Joanna R. Varon
Associate
Duane Morris LLP
1540 Broadway
New York, NY 10036-4086
USA

Phone: +1 212 692 1057
Fax: +1 212 208 6831
Email: jrvaron@duanemorris.com

Joanna R. Varon practices in the areas of employment law, labor relations and litigation. Ms. Varon advises employers on a variety of employment matters, including employment discrimination statutes, family and medical leave laws, discipline and discharge, wage and hour rules, restrictive covenants, union representation and litigation avoidance. Ms. Varon also reviews and drafts personnel policies, employee handbooks, separation agreements and confidentiality agreements. Ms. Varon represents clients in federal and state court litigation and before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, New York Division of Human Rights, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. She trains both employers and employees on preventing workplace harassment.

Ms. Varon is a 2003 graduate of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she was senior articles editor of the Cardozo Arts and Entertainment Law Journal, and a graduate, with high honors, of Rutgers University.

Areas of Practice

• Employment Law
• Labor Law and Relations
• Employment Litigation
• Restrictive Covenant and Trade Secret Litigation

Representative Matters

• Obtained dismissal of consolidated religious discrimination claims filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights against healthcare employer client.
• Obtained dismissal of race, national origin and retaliation claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity commission against healthcare employer client.
• Obtained dismissal of age and disability discrimination claims filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights against rehabilitation and nursing client.
• Prevailed in Second Circuit appeal regarding question of whether a doctor with staff privileges can be considered an employee for purposes of Title VII.
• Prevailed in union election campaign for national parking service provider.
• Drafted employee handbooks, policy statements, severance agreements, non-compete covenants and confidentiality agreements for clients in multiple industries.
• Conducted training of supervisors and employees regarding workplace harassment.

Professional Activities

• New York State Bar Association
• Cardozo Women's Committee

Admissions

• New York
• New Jersey
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Education

• Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, J.D., 2003
  - Senior Articles Editor, Cardozo Arts and Entertainment Law Journal
• Rutgers College, B.A., with high honors, 1998

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Associate, 2007-present
• Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
  - Associate, 2003-2007

Selected Publications

• Co-author, "Deadline Approaching: New York Employers Have Until February 1, 2012, to Provide All Employees with Annual Wage Notice," Duane Morris Alert, January 24, 2012
• Co-author, "New York City's Recently Enacted "Workplace Religious Freedom Act" Expands Employers' Obligations to Accommodate Employees' and Applicants' Religious Practices Under NYC Human Rights Law," Duane Morris Alert, September 19, 2011
• Co-author, "New Labor Law Establishes Additional Notice and Recordkeeping Requirements for New York Employers," Duane Morris Alert, March 15, 2011
• Co-author, "New York's High Court Holds U.S. Supreme Court's Faragher-Ellerth Defense for Employers in Harassment Claims Is Inapplicable Under New York City Human Rights Law," Duane Morris Alert, May 19, 2010
• Co-author, "Navigating the Murky Waters of Employment Waivers and Releases," NYSBA Journal, February 2010
• Co-author, "The Employee Free Choice Act - What's an Employer to Do?" New York State Bar Association Journal, September 2009
• Co-author, "An Eye On Workplace Harassment Liability In NYC," Law 360, May 21, 2009
• "Recent Laws and Events Challenge New York Employers in the Areas of Plant Closings, Overtime and Workers' Compensation," Duane Morris Alert, October 7, 2008
• Co-author, "N.Y. Ruling: Scope of Protection for Execs, Wages," Employment Law 360, June 25, 2008
• Co-author, "N.Y.'s High Court Rules Executives Are Covered Employees Under Certain Labor Law Provisions," Duane Morris Alert, June 23, 2008
• "Second Circuit Construes Title VII to Include Discrimination on the Basis of Association," Duane Morris Alert, April 10, 2008
• "New York Requires Written Agreements for Commissioned Salespersons," Duane Morris Alert, November 2007
• "New York Recognizes Cause of Action for Misappropriation of Electronic Data," Duane Morris Alert, November 2007
• "Employment Discrimination Class Actions: Issues Linger," New York Law Journal, April 2, 2007
• "The PSLRA Automatic Stay of Discovery," New York Law Journal, September 27, 2004
• "PSLRA's Automatic Stay of Discovery in the Post-Enron World," Business & Securities Litigator, May 2004

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, "Wage and Hour Tsunamis," Duane Morris Institute, November 2, 2011
• Lecturer, "The What, Where, When and Why of the NLRB's Proposed Rules Reforming R-Case Procedures," New York State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section Annual Meeting, Saratoga, New York, September 2011
• Lecturer, "Developments in Workplace Law and Practice," Duane Morris Seminar, May 2010
• Lecturer, "Developments in Workplace Law and Practice," Duane Morris Seminar, May 2009