Profile

Thomas represents management in the employment and retention of foreign national employees. His immigration practice focuses on employment-based applications and petitions (particularly non-immigrant work visas and permanent residency), and related labor condition and certification applications for employers with foreign national employees working in the United States.

Thomas counsels human resource managers on employment authorization, E-Verify and I-9 compliance issues and investigations. He represents employers facing audits and enforcement actions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Justice.

  • Listed in:
    • The Best Lawyers in America®, Education Law; Employment Law - Management; Labor Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2003-2025 (listed for more than 20 years) 
      • Lawyer of the Year (Syracuse), Education Law, 2022, 2023
      • Lawyer of the Year (Syracuse), Employment Law - Management, 2020
    • New York Super Lawyers®, Employment and Labor, 2024 (listed for more than 10 years)
    • Martindale-Hubbell®, AV Preeminent Rated
  • American Bar Association
  • New York State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section; Labor Committee on Pension, Welfare, and Related Plans
  • Onondaga County Bar Association
  • American Immigration Lawyers Association
  • Society for Human Resource Management
  • Order of the Coif

  • The NLRB General Counsel’s Aggressive Agenda, May 2024
  • Implications of the NLRB’s Tesla Decision, December 2023
  • Biden’s NLRB Reshaping the Labor Relations Landscape, September 2023
  • NY Employers Face Expanded Liability for Negligent Supervision, August 2023
  • 2022 NYS Significant Legislative Developments, January 2023
  • Conducting Workplace Investigations, November 2022
  • Managing Through the Current Labor Staffing Shortage, Fall 2021
  • Pay Equity: Legal & Practical Considerations for Employers, Fall 2019
  • Marijuana Legalization: Impacts on the Workplace, October 2018
  • Preventing Workplace Bullying and Violence, March 2013

  • “The Risks Presented by Employment Retaliation Claims Require Employers’ Focused Attention,” Law360, October 12, 2023
  • "The Employment Impacts of Marijuana Legalization in New York," Inside: A Publication of the Corporate Counsel Section of the New York State Bar Association, 2021 | Vol. 39 | No. 2
  • Co-Author, 2019 Chambers USA Regional Employment Guide, New York Chapter
  • “Pension Fund Rescue Plans Pose Employer Predicaments,” Law360, September 7, 2016
  • Quoted in "Union pension fund plans 30 percent cut to retiree benefits," Albany Business Review, August 19, 2016
  • “Monday Morning Quarterback: 4 Lessons from Deflategate,” Law360, September 14, 2015
  • "Employment Law in New York," Syracuse Law Review, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
  • Contributing Author, Corporate Counseling

  • Adjunct Professor, Syracuse University College of Law
  • President, Huntington Family Centers, Inc., 1998-2002