Richard L. Steer is a partner in the Firm’s Labor & Employment Practice. With a depth of experience, Rich advises employers on workplace compliance, labor, and employment law to help meet their business goals.

Rich counsels employers, and property owners in employment discrimination, wage and hours, and housing discrimination litigation. Skilled in providing risk management training, Rich works closely with clients to tailor these training programs to their specific needs and to address significant developments in the law. These trainings focus on issues such as:

• Employment Practices Liability Insurance issues
• Non-discrimination/sexual harassment
• Public works/prevailing wages
• Wage and hour
• The Fair Housing Act and reasonable accommodations 

He often acts as counsel in important employment discrimination cases for major corporations and public sector jurisdictions.

Rich was an Adjunct Professor of Law at Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University (formerly known as Pace University School of Law), teaching employment law and employment discrimination law. (1984-2024)

Representative Matters:

• Represented one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers in an 8-day jury trial, prevailing in defense of claims under the Equal Pay Act and state and federal discrimination laws
• Won landmark case setting standard for summary judgment in New York City Human Rights law cases and other successful summary judgment motions and motions to dismiss in employment cases
• Lead counsel in negotiations with the New York Attorney General’s Office to settle a multi-million dollar wage and hour case
• Lead trial counsel in federal court in USA v. City of Yonkers, et al., defending New York’s statewide written exam for entry-level police officers in a pattern or practice / disparate impact discrimination case brought by the Attorney General of the United States
• Successfully argued cases in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, New York Court of Appeals, and Appellate Divisions First and Second Departments of the New York Supreme Court. 
• Successfully represented an employer in a reverse discrimination case in the U.S. District Court S.D.N.Y., and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Served on the trial team that obtained one of the first temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in federal court in New York under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
• Numerous favorable determinations from the New York State Division of Human Rights and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in housing discrimination cases.
• Representing building owners and tenants in public accommodation architecture barrier cases
• Conducting workplace investigations
• Represented school districts and municipalities in cases involving wage freezes, tenure and seniority rights, employment, discipline, and discrimination