Eric Dawson is a seasoned attorney focused on representing clients across a broad range of industries in employment and commercial litigation.
Eric Dawson combines deep legal knowledge with an understanding of our clients’ business concerns to guide clients through resolution of their cases, whether reaching a settlement or proceeding to trial. Eric also regularly provides advice and counsel to his business clients, reviewing pay practices and other employment policies to minimize their risk of litigation from the outset.
Eric regularly advises employers on day-to-day employment and personnel issues with a direct impact on their business operations and performance. He also works with businesses on key employment decisions including personnel policies, handbooks, employment agreements, wage and hour audits, diversity and inclusion programs, and workplace investigations.
Eric was born on Long Island, NY and resides in New York City where he enjoys sailing in New York Harbor, hiking, and reading.
- Counseled large multi-state corporation client through employee complaints of systemic wage and hour violations without litigation, helping avoid additional costs and penalties.
- Preserved client’s business model by successfully challenging State Department of Labor finding of misclassification of employees as independent contractors, which would have forced client to cease operations.
- Successfully enforced client’s arbitration agreement with independent contractor resulting in dismissal of lawsuit and abandonment of claims against client.
- Counseled client through multi-state restructuring of employee reclassifications, helping avoid liability while complying with all relevant State and Federal laws.
- Guided small business hospitality client in NYC through onboarding of initial staff, ensuring solid employment practices foundation and minimization of litigation risks.
- Navigated evolving regulations and achieved compliance for (partially) federally-funded client’s employee policies.
- Successfully obtained dismissal of employment discrimination matter on multiple points of law and strategy, proving lack of jurisdiction, negating former employee’s attempted forum shopping, and compelling claims to be brought in more favorable venue.
- Successfully argued for, and obtained, a finding of no probable cause from NYS Division of Human Rights on the basis of health care provider’s legitimate, non-discriminatory bases for termination of former employee, resulting in dismissal of former employee’s wrongful termination claim.
- Compelled compliance with restrictive covenants and prevented ongoing solicitation of medical sales client’s customers by former sales representative through cease-and-desist letter.
- Obtained pre-litigation settlement of religious discrimination wrongful termination claim against client for under $5,000
- Obtained favorable settlement of ADA compliance dispute for client concerning its website’s accessibility for the visually impaired.