Garrett Kaske
Garrett Kaske is a partner at Kessler Matura P.C.
Mr. Kaske represents employees as individuals and in class actions in all areas of employment law. Whether in state court, federal court, and an administrative agency, in matters arising from employer discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, retaliation, and unpaid wages. He handles claims under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, the New York City Human Rights Law, the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the New York Labor Law.
Mr. Kaske received his law degree from the City University of New York School of Law, where he focused his studies on workers’ rights. As part of his education, he represented employees through the school’s Community Economic Development Clinic, competed in the Labor and Employment Law Section of American Bar Association’s annual trial advocacy competition, worked on wage-and-hour policy at the Progressive States Network, and worked on employment discrimination matters at the Community Service Society.
Mr. Kaske also volunteers his time to support workers’ rights organizations. For example, he raises money for Brandworkers – a non-profit organization that supports food-production workers organizing towards dignified jobs – and co-chairs the Labor & Employment Committee of the National Lawyers Guild’s New York City Chapter.
Outside of the office, Mr. Kaske enjoys spending time with family, dining near his home in Patchogue, and screaming at his beloved New York Rangers through the television.
Bar Admissions
- New York
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court Northern District of New York
- U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
Education
- City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, Long Island City, New York
- Juris Doctor
- St. Joseph's College
- B.A.: History and Spanish
- Honors: magna cum laude
Honors and Awards
- Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2017-2023
- Alumni Award, Labor Coalition for Workers’ Rights and Economic Justice at CUNY School of Law
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Co-Chair, National Lawyers Guild, New York City Chapter Labor & Employment Committee (2014-Present)
- Executive Committee Member, National Lawyers Guild, New York City Chapter (2023-Present)
- American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, Selected for Section's 2021 Leadership Development Program (July 2021); Employee Vice Chair of the Treatise Committee (2022-Present); Law Student Trial Advocacy Competition, Juror/Evaluator, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021
- National Employment Lawyers Association of New York (NELA), Member
- Brandworkers’ Annual Awards Dinner Host Committee Member, 2015-2019, 2022
Speaking Engagements
- 2015 – Presenter, “In-Depth Analysis of the NLRB General Counsel’s March 2015 Report on Employee Handbook,” Suffolk County Bar Association Labor Employment Committee - Law in the Workplace Conference
- March 11, 2016 – Presenter, on a panel entitled “Strategies & Consideration for Arbitration of Employment Disputes” at the New Your City Bar Association’s Employment Law Institute.
- June 9, 2017 – Presenter, NYU 70th Annual Conference on Labor. Discussion focused on ethically communicating with low-wage workers in employment class actions.
- March 22, 2018 – Presenter, on a panel put on by the Low Wage Worker Task Force discussing representing undocumented and immigrant workers since the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump.
- May 11, 2018 – Moderator of a panel at NELA/NY’s semi-annual conference, discussing New York Labor Law alternatives to the FLSA.
- December 2019 – Coordinator, “Leading the Way: New York Enacts Legal Protections for Farmworkers and Families,” a panel discussion on New York’s increased legal protections for farmworkers and workers needing family leave.
- May 21, 2020 – Presenter, Webinar on “Pandemic Employment: Pre-Existing Laws” for the Yemeni American Merchants Association’s Educational Monthly Townhall, covering established workplace rules of law that have been tested by the Covid-19 crisis.
- May 28, 2020 – Coordinator, Webinar on “Employment in the Time of Corona: Protections for Workers During the Pandemic,” which is a seminar on new and established employment laws who face workplace discrimination, harassment, and other issues as a result of Covid-19.
- August 12, 2020 – Panelist, Multi-day employment and wage and hour mediation training program for the New York County Lawyers Association. Discussed and prepared materials on the classification of employees as overtime exempt.
- February 24, 2022 – Presenter, “Legal Briefing 2022” webinar on pandemic-related employment issues, hosted by the Community Legal Resource Network of CUNY School of Law.
- November 16, 2022 – Presenter, Webinar discussing the impact of Dobbs on the workplace.
- May 27, 2023 - Presented to day laborers know-your-rights presentation on the streets of Jackson Heights, New York, in partnership with the non-profit Voces Latinas.
- May 27, 2023 - Presenter, regional union organizing conference on labor and employment law.
- June 26, 2023 - Presenter on webinar, entitled Basics and Recent Advancements of Low-Wage Workers Rights in New York, hosted by CUNY School of Law. Spoke on wage-and-hour, scheduling, discrimination, and harassment laws affecting New York City workers, including immigrant workers.
- June 15, 2024 - Presented know-your-rights presentation on the workplace rights of immigrant workers in New York, in partnership with the non-profit Voces Latinas.
Published Works
- Chapter Editor (2024) and Contributor Author (2022-2023), American Bar Association FLSA Midwinter Report, annual supplement to the Ellen C. Kearns et al. eds., Fair Labor standards Act (2d. ed. 2010)
- Assisted in drafting and revising: Samuel Estreicher and Troy Kessler, “Employers Should Reconsider Plans to Discharge Employees for Refusing the COVID-19 Vaccine,” N.Y. Law Journal (May 26, 2022)