Labor Law, Employment Law Attorneys - New York City, NY

Melissa S. Woods

Melissa S. Woods is Of Counsel to Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C., and is part of the Labor and Employment Law practice groups. Ms. Woods represents individuals, unions and union members in all aspects of federal and state litigation, arbitrations and administrative hearings. Ms. Woods also advises employers on best practices and provides anti-harassment and anti-discrimination trainings.

Notable experience includes:

Arbitration Victory (2012) - Achieved reinstatement, full back pay and benefits for employee wrongly terminated for alleged acts of discrimination.
Wright v. Stern, 2006 WL 693618 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) - a class action challenging the failure to promote African-American and Latino employees to supervisory and managerial positions in the NYC Parks Department. The case was settled in February, 2008 for $21 million and significant injunctive relief.

Prior to joining the firm in October 2008, Ms. Woods served as a Section Chief in the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York State Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) where she enforced federal, state and local antidiscrimination laws in a variety of areas including employment.

Before joining the OAG, Ms. Woods was an Assistant Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. for over eight years. There she litigated more than a dozen complex class action and individual lawsuits around the country - at the trial and appellate levels - in the areas of affirmative action, school desegregation, fair housing, and employment discrimination.

Ms. Woods has extensive experience speaking to lawyers, academics and students on a variety of issues including labor and employment law, affirmative action and higher education. She has been a presenter or lecturer for the American Bar Association, New York City Bar Association, the Lawyers Coordinating Committee of the AFL-CIO, Yale Law School, Columbia University Law School, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Rutgers University School of Law, CUNY School of Law, St. John’s University School of Law, Wesleyan University, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Institute for Racial and Environmental Law of Rio de Janeiro.

Click here to connect with Melissa on LinkedIn.