New York Employment Attorneys Blog

NBA players filed an anti-trust lawsuit in the Northern District of California on Tuesday in an attempt force talks with the team owners. The suit seeks monetary damages for lost wages and an end to an "illegal boycott of the work force."

The N.B.P.A (National Basketball Player's Association) is collaborating in the suit, naming Carmello Anthony and Chauncey Billups (New York Knicks), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder), Leon Power (free agent) and Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs) as lead plaintiffs.

Now that the collective bargaining agreement has fallen apart and the union disbanned, more lawsuits are expected to be filed. One such suit, also filed on Tuesday, is asking for monetary damages and a permanent injunction on behalf of Caron Butler (free agent), Ben Gordon (Detroit Pistons), Anthony Tolliver (Minnesota Timberwolves), and Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves draft pick). Another suit is expected on behalf of the rookies.

Tuesday coincided with the players' first missed paychecks; which amounted to more than $170 million for the league. David Boise, attorney for the California suit, said that the Commissioner's ultimatum regarding league's proposal last Thursday "turned out to be a mistake." The monetary damages under antitrust law are triple, which may prove to be incentive for owners to head back into negotiations. However, in an interview with ESPN on Monday, NBA Commissioner David Stern said because there is no union, he is unsure with whom they would be negotiating and "we won't be doing anything soon."

The guardians of Justice in New York State, the thousand plus Judges that work in New York State Court have been without a raise for over twelve years. Signaling growing unease with no raises within this time period, some Judges have signaled support to organize a union-like group representing Judges.

This group, which is quite unique, would be able to negotiate for better wages for Judges and help settle other conditions of employment amongst the Judges in New York State, much like labor unions negotiate for their organized members. This extraordinary move from a group that rarely makes such bold action, is a sign of the growing frustration of Judges in the State. Judges are dealing with increased caseloads and greater pressure, without any raise in pay or benefits in the last decade.

However, this move has attracted quite a bit of attention for a normally conservative group. The New York Times has looked into many Judges who have been discussing this organizing drive, and have found that while it would function as a union in regard to Judges' wages and benefits, it would not likely result in a slowdown or strike of Judicial work. The organizing is further complicated by the fact that some Judges are appointed, while some are elected, exerting pressure on certain Judges on both sides. In any event, this development is incredibly interesting and we will continue to follow these judicial organizing efforts.