New York Employment Attorney Blog

On May 12, 2010, the New York State Senate passed S1823b, a bill to amend the labor law to prohibit abusive work environments. If the bill were to pass scrutiny in the State Assembly, and be signed into law by the Governor, employees in the State of New York would have expansive protections beyond just the anti-discrimination statutes. In effect, the bill would transform the employment-at-will landscape, requiring that employers make sure that employees are not being subjected to bullying, while also making it more difficult for employers to terminate employees who complain of such.

Continue reading "The Healthy Workplace Bill: Will New York State Prohibit Workplace Bullying? " »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Employment Rights

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On January 6, 2010, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") released data concerning charges of discrimination filed with the agency in FY2009. The EEOC resolved a record number of charges alleging harassment and violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. FY2009 saw the second highest number of charge filings nationwide, 93,277 --just about 2,000 filings less than the record high set for FY2008.

Continue reading "EEOC Releases 2009 Charge Statistics" »

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Posted In: Age Discrimination , Disability Discrimination , Employment Discrimination , National Origin Discrimination , Racial Discrimination , Retaliation , Sexual Discrimination , Sexual Harassment

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Congress is considering legislation overturning a recent Supreme Court decision holding that plaintiffs asserting claims of age discrimination under the Age Discrimination and Employment Act of 1967 ("ADEA") must prove that age was the "but for" cause of the challenged adverse employment action.

Continue reading "Congress Poised to Overturn Supreme Court's Recent Case on Age Discrimination" »

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Posted In: Age Discrimination , Employment Discrimination

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On September 10, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which covers New York, Connecticut and Vermont, held that an employer may be held liable for age discrimination based upon the acts of others, including its independent contractors. According to the court, an employer can be held liable for the acts of independent contractors if the independent contractor is acting on behalf of the employer.

Continue reading "U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit Holds Employer Liable for Age Discrimination Based on its Contractor's Conduct" »

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Posted In: Age Discrimination , Employment Discrimination

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The Senate and House are considering legislation to ban employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 is intended to amend Title VII, which currently prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, national origin, religious discrimination. In addition, the bills would ban retaliation against an employee for complaining of sexual orientation discrimination.

Continue reading "Congress Considers Legislation Banning Employment Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Sexual Orientation Discrimination

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Recently, Governor David Patterson signed legislation amending the New York State Human Rights Law to prohibit an employer from discriminating against an individual based on his or her status as a victim of domestic violence. This extension of the New York law fills a gap in federal law, which does not contain any such protection. In 2001, New York City amended the New York City Human Rights Law to prohibit similar discrimination. Now, New York employees outside of New York City will be entitled to the same protections.

Continue reading "New York State Human Rights Law Amended to Protect Domestic Violence Victims" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination

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In Ricci v. DeStefano, (No. 07-1428), a long awaited decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the City of New Haven violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it discarded the results of civil service examiinations in which African American and Latino firefighters seeking promotion to lieutenant and captain did not fare well. White firefighters had alleged that they had suffered race discrimination when the City discarded their favorable examination results.

Continue reading "U.S. Supreme Court Issues Ruling in "Reverse" Discrimination Case" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Racial Discrimination

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An assistant marketing manager has sued Steiff, a maker of teddy bears and stuffed animals, and its CEO, claiming that she was sexually harassed by the company's CEO, which culminated, according to the employee, in a rape. The case was filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

Continue reading "$80 Million Sexual Harassment Suit Filed Against New York Teddy Bear Maker" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Sexual Harassment

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A sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") against Duane Reade Inc., was recently settled for $240,000 and other relief. The lawsuit had alleged that Duane Reade, which operates over 200 drugstores in New York, had unlawfully created and failed to correct a sexually hostile work environment at one of its stores located in Bronx, New York.

Continue reading "New York Drugstore Chain Settles Sexual Harrassment and Retaliation Lawsuit" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Retaliation , Sexual Discrimination , Sexual Harassment

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Last week, a lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court alleging sexual harassment against Southern Hospitality, a New York City restaurant, and its owners, one of whom is Justin Timberlake. The lawsuit was brought by Alison McDaniel, a former restaurant manager, who accuses two of Timberlake's owners of discriminatory conduct.

Continue reading "Celebrity Owned New York Restaurant Sued for Sexual Harassment" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Sexual Discrimination , Sexual Harassment

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New York state and federal courts have long disagreed over the application of the New York State and New York City anti-discrimination laws to out of state employees, who claimed employment discrimination by New York based employers. In an attempt to set limits on the geographic scope of the New York State Human Rights Law and New York City Human Rights Law, courts seemed to embrace the concept that the location of where the discriminatory decision was made was not relevant, but rather where the impact of the discriminatory decision was felt.

