under the white collar exemptions and of independent contractors and consultants.
While attending law school, Mr. Ruzal was a Chief Notes & Comments Editor of the New York Law School Journal of Human Rights.