On October 16th, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a male employee’s claim for pregnancy discrimination at work based on his wife’s pregnancy. While the man alleged that he was mistreated at work and fired because his wife was...
Discrimination
McDonald’s faces another racial discrimination lawsuit
40 years after the first racial discrimination allegations against McDonald's came to light, the fast-food giant continues to be accused of race-related prejudice. Most recently, 52 former black franchisees filed a lawsuit against McDonald's, alleging that the company...
New York employers may require COVID-19 vaccinations in most situations
Americans are mostly holding their collective breath for a time when the government may approve a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. The severity of the pandemic in New York and New Jersey has been traumatic, but many residents have concerns about the safety of...
What is pregnancy discrimination?
Federal laws prohibit many discriminatory practices The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act forbids biased treatment based on pregnancy status in businesses with more than 15 employees. This includes discrimination based on whether an employee may become pregnant in...
New York City protects independent contractors from discrimination
We often write in this space about the sweeping anti-discrimination protections contained in the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). The law prohibits not only employment discrimination based on certain characteristics like age, disability, race, religion, sexual...
What is the most common type of employment discrimination in NY?
Workplace discrimination is not always easy to recognize. Workers may feel uncomfortable with certain comments or actions, but brush it off as part of the job. They may even wonder: "Am I being over-sensitive? Or do other people feel the same way?" The truth is,...
The murky parameters of the ministerial exception
The Supreme Court of the United States will hear a pair of consolidated cases from California in which they will consider how far the ministerial exception to anti-discrimination in employment law reaches. The ministerial exception is a court-made doctrine based on...
Arbitrator may certify arbitration class in sex discrimination claim
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit held on Nov. 18 that a private arbitrator in the case of Jock v. Sterling Jewelers Inc. had the power to define a class of plaintiffs to participate in the arbitration. While only 254 female plaintiff-employees asked to...
Punitive damages may be available for harassment, discrimination in New York
Employees who work in New York are protected by some of the most expansive anti-discrimination laws in the country. Now, the recently passed Senate Bill S6577 provides one more tool for victims of discrimination, allowing employees to pursue punitive damages against...
NYC issues guidance on work discrimination for immigration status
On Sept. 25, the New York City Commission on Human Rights released a detailed enforcement guidance document that provides examples of employer behavior that would constitute discrimination or harassment of an employee or job applicant based on their actual or...
