Troy L. Kessler
Troy L. Kessler is a co-founder of Kessler Matura P.C.
Mr. Kessler has extensive experience representing employees who have been the victims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, retaliation, overtime and minimum wage violations. 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 Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, and the New York Labor Law.
Mr. Kessler received his law degree from the Loyola University School of Law - Chicago, and his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin. He is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association, National Employment Lawyers Association/New York, the American Bar Association - Labor & Employment Section, New York State Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the Suffolk County Bar Association. Presently, Mr. Kessler serves as the President-Elect of the Federal Bar Association's Eastern District of New York Chapter, and as a member of the advisory board of the Center for Labor & Employment Law at the New York University School of Law. Mr. Kessler is also a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and listed as one of the Top 100 New York Metro Super Lawyers.
Mr. Kessler is a frequent speaker at CLE events sponsored by the: American Bar Association; National Employment Lawyers Association; Federal Bar Association; New York University School of Law; and Practicing Law Institute. His recent speaking engagements have covered a range of topics including trial practice, wage and hour litigation, class actions, and legal ethics.
Mr. Kessler is a mentor with the Nassau County Bar Association's student mentoring program. As a mentor, he works with children at a local middle school, where he and other attorneys volunteer their time to provide children in need with positive adult role models.
Outside of the office, Mr. Kessler enjoys running, listening to music (everything from jazz to punk), going to concerts, watching soccer, cooking, and spending time with family.
Bar Admissions
- New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
- U.S. District Court Northern District of New York
- U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
Education
- Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Chicago, Illinois
- Juris Doctor
- University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
- B.A.: Political Science and History
Honors and Awards
- 2021 - 2023 Top 100 New York Metro Super Lawyer
- Named to the NY Super Lawyers as one of the Top Attorneys in New York State
- Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
Professional Associations and Memberships
- College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Fellow
- Center of Labor & Employment Law at the New York University School of Law, Advisory Board Member
- American Bar Association, Labor & Employment Section, Member, Co-Chair of the Section’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, Track Coordinator for Annual Section Conference
- Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of New York Chapter, President, Co-Chair of CLE Committee
- National Employment Lawyers Association, Member
- National Employment Lawyers Association/New York ("NELA/NY"), Member, Former Board Member, and Former Co-Chair of CLE Conference Committee
- Suffolk County Bar Association's Labor & Employment Committee, Former Co-Chair
- Nassau County Bar Association, Mentor
Speaking Engagements (Since 2016)
- June 15, 2016 – Instructor, “FLSA Mediation Training” conducted in conjunction with the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (ADR Department), the Federal Bar Association and Cornell University’s ILR Labor and Employment Program.
- June 23, 2016 – Panelist, NELA National Employment Law Conference, on the topic of issue spotting wage-and-hour violations.
- September 28, 2016 – Instructor, “FLSA Mediation Training,” conducted in conjunction with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (ADR Department), and the Federal Bar Association.
- November 10, 2016 – Panelist, American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section Conference, on the topic of pursuing and negotiating class action settlements.
- March 8, 2017 – Panelist, "Developments in Employment Arbitration," Twentieth Annual NYU/Federal Conference Employment Law Workshop for Federal Judges.
- March 8, 2017 – Panelist, “Developments in Employment Arbitration,” Twentieth Annual NYU/Federal Judicial Conference Employment Law Workshop for Federal Judges
- May 12, 2017 - Panelist, "After Hours Issues: Compensable Time and Off-The-Clock Work," National Employment Lawyers Association, New York.
- September 28, 2017 – Panelist, United States Department of Labor’s in-house training, on the topic of “Strategies for Asserting Individual Liability for FLSA Violations.”
- March 21, 2018 – Panelist, "Remedies in Employment Law," Twenty-First Annual NYU/Federal Judicial Conference Employment Law Workshop for Federal Judges.
- April 18, 2018 – Panelist, "Fair Labor Standards Act Update," Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of New York Chapter.
- June 8, 2018 – Presenter, Seventy-First Annual NYU Conference on Labor, on the topic of best practices for ethical witness interactions.
- November 8, 2018 – Panelist, American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section Conference, on the topic of best practices for issuing class notices.
- February 16, 2019 – Panelist, “Current state of wage and hour arbitrations in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis,” at the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section, ADR Committee meeting.
- February 16, 2019 – Panelist, “Current state of wage and hour arbitrations in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis,” at the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section, ADR Committee meeting
- March 22, 2019 – Panelist, "Remedies in Employment Law," Twenty-Second Annual NYU/Federal Judicial Conference Employment Law Workshop for Federal Judges.
- September 16, 2019 – Instructor, trial practice all-day CLE event for the U.S. Department of Labor’s New York Regional Solicitor’s Office.
- November 8, 2019 – Panelist, American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, on the topic of best practices for class discovery in wage and hour litigation.
- March 11, 2020 – Panelist, "Remedies in Employment Law," Twenty-Third Annual NYU/Federal Judicial Conference Employment Law Workshop for Federal Judges.
- August 12, 2020 - Panelist, New York County Lawyers Association, Employment and Wage & Hour Mediation Training Program, on the topic of classifying employees.
- November 12, 2020 - Panelist, American Bar Association Labor and Employment Conference, on the topic of the multi-jurisdictional practice of law.
- April 29, 2021 – Panelist, “Remedies in Employment Law,” Twenty-Fourth Annual NYU/Federal Judicial Conference Employment Law Workshop for Federal Judges.
- June 9, 2022 - Panelist, "Arbitrating Worker Classification Disputes in the Gig Economy, "American Arbitration Association, New York.
- June 9, 2022 - Panelist, "Worker Protections in the Age of the Pandemic: Safety, Conduct, & Discrimination Issues," Seventy-Fourth Annual NYU Conference on Labor.
- July 29, 2022 – Faculty, “Employment Law in the Post-Pandemic Era,” Institute of Judicial Administration’s Sixty-Third Annual New Appellate Judges Seminar, NYU School of Law.
- May 24, 2023 – Panelist, “Addressing Hiring Discrimination Against Older and Disabled Workers, and Formerly Incarcerated Individuals,” Seventy-Fifth Annual NYU Conference on Labor.
- September 18, 2023 – Panelist, “Remedies in Employment Law,” Twenty-Fifth Annual NYU/Federal Judicial Conference Employment Law Workshop for Federal Judges.
- May 23, 2024 – Panelist, “Arbitration Provider Policies and Procedures – Enhancing Employee Friendly Arbitration Procedures,” Seventy-Sixth Annual NYU Conference on Labor.
Published Works
- Joan C. Foley, Robin Boyle-Laisure, and Troy L. Kessler, Merging the Bench, Bar, and Law Schools: How a Student Scholars Program Achieves Professional Identity Through Scholarly Writing, Mentorship, and Presentation, 93.1 UMKC L. Rev. __ (Aug. 2024) (publication pending)
- Mid-Atlantic Chapter Editor (2022 – Present), American Bar Association’s state-level wage-and-hour-law treatise, Gregory K. McGillivary ed., Wage and Hour Laws: A State-by-State Survey.
- 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)
- Chapter Editor (2022), American Bar Association’s FLSA Midwinter Report, which serves as the annual supplement to the Ellen C. Kearns et al. eds.,The Fair Labor Standards Act (2d. ed. 2010)
- Contributor (2016 - 2021), American Bar Association’s FLSA Midwinter Report