Cindy Schmitt Minniti
Cindy represents management exclusively in labor and employment law, including litigation, counseling, arbitration and mediation with regard to employment discrimination, harassment, labor relations, and wage-hour compliance.
Cindy has extensive experience litigating employment disputes of all types, including defending employers against claims alleging race, age, disability, and sex discrimination; retaliation; sexual harassment; wrongful discharge; violations of wage and hour laws; and breach of contract. She has represented employers in single and multiple plaintiff, collective action, class action and cases before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, and in various arbitration forums.
She has served as lead counsel in several federal and state trials involving allegations of discrimination, retaliation, constitutional violations, as well as state law, contract and tort claims. Adept at counseling clients at every turn of the litigation process, Cindy employs a creative mix of litigation and business skills to determine which cases should be litigated in court, which should be resolved in some alternative forum and which can and should be settled.
Cindy’s clients regularly call on her to conduct and advise on internal investigations, and to provide advice on compliance with various laws affecting the workplace including the FMLA, ADEA, Title VII, ADA, FLSA and state wage and hour laws. She has also counseled numerous companies in the planning and execution of reductions-in-force, mergers, and other organizational changes affecting employees.
In addition, Cindy supports her clients with strategies, counseling and training to help them avoid government investigations and provides practical advice on all employment-related issues in today’s business world, including employee discharge and discipline, reductions-in-force, employment policies and procedures, and compliance with federal, state and local employment laws. Cindy regularly conducts training programs on the full spectrum of employment issues as well as on diversity issues.
Experience
| 2003 | Reed Smith |
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| 1999 | New York City Law Department, Office of the Corporation Counsel, Assistant Corporation Counsel |
| 1998 | Legal Intern for the U.S. Attorneys' Office in the Eastern District of New York, Garden City, New York |
| 1998 | Research assistant to Professor Rosemary Salomone Researched and drafted memoranda for the Brookings Institute Conference on the State of Urban Education in America in Washington, D.C. |
Legal Education
| 1999 | J.D., cum laude, St. John's University School of Law Notes and Comments Editor of St. John's Journal of Legal Commentary Academic Achievement Award – Merit Scholarship Honorable mention in the Honorable Edward J. Hart Memorial Trial Advocacy Competition |
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Undergraduate Education
| 1996 | B.A., Pennsylvania State University, English, Spanish and Political Science Minors |
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Professional Admissions / Qualifications
- New York
- New Jersey
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court - Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court - Southern District of New York