Teresa M. Biviano
Teresa also conducts internal investigations on behalf of clients, including in the areas of employee misconduct, personnel issues, and workplace policy violations, and Title IX and Title VI investigations on behalf of educational institutions. She handles a range of legal matters involving employment laws and policy compliance, hiring and termination. She investigates and prepares submissions on behalf of employers in response to employee administrative agency charges of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and New York State Division of Human Rights.
Teresa’s practice includes labor and employment due diligence in connection with corporate merger and acquisition transactions. She advises on labor and employment-related risk; representations and warranties provisions; Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act issues; employee and independent contractor classifications; and drafting of employment agreements, including confidentiality, restrictive covenants, and employment or separation agreements for senior and executive-level employees. She also has vast experience reviewing and drafting employee handbooks and employer policies for private companies, nonprofits, and professional organizations.
Teresa provides compliance counseling and policy review and drafting on various federal, state, and local laws, including New York state and city sick leave; the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA); Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA); Title IX, Title VI, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and other federal and New York state and city laws.
Teresa's practice is informed by four years of professional experience in higher education administration. Her work as the assistant director of a university law school’s academic department included managing data and student record confidentiality matters related to FERPA; policy and curriculum; student educational records; and academic counseling.
Related Practices
Experience
Representative Matters
Litigation and Employment
- Conducted internal investigations, including preparing investigation reports and presentations, and advising on legally compliant complaint resolution, concerning complaints: for a state government agency based on an ethics and harassment complaint; for a crypto company based on an employee hostile work environment complaint against a supervisor; for a private company based on an employee wage and hour and retaliation complaint; for a higher education institution based on an employee disability discrimination and retaliation complaint; for a medical school based on an employee sex or gender discrimination and retaliation complaint
- Drafted successful motions for dismissal of complaints in New York state and federal courts involving allegations of employment discrimination, retaliation, and breach of contract, and successful appellate briefs securing dismissals
- Successfully argued in opposition to a motion to dismiss on behalf of a hospitality client in a breach of vendor contract action
- Successfully achieved dismissal of a breach of contract claim for an independent educational institution on appeal to the New York Appellate Division
- Successfully obtained a default judgment and a damages award for a manufacturing client in a breach of contract action in New York state court
- Defended a charter school against negligence claims in a litigation involving student-on-student conduct
- Managed litigations and subpoena matters for a prestigious medical college in New York City through in-house secondment
- Successfully achieved summary judgment dismissal of a wrongful termination suit on behalf of an employer in Utah state court
- Managed an evidentiary trial and legal briefings, and achieved dismissal of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) whistleblower complaint before the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges, implicating environmental law and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
- Won arbitration awards securing favorable contract interpretation and dismissal of employee grievances on behalf of a unionized educational institution
- Represented a Maryland municipality in defense against a multi-plaintiff discrimination and retaliation litigation
- Defended a food industry client against a public accommodation complaint under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Provided advice and drafted domestic worker agreements on behalf of high-profile clients in New York City
Higher Education
- Advised a national higher education-related client on state and federal anti-discrimination laws and university admissions regulations
- Conducted Title VI training for a higher education institution
- Advised a California entertainment nonprofit on state and federal law and best practices regarding internship and diversity hiring
Wage and Hour
- Assisted in the successful negotiation of settlements for a hospitality company for wage and hour disputes with the local worker protection commission and in multi-plaintiff litigation
- Represented nonprofit and private sector clients in connection with administrative assessments of contributions under New York Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment Insurance laws
Corporate Transaction Due Diligence
- Assisted EMZ Partners (“EMZ”), a leading European private equity/investment firm, in connection with the sale of a majority stake in its portfolio company, FotoFinder Systems (“FotoFinder”), to GHO Capital, a European specialist investor in the healthcare space
- Represented Hyatt Hotels Corporation in the acquisition of the Standard and Bunkhouse hotel group
- Represented EMZ portfolio company FotoFinder Systems, Inc., a Germany-based global leader in skin imaging solutions, in connection with its acquisition of DermLite LLC, a U.S.-based handheld dermoscopy device company
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. Georgetown University Law Center 2018
- Managing editor of operations, The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics
- Published Note, Geo. J. Legal Ethics, Vol. 30, 2016 – 2017
- Saint Thomas More Award for student work in legal ethics, 2017 – 2018
- Dean's List
- Student attorney, Civil Rights Clinic at the Institute for Public Representation
- Managing editor of operations, The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics
- B.A. Public Relations and Advertising summa cum laude Chapman University 2011
Bar Admissions
- New York
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Recognition
- Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2023 – 2024
Community
Pro Bono
- Represented pro bono nonprofit client in connection with state Department of Labor unemployment insurance matters, including serving as lead counsel in administrative hearings and appeal
- Assisted a pro bono nonprofit client in resolving a city human rights law employee complaint
- Assisted a pro bono client in successfully securing asylum on the basis of sexual orientation persecution and subsequently successfully obtaining green card status
Volunteerism
- Member, Board of Directors, ISSUE Project Room (a Brooklyn-based arts nonprofit)