Gregg M. Kligman

Counsel

Gregg Kligman serves as Counsel in the Employment Group in the New York office of Meister Seelig & Fein, focusing on management side employment litigation and counselling. Mr. Kligman’s practice includes defending clients in federal and state courts, before administrative agencies and in arbitration and mediation in cases alleging discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour violations, and other employment related claims, including class action litigation.  Mr. Kligman regularly counsels clients of all sizes, from family businesses to multinational corporations, across the spectrum of employment issues from pre-hire to termination, including recruiting, responding to harassment and discrimination issues, advising on managing leaves of absence, wage and hour compliance and benefits and drafting and reviewing policies and handbooks.  Mr. Kligman also assists clients with risk assessment and due diligence in connection with wage and hour matters and corporate acquisitions, advising clients on potential exposure based upon the incoming company’s employment practices.

As a member of the Employment Group and the Meister Seelig & Fein Coronavirus Task Force, Mr. Kligman provides regular updates via webinars and written client alerts for employers that focus on developments in employment law as well as state and national mandates surrounding COVID-19. At the height of the pandemic, Mr. Kligman provided valuable and detailed step-by-step instruction to employers on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the PPP Forgiveness application, assisting countless numbers of clients and friends of the firm with the grueling application process and addressing the many questions that came up during this process. He also provided clients with regular guidance on the SBA’s constantly changing PPP loan applications and forgiveness rules as well as the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.  Mr. Kligman’s guidance enabled many clients to receive much needed funds to support their businesses during COVID-19..

Although the landscape of laws has been changing rapidly during COVID, Mr. Kligman remained focused on new developments in the law and skillfully advised clients as to the interaction between the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the New York State Paid Sick Leave Law, the NYC Earned Safe and Sick Leave Act, and New York Paid Family Leave Law.

While Mr. Kligman’s representation spans many industries including manufacturing, retail and professional service providers, Mr. Kligman has developed a focus representing clients in the hospitality and restaurant industries including multi-venue restaurant groups, fine dining establishments, fast casual restaurants, coffee shops and bars.  Mr. Kligman’s experience with the hospitality and restaurant industries allows him to advise these businesses to ensure compliance with their unique wage and hour regulations and the complex issues they face as both an employer and a provider of services to the general public.

Throughout the pandemic, the hospitality and restaurant industry has suffered severely.  Mr. Kligman’s employment law background, due diligence and frequent communication aided many of the firm’s clients, but his greatest impact was on our hospitality clients during their time of need and support.  The support he provided included assistance initially in advising on layoffs of employees and more recently in onboarding employees in the new work environment, updating workplace policies to ensure compliance with new obligations related to COVID-19, and ensuring wage and hour compliance in the face of new staffing models.

Education

J.D., New York Law School (Dean’s List)

B.S., Cornell University

Admissions

State of New York

State of New Jersey

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey

Honors

Long Island Business News,  Leadership in Law Awards, Honoree, 2020

Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2015-2017

 

Publications

Nevada High Court Invalidates Overbroad Noncompete Agreement, Hospitality Law, October 2016

Comprehensive Handbook Helped Lead to Dismissal of Case, Hospitality Law, January 2014

Knowledge Library