New York Employment Attorney Blog

On December 17, 2012, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") approved its Strategic Enforcement Plan for Fiscal Years 2013-2016 ("SEP"). The SEP establishes priorities and integrates all components of the EEOC's enforcement. In so doing, the SEP adopted the following national priorities:

1- Eliminating Barriers in Recruitment and Hiring. The EEOC intends to target class-based recruitment and hiring practices that discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity or national origin, religion, age, gender (women), and disability.

2- Protecting Immigrant, Migrant and Other Vulnerable Workers. Among other things, the EEOC intends to target disparate pay, job segregation, harassment, trafficking and discriminatory policies affecting those workers who may not be aware of their rights to equal employment opportunity, or are otherwise reluctant to exercise them.

3- Addressing Emerging and Developing Issues.

4- Enforcing Equal Pay Laws. The EEOC will continue to target compensation disparities and practices in the area of gender or sex discrimination.

5- Preserving Access to the Legal System. The EEOC will scrutinize policies and practices that have the effect of discouraging employees from seeking relief under the applicable employment discrimination statutes.

6- Preventing Harassment Through Systemic Enforcement and Targeted Outreach.

Continue reading "EEOC Approves Strategic Enforcement Plan for 2013-2016" »

Today, Governor David Patterson signed into law, the New York Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which reflects the first sweeping domestic workers' rights legislation in the nation.

Among other things, the New York law provides for overtime pay to domestic workers, and protection against workplace discrimination and harassment based upon race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, marital status and domestic victim status. The legislation specifically addresses sexual harassment, which is cited as a major problem for domestic workers in New York.

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" »

The Associated Press reported today that New York's Hawaiian Tropic Zone restaurant sought to dismiss a race discrimination lawsuit filed by Melody Morales of Brooklyn, New York. Ms. Morales claims that when she tried to get a job as a bikini-clad barmaid, she was told that she did not speak "white" and her language was too "ghetto."

Continue reading "New York Hawaiian Tropic Zone Seeks Dismissal of Discrimination Suit" »