What Are Your Credentials?

Zachary J. Liszka, Esq. is an employee rights lawyer based in Brooklyn, New York. He enrolled in law school after winning his own case of employment discrimination. As a white-passing Alaska Native (Unangax̂) enrolled with the federally recognized Ninilchik Village Tribe, and as a person with a disability (hemiparesis), he brings a unique perspective and passion to his practice of employment law.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Alaska and a Juris Doctorate with a concentration in Litigation from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City. Prior to private practice, he worked for the Government Accountability Project, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the New York Legal Assistance Group.

He is highly involved in the employee-side legal community in New York City. He has served as the Vice-President of the New York Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association and as an editor of its New York Employee Advocate. He has served annually as a mock juror for the American Bar Association's Employment Law mock trial program. He is also a member of the Disability Rights Bar Association and the New York City Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

Before law school, he held a variety of jobs, including at McDonald’s, Old Navy, as a supermarket bagger, dishwasher, construction worker, bartender, line cook, telephonic credit union teller, and special education teaching assistant.

In 2011, Zachary served day and night as Legal Observer with the National Lawyers Guild at the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Zuccotti Park.

Notable Cases

Montalvo v. Flywheel Sports, Inc.

Zach filed a federal class action against a national indoor cycling chain on behalf of more than 600 class instructors. The case centered around allegations that the chain required the instructors to work hours designing each class to be unique, but only paid them for the time actually teaching the class, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the New York Labor Law. The action resulted in payment of overtime wages to all eligble class members across the country.

Read the Filed Complaint.

Silk v. Hire Counsel, et al.

Zach filed an action in federal court against a national law firm and top legal staffing agency that alleged the firms failed to accommodate a document review attorney with a disability by permitting him to review documents remotely, but later permitted remote work for all document review attorneys, including those without disabilities, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The matter was resolved shortly after filing.

Read the Filed Complaint.

Ahamed v. Cotter Barber, et al.

Zach filed an action in federal court against the owner of local chain of coffeeshops doing business as Cotter Barber in Brooklyn, New York. The lawsuit alleged that the owner, Brian Burnam, repeatedly molested a barista and called him “f*g” and “be gay, but less gay” in group text messages to the barista and a manager.

Read the Filed Complaint.

Benzinger v. NYSARC, Inc., New York City Chapter, et al.

Zach filed first-of-its-kind claims of “hostile treatment” in a place of public accommodation then-operated by the largest real estate management company in the world and a national disabilty rights non-profit. The lawsuit accused a janitor of repeatedly uttering racial slurs at an Asian-American customer on two occasions. According to the complaint filed in federal court, the customer complained repeatedly, but was not taken seriously, requiring the Asian and Asian-supporting community to shame the companies on social media until they publically apologized. The case was resolved shortly after the customer defeated a motion to dismiss.

Read the Filed Complaint.

Kirsch v. Padded Wagon

Zach filed a class action against one of New York City’s largest and oldest moving companies, the Padded Wagon. The lawsuit alleged that the company engaged in a scheme to defraud its customers by charging for the the cost of parking tickets incurred during a customer's move and then obtaining reimbursements for those same parking tickets from the City. In effect, the Padded Wagon profitted from getting parking tickets, among other claims.

Read the Filed Complaint.

Donald Trump v. Jumping Eagle

Along with co-counsel, Zach filed an intervenor action on behalf of indigenious water protectors. The action asserted that Donald Trump, in his individual capacity, unconstitutionally aided the construction of privately-owned pipeline over lands and waterways deeply tied to the most sacred belief systems of an entire group of people that have existed on those lands and waterways since time immemorial.

Read the Filed Intervenor Action.

Hedges v. Obama

Zach participated in the representation of Chris Hedges, Noam Chomsky, and Daniel Ellsberg, among others, who sought to invalidate a section of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act on the allegation that it was enacted to expand the power of the executive branch to tamp down on political dissenters of its own choosing and chilled their free speech.

Read the District Court Order.

If you're in need of legal representation for an employment matter, contact us today.