National Origin Discrimination

August 31, 2010

New York Governor David Patterson Signs Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.

by Salvatore Gangemi of Murtha Cullina LLP

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.

January 7, 2010

EEOC Releases 2009 Charge Statistics

by Salvatore Gangemi of Murtha Cullina LLP

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.

June 6, 2009

New York Hawaiian Tropic Zone Seeks Dismissal of Discrimination Suit

by Salvatore Gangemi of Murtha Cullina LLP

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.”