Addressing Pay Inequity: A Review of the New York Achieve Pay Equity Act

Kathie Caminiti is a partner in the firm's New Jersey and New York offices, and co-chair of the Pay Equity practice group. She has extensive experience handling employment litigation matters, ranging from individual plaintiff discrimination claims to wage and hour class and collective actions.

Kathie has successfully defended cases alleging civil rights violations, race, sex, age and handicap discrimination, sexual harassment, whistle-blowing, wrongful discharge and retaliation. Kathie has a sophisticated wage and hour practice and has distinguished herself in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)/wage and hour litigation. Kathie currently is the lead counsel on a number of nationwide class and collective actions and has obtained favorable outcomes for clients in various wage and hour matters, including class and collective actions arising under the FLSA and various state laws.

Kathie has also defended employers and financial institutions in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) cases, including class actions, seeking severance, pension and health and welfare benefits, as well as trade secret and restrictive covenant litigation.

Kathie counsels her clients on compliance with the law in such areas as employment discrimination, disability law, wrongful termination, reductions in force, FMLA and leave laws, sexual harassment, pay equity, and wage & hour matters and issues related to employee classification, including issues involving independent contractors and interns. Kathie also assists clients in their liability prevention efforts by conducting employee training, preparing handbooks and implementing policies, as well as wage and hour and pay equity audits.

Recently, Kathie has been dedicating her time to analyzing the legal issues surrounding pay equality, including defense of collective actions under the Equal Pay Act, and the proposed EEOC regulations requiring that EEO-1 reports include pay date and state pay equity legislation and litigation. As a member of the firm’s Education Practice Group, Kathie regularly provides advice to a number of private educational institutions regarding employee, student and Board issues.

Her expertise is frequently quoted by ABC News, NJBiz, HR Executive, NJ 101.5 and other media outlets. She has published numerous articles that have appeared in The New York Law Journal, New Jersey Business, New Jersey Lawyer Magazine and Practical Law Institute regarding a variety of employment-related issues.

Sarah Wieselthier is an associate in the firm's New Jersey office. Her practice includes counseling and defending employers in all areas of labor and employment law.

Before joining Fisher Phillips, Sarah was in private practice with a law firm representing public school districts in education and labor and employment matters. Sarah also served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Rachel N. Davidson and the Honorable Edith K. Payne in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County Civil Division.

Sarah graduated from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, magna cum laude. While in law school, Sarah served as an Articles Editor for the Hofstra Law Review.