Photo of Evandro Gigante

Evandro is the go-to employment litigator and counselor when clients face their most challenging, bet the reputation claims, or want to develop policies and practices that mitigate legal risk. As an award-winning partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department, member of the Employment Litigation group, and co-head of the Counseling, Training & Pay Equity group, he represents clients on a variety of labor and employment matters, including allegations of sexual harassment, race, gender, national origin, disability and religious discrimination. In addition, Evandro handles restrictive covenant matters, including non-compete, non-solicitation and trade secret disputes. Evandro also counsels employers through the most sensitive employment issues, including matters involving employer diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

With a focus on discrimination and harassment claims, Evandro has extensive experience defending clients before federal and state courts. He tries cases before juries and arbitrators and routinely represents clients before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as state and local human rights commissions. Evandro often draws on his extensive litigation experience to help clients avoid the courtroom by effectuating positive change in the workplace through impactful anti-discrimination and harassment training, as well as robust employment policies.

Working in a wide range of industries, Evandro has experience representing clients in professional services, including law firms, financial services, including private equity and hedge funds, higher education, sports, media, retail, and others. Evandro also advises charter schools and other not-for-profit organizations on labor and employment matters on a pro bono basis.

On October 7, 2025, the Senate approved two key employment agency nominations, confirming Brittany Panuccio to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and Andrew Rogers to lead the Wage and Hour Division within the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”).

Panuccio’s appointment restores a Republican majority at the EEOC, while Rogers’s confirmation returns a former

UPDATE: This bill was returned unsigned by the Mayor and therefore has been enacted. It will take effect on February 22, 2026.

The New York City Council has approved a bill that, if ultimately enacted, would expand the city’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (“ESSTA”).

As a reminder, currently under ESSTA, employers

Genetic information may not be the first thing that comes to mind when employers think about workplace discrimination.  However, federal law provides protections for employees based on their genetic information and that of their family members. 

In this third of a series of blogs[1] examining overlooked or misunderstood provisions of employment laws, we are