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Ryan C. Chapoteau is a principal in the New York City, New York, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and is a co-leader of Jackson Lewis' African American resource group. His practice focuses on representing employers ranging from early stage startups to Fortune 50 companies throughout a broad spectrum of industries in workplace law matters.

Ryan has experience litigating in federal court, state court and before administrative agencies, while also appearing regularly at arbitrations and mediations. Ryan defends employers in a wide variety of employment matters, such as discrimination, disability and leave management, harassment, and retaliation claims as well as wage and hour cases. Ryan’s experience includes single-plaintiff litigation along with collective and class action lawsuits. Ryan also ensures his clients receive up-to-date guidance on applicable federal, state, and local labor and employment laws to provide preventative advice and counseling, ranging from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, the New York State Labor Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law. He also counsels clients on all aspects of their employment relationships, including developing and implementing human resources policies, conducting workplace investigations and trainings, issuing discipline, as well as providing insight on relevant industry trends.

An uncommon combination of three U.S. Senators, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), collaborated to draft “The College Athletes Protection & Compensation Act” (the Act), which is the newest legislative proposal in the evolving name, image and likeness (NIL) area of college athletics.

Several other federal NIL legislation proposals have

Changes to New York’s name, image, and likeness (NIL) law redefines “student-athlete” and limits the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) authority. The changes under NY Bill No. A07107B are effective immediately.

Updates to NIL Law

The definition of “student-athlete” has been expanded to include an individual who has completed at least their sophomore year of

The “Protecting Athletes, Schools, and Sports Act of 2023” is draft legislation that includes new restrictions and benefits for student-athletes and booster collectives that would change the landscape of the issue of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights in the NCAA.

Expected to be proposed by Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the

The U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF), the governing body for international soccer in the United States, and the unions representing the women’s and men’s national soccer teams, U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association, and the U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association have reached a pair of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with identical economic terms. For the

Major League Soccer (MLS) has informed the MLS Players Association that it intends to exercise the force majeure clause that was recently added to the parties’ collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to negotiate additional contract modifications in good faith for 30 days. If a new agreement is not reached during the 30 day period, the league

Throughout the country, sports teams and their venues have been hit with an uptick of public accommodation lawsuits under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), along with its state and local counterparts. The ability to obtain attorney’s fees makes these cases attractive to plaintiffs’ firms.

Plaintiffs include fans, who team up with

New York Jets player Darrelle Revis is entering the third year of his approximately $70 million five-year contract with the team. He is slated to receive a $13 million base salary ($6 million fully guaranteed) and a $2 million roster bonus this season, but only if he remains on the Jets roster. Unfortunately, the cornerback