Profile

Recognized as an Upstate New York Super Lawyers Rising Star, Katherine R. Schafer is a management-side labor and employment law attorney with experience representing private and public sector employers in  federal and state courts, the New York State Division of Human Rights, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the New York State Department of Labor, the Unemployment Insurance Division, the National Labor Relations Board, and in grievances and arbitrations.

Her practice includes counseling and defending management in all aspects of labor and employment matters, including discrimination and harassment complaints, civil rights litigation, employee discipline, terminations, layoffs, handbook policies, employee agreements, separation agreements, and wage and hour issues.

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  • Listed in:
    • New York Super Lawyers 2019®, Upstate New York Rising Star, Employment and Labor
    • New York Super Lawyers 2018®, Upstate New York Rising Star, Employment and Labor
    • CNY Business Journal 40 Under Forty, 2019
    • Martindale-Hubbell®, AV Preeminent Rated
  • New York State Bar Association, Equal Employment Opportunity Committee
  • Onondaga County Bar Association
  • Central New York Women's Bar Association
  • Justinian Honorary Law Society
  • Order of the Coif
  • Executive Editor, Syracuse Law Review
  • Scribes National Law Review Award, Best Note or Comment

  • Legislative Update: What HR Professionals Need to Know for 2022, CNY SHRM, January 20, 2022
  • Leave Management and COVID Impacts for Small Business, Camillus Chamber of Commerce, March 24, 2021
  • Legislative Update: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going in 2021, CNY SHRM, January 28, 2021
  • Overcoming Age Discrimination in the Workplace, CNY SHRM, November 19, 2020
  • Moderator, Solving the Leave Management Puzzle, CNY SHRM, June 18, 2020
  • Legislative Update for Human Resource Professionals, CNY SHRM, January 30, 2020
  • Workplace Harassment Prevention Laws & Prevention - A Necessity Now More Than Ever Webinar, Community Health Care Services Foundation, Inc., November 7, 2019
  • What You Need to Know About the New State Sexual Harassment Law, CNY SHRM, October 25, 2018
  • Workplace Harassment Prevention: A Necessity Now More Than Ever, CNY SHRM, September 17, 2019
  • Employment Law Basics for Supervisors, Managers and Business Owners, CNY SHRM, March 22, 2018
  • A Practical Look at the New York State Paid Family Leave Law and What it Means for Your Workplace, CNY SHRM, September 28, 2017
  • Moderator, Ready or Not: What You Need to Know About the U.S. DOL's Final Overtime Rules, CNY SHRM, October 27, 2016
  • The Leave Labyrinth: Strategies for ADA and FMLA Compliance, Bond's Statewide Labor, Employment & HR Conference, May 2016
  • Workplace Violence: Preventing and Responding to the Unthinkable, Bond Labor and Employment Law Breakfast Briefing, April 7, 2016
  • Hiring Employees in the Age of Social Media, Greater Baldwinsville Chamber of Commerce, October 22, 2015
  • Employee Handbooks – Choose Your Words Wisely, Bond Statewide Labor, Employment & HR Conference, June 9, 2015
  • New Legal Challenges to Hiring Practices, Bond Labor and Employment Law Breakfast Briefing, March 25, 2015
  • Employment Law Basics for Supervisors, Managers & Small Business Owners, CNY SHRM, March 19, 2015 
  • It’s Not Just Your Lunch Money at Risk – Standing up to Workplace Bullying and Harassment, Bond Statewide Labor, Employment & HR Conference, May 21, 2014
  • Revolving Issues of Intermittent FMLA Leave, Bond Statewide Labor, Employment & HR Conference, May 21, 2013
  • EEOC’s New Guidance on Criminal Background Information, Rochester Business Alliance, August 17, 2012

  • "What do I need to know about the DOL's Final Overtime Regulations?," CNY SHRM E-Newsletter, Spring 2016
  • "What does the EEOC’s Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation mean for me and my organization?," CNY SHRM Chapter Newsletter, Winter 2016
  • "What can I do to prepare for the new overtime exemption rules?," CNY SHRM Chapter Newsletter, Fall 2015
  • "What do I need to know about the NLRB’s new Guidance on Employee Handbook Rules?," CNY SHRM Chapter Newsletter, Summer 2015
  • "I keep hearing about this new 'Ban-the-Box' law. Do I have to change my application process?," CNY SHRM Chapter Newsletter, Spring 2015
  • "NLRB Regional Director Finds College Football Players Qualify as Employees and Can Unionize," Higher Education Law Report, March 24, 2014
  • "The U.S. Department of Labor Extends FLSA Protections to Most Home Care Workers," New York Labor & Employment Law Report, September 30, 2013
  • Schafer, Katherine Ritts and Langan, Kerry W., "Survey of New York Law: Labor and Employment Law," 63 Syracuse L. Rev. 829, 2013
  • Schafer, Katherine Ritts and Langan, Kerry W., "Survey of New York Law: Labor and Employment Law," 62 Syracuse L. Rev. 709, 2012
  • Ritts, Katherine A. and Langan, Kerry W., "Survey of New York Law: Labor and Employment," 61 Syracuse L. Rev. 831, 2011
  • "The Constitutionality of 'Let Them Rest in Peace' Bills: Can Governments Say 'Not Today Fred' to Demonstrations at Funeral Ceremonies?," 58 Syracuse L. Rev. 137, 2007

  • Central New York Society for Human Resource Management (CNY SHRM), Board of Directors, Legislative Committee Chair
  • New York State Association of Management Advocates for School Labor Affairs
  • The Junior League of Syracuse, Inc.