Profile

Thomas exclusively represents private and public sector management in labor relations, employment law and immigration matters.

For more than 25 years, Thomas' national practice has included defense of employment discrimination claims before the EEOC, State Human Rights agencies and in state and federal courts, and the representation of employers in collective bargaining negotiations, strikes and picketing disputes, labor arbitrations, NLRB unfair labor practice and election proceedings, 10(j) injunction actions, labor audits, workplace investigations and employee/independent contractor disputes. He counsels public sector clients on Civil Service Law matters, and represents municipalities and school districts in labor matters, including improper practice proceedings, mediation, fact finding and interest arbitration under New York's Taylor Law.

Thomas supports his clients with employment law counseling, training, handbook and policy development and litigation avoidance strategies in partnership with their human resource managers, executives and general counsel. He also advises employers on harassment issues, disability law and FMLA compliance.

Thomas represents employers that participate in multi-employer benefit pension plans throughout the United States including: (i) defense of delinquent contribution actions under ERISA; (ii) MPPAA withdrawal liability disputes and arbitrations; and (iii) counseling on merger and acquisition issues involving MPPAA withdrawal liability and 4204 asset sales.

Thomas also represents management in the employment and retention of foreign national employees. His immigration law practice focuses on employment-based applications and petitions (particularly non-immigrant work visas and permanent residency), and related labor condition and certification applications for employers with foreign national employees working in the United States. Thomas counsels human resource managers on employment authorization, E-Verify, I-9 compliance issues and Social Security no-match investigations. He represents employers facing audits and enforcement actions by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Labor and the Department of Justice.

  • Listed in:
    • The Best Lawyers in America®, Education Law; Employment Law - Management; Labor Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2003-2024 (listed for more than 20 years) 
      • Lawyer of the Year (Syracuse), Education Law, 2022, 2023
      • Lawyer of the Year (Syracuse), Employment Law - Management, 2020
    • New York Super Lawyers®, Employment and Labor, 2023 (listed for more than 10 years)
    • Martindale-Hubbell®, AV Preeminent Rated
  • American Bar Association
  • New York State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section; Labor Committee on Pension, Welfare, and Related Plans
  • Onondaga County Bar Association
  • American Immigration Lawyers Association
  • Society for Human Resource Management
  • Order of the Coif

  • Preventing Workplace Bullying and Violence, March 2013
  • Your Employee Said WHAT on Facebook? - Next Steps for Managing Employee Social Media Use, May 2012
  • Untangling the Complex Web of Employee Misclassification Issues, October 2011
  • Addressing Retiree Health and Other Legal Obligations Under GASB 45, NYS Association of Counties, 2007
  • E-Verify and Other Concerns for Campus Employment Attorneys: Immigration in the Land of ICE, NACUA, June 2009
  • What Every Employer Should Know About Immigration Law, 2007
  • Immigration 101: The Basics of Immigration Law, NDNY Federal Bar Association, 2006

  • "The Employment Impacts of Marijuana Legalization in New York," Inside: A Publication of the Corporate Counsel Section of the New York State Bar Association, 2021 | Vol. 39 | No. 2
  • Co-Author, 2019 Chambers USA Regional Employment Guide, New York Chapter
  • “Pension Fund Rescue Plans Pose Employer Predicaments,” Law360, September 7, 2016
  • Quoted in "Union pension fund plans 30 percent cut to retiree benefits," Albany Business Review, August 19, 2016
  • "Employment Law in New York," Syracuse Law Review, 2003, 2004, 2005
  • Contributing Author, Corporate Counseling

  • Adjunct Professor, Syracuse University
  • Board Member, ProLiteracy
  • President, Huntington Family Centers, Inc., 1998-2002