Continue reading "Court Recognizes Broad Geographic Reach of New York State and City Human Rights Laws" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination

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The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that a union could contract away a union member's rights to pursue a statutory discrimination claim in court. In 14 Penn Plaza L.L.C. v. Pyett, the Supreme Court considered whether a union member with an age discrimination claim under the Age Discrimination Employment Act ("ADEA") could be required to privately arbitrate the claim rather then pursue it in court. Surprisingly, a divided Supreme Court concluded that a union member could be mandated by a collective bargaining agreement ("CBA") to arbitrate a statutory discrimination claim.

Continue reading "U.S. Supreme Court Accepts Mandatory Arbitration of Discrimination Claims for Unionized Employees " »

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Posted In: Age Discrimination , Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution , Employment Agreements , Employment Discrimination , Employment Rights

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A recent study has concluded that racial discrimination is 38% worse in the advertising industry than in the overall labor market. In light of the fact that the advertising industry is traditionally perceived to be based in New York City, cases against advertising agencies alleging racial discrimination will undoubtedly increase in New York state and federal courts.

Continue reading "Racial Discrimination Found to Exist on New York's Madison Avenue" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Racial Discrimination

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Under federal law, an employee who seeks to hold an employer liable for a hostile work environment, based upon sex, race, age, national origin, or other protected category, is generally required to show that the hostile work environment or harassment is "severe or pervasive." Until recently, courts interpreting New York State and New York City anti-discrimination statutes have assumed that the standards for proving harassment under those laws were similar to federal law.

Continue reading "New York Appellate Court Recognizes Lower Standard for Proving Discrimination Under New York City Human Rights Law" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Sexual Harassment

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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from, among other things, retaliating against any employee who has opposed unlawful employment practices. An employee who speaks out about discrimination on her own initiative is clearly engaged in conduct protected by Title VII. Until recently, however, it was not entirely clear whether the antiretaliation provision's protections also extended to an employee who does not speak out about discrimination on her own initiative, but, rather, answers questions during an employer's internal investigation into discrimination.

Continue reading "Supreme Court Rules Antiretaliation Protections Extend to Employee Questioned During Company Investigation " »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Retaliation

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President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on January 29, 2009. It was the first bill signed into law by the new President. As discussed in earlier blogs, the new law amends Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 "to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes.”

Continue reading "President Signs Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009" »

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Posted In: Compensation, Wages and Overtime , Employment Discrimination , Sexual Discrimination

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On January 22, 2009, the Senate passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act by a vote of 61-36. In our January 9, 2009 blog posting, we reported that the Senate had passed the identical bill.

Continue reading "Senate Passes Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act" »

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Posted In: Compensation, Wages and Overtime , Employment Discrimination , Sexual Discrimination

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The House of Representatives has just passed legislation making it less difficult for employees to sue for wage discrimination. The Ledbetter Bill (H.R. 11) passed by a vote of 247-171 and specifically overturns a Supreme Court case, Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Co., Inc., which held that the statute of limitations for filing a wage discrimination case does not begin to run each time a paycheck is issued. The Ledbetter Bill changes this by permitting the statute of limitations to begin anew with each discriminatory paycheck.

Continue reading "Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and Paycheck Fairness Act Pass in House" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Sexual Discrimination

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Statistics indicate that employment discrimination may be on the rise. The National Partnership for Women & Families has issued a report showing an increase of charge filings with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC").

Continue reading "EEOC Filings on the Rise" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination

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On September 25, 2008, President Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 ("ADAAA") into law. As stated in prior blog entries, the amendment makes substantial changes to the Supreme Court's restrictive readings of disability discrimination protections.

Continue reading "Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 Becomes Law" »

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Posted In: Disability Discrimination , Employment Discrimination

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Last fall, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), filed a pregnancy discrimination claim against Bloomberg LP based upon complaints received from three employees. Since that time, the number of women charging Bloomberg LP with pregnancy discrimination has increased to 72. According to New York Magazine, that number constitutes about one in seven of the employees who became pregnant in the last six years. Although Bloomberg LP referred to the initial filing as a "publicity stunt," the increase in the number of employees alleging sexual discrimination renders that characterization extremely difficult to sustain.

