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ChrisHarrigan

Partner

"Always remember that you're unique, just like everyone else."

Overview

Biography

Chris counsels and represents employers in labor and employment-related matters, including in employment litigation in federal and state courts and before the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the NYS Division of Human Rights. From Fortune 500 companies to small family-owned businesses, Chris has extensive experience counseling clients and litigating claims regarding workplace discrimination and the enforcement of noncompetition agreements.

Chris additionally advises clients on business issues that include collective-bargaining negotiations, labor arbitrations, union-organizing campaigns, executive-employment agreements, wage-and-hour-law investigations, employee theft, severance agreements, the development of employment policies, and the preparation of restrictive covenants and noncompetition agreements. In addition, Chris represents higher education institutions, charter schools, and public school districts in employment-law issues and education-law matters, including student disciplinary issues.

Chris also provides counseling and training to executives, supervisors, managers, and employees on topics such as positive employer-employee relations, anti-harassment compliance, wage-and-hour issues, workplace-misconduct investigations, documentation and performance reviews, and avoiding workplace violence.

In addition to his labor and employment practice, Chris serves as the firm's co-marketing partner.

Bar Associations

  • New York State Bar Association
  • Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Association
  • Onondaga County Bar Association
Experience

Representative Experience

  • Negotiated a comprehensive executive-employment agreement for the first lay president of a Jesuit college.
  • Obtained a temporary restraining order and worldwide preliminary injunction enjoining a former key employee from competing against the client in all areas of public-adjusting and disaster-recovery consulting industries.
  • Obtained a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction enforcing a noncompetition covenant against a cardiologist who opened a competing practice and solicited the client's patients after his separation from employment with the client.
  • Obtained a dismissal of the complainants’ charges of discrimination based on handicapped-accessibility claims relating to the client’s place of business, pursuant to trial before the NYS Division of Human Rights.
  • Defended a client in a multi-million federal lawsuit involving claims under the Americans With Disabilities Act and handicapped accessibility of a historic state courthouse.
  • Successfully defended a nuclear-energy facility against claims of employment discrimination based on gender, race, and national origin by a former nuclear-security officer.

Prior Experience

  • Hiscock & Barclay, LLP, Partner

Selected Community Activities

  • Christian Brothers Academy, Board of Trustees Member
  • CNY Services, Inc., Former Board Member

Selected Honors

  • The Best Lawyers in America®: Commercial Litigation, 2021–2025; Litigation – Labor and Employment, 2021–2025
  • BTI Consulting Group, Client Service All-Star Award, 2023–2024
  • Selected to Super Lawyers Upstate New York: Commercial Litigation, 2017–2018; Employment & Labor, 2017–2021; Employment Litigation: Defense, 2022–2024
Knowledge

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Manufacturer’s Association of Central New York, “Back to Business: Return-to-Work Issues During and After COVID-19” Webinar
  • Manufacturer’s Association of Central New York, “Legal Marijuana: What Employers Need to Know” Webinar
  • Barclay Damon, “Restrictive Covenant and Noncompetition Law Developments: Are Noncompetition Agreements Still Enforceable?” Webinar
  • New York State Payroll Conference, “Weathering the Costs: Prevailing Wages"
  • New York State Bar Association Committee on Cannabis Law and Labor & Employment Law Section CLE, “Career High: New York’s Marijuana Regulation Act & Its Impact on the Public Sector”

Selected Media

Selected Alerts & Blog Posts

Selected Podcasts

Featured Media

Alerts

Website Accessibility Lawsuits: Several "Tester" Plaintiffs—Zayzay Howard, Carlos Gonzalez, Waleska Pena, Luis Compres, Carlos Moreno, Nersi Nin Vasquez, and Shivan Bassaw—Targeting Businesses in Recent Flurry of Lawsuits

Alerts

NYS Court of Appeals: No Municipal Immunity for a Town Employee Involved in an Accident but Not Engaged in Work

Alerts

Massachusetts Passes Climate Bill Accelerating Siting and Permitting for Clean Energy Projects

Alerts

Make It a Double: Amendment to New York State's ABC Law Extends Temporary Permits to Sell Alcoholic Beverages for Liquor License Applicants from 90 to 180 Days

Alerts

New York's New Pharmacy Regulations: Major Win for Independent Pharmacies and Consumers

Alerts

Second Circuit Upholds New York State's Ivory Law, but Holds Display Restriction Unconstitutional

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