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Pregnancy Discrimination , Sexual Discrimination

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On September 17th, the United States House of Representatives passed the Senate version of the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act ("ADAA"). The bill has now been sent to President Bush, who states that he will sign it. The amendments reflect the broadest changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") since its enactment in 1990.

Continue reading "House Passes Senate Version of ADA Amendments Act" »

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Posted In: Disability Discrimination , Employment Discrimination

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In June 2008, the House of Representatives passed the ADA Amendment Act of 2008. (See Proposed Amendments to ADA Restore Disability Discrimination Protections, June 28, 2008.) Yesterday, the Senate unanimously passed its own version of the ADA Amendment Act. A conformed version will be submitted to the President for signature within the next several weeks.

Continue reading "Senate Passes ADA Amendment Act of 2008" »

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Posted In: Disability Discrimination , Employment Discrimination

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The proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act ("ENDA") is a federal bill intended to address employment discrimination by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire or promote employees based upon their sexual orientation. An earlier version of the bill sought to include protection from gender identity discrimination. That provision was stripped from the bill due to a lack of support in the House of Representatives for transgender protection. On November 7, 2007, the House passed ENDA by a vote of 235-184. Currently, ENDA awaits introduction to the Senate.

Continue reading "Proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act Awaits Further Action in Congress" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Sexual Orientation Discrimination

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Under the American Disabilities Act (ADA), it is a violation of an employee’s federally protected rights for an employer not to make reasonable accommodations for known physical or mental limitations of an employee, or job applicant, who is otherwise a qualified individual. 29 C.F.R. § 1630.9(a). The ADA requires that an employer engage in an interactive process with an employee to determine the extent of a reasonable accommodation that will permit an employee to perform the essential functions of a job. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently ruled in Brady v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. that an employer’s duty to make a reasonable accommodation is triggered when it knows or has reason to know that an employee suffers from a disability, and not just when an employee provides notice of a disability or requests an accommodation. The Second Circuit covers New York, Vermont and Connecticut.

Continue reading "Employer has a Duty to Accommodate an Employee with an Obvious Disability Even Where the Employee Does not Expressly Ask for Such Accommodation " »

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Posted In: Disability Discrimination , Employment Discrimination

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Introduced and passed, 402 to 17, in the House of Representatives, the ADA Amendment Act of 2008 is geared to the restoration of the intent and protections of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Operating from the position that “physical and mental disabilities in no way diminish a person’s right to fully participate in all aspects of society,” Congress passed the ADA with the intent to broadly eliminate “prejudice, antiquated attitudes, [and] the failure to remove societal and institutional barriers” that have frequently precluded persons with disabilities from fully engaging in society. Plainly put, the ADA Amendment Act will restore protections against disability discrimination to a broader range of individuals.

Continue reading "Proposed Amendments to ADA Restore Disability Discrimination Protections" »

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Posted In: Disability Discrimination , Employment Discrimination

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Federal civil rights are useless if they cannot be enforced. Recently, in CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries, most of the Supreme Court agreed ruling that employees could bring retaliation claims against their employers under The Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C § 1981 (“Section 1981”). What brings controversy to this decision is that the text of Section 1981 does not state that it includes claims of retaliation for employee complaints of race discrimination.

Continue reading "U.S. Supreme Court Holds Employee can Bring Suit for Retaliation under Section 1981" »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Racial Discrimination

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Mauricia Grant, a former employee of NASCAR, filed suit alleging 23 specific instances of sexual harassment, as well as 34 instances of racial and sexual discrimination.

According to Grant, she complained to her supervisors of the discriminatory treatment on multiple occasions, but her complaints were ignored. She alleges in her complaint that her supervisor even participated in the discriminatory conduct. At a press conference, Brian France, NASCAR's CEO, faulted Grant for allegedly not following internal harassment complaint procedures.

The civil action seeks $225 million in damages.

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination , Sexual Discrimination , Sexual Harassment

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Navigating the different statutes applicable to employment discrimination can be daunting. Prior to meeting with an attorney, you can familiarize yourself with the laws that may apply to your situation. Of course, you should consult an attorney regarding your own individual situation.

(a) Scope

The New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”) applies to employers with four or more employees. Under certain circumstances, individual supervisors may also be sued under the NYSHRL.

The NYSHRL prohibits discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, genetic predisposition or carrier status, marital status, and previous arrest record. The NYSHRL also prohibits retaliation for making good faith complaints of employment discrimination.

Continue reading "Primer on The New York State Human Rights Law " »

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Posted In: Employment Discrimination

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