Discrimination is not permitted under many federal laws, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (Title VII), which prohibits discrimination toward an employee or potential employee based on sex, race, color, national origin, or creed. Many other federal laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) supplement Title VII’s protections to include protections for the disabled, the pregnant, the elderly, and others.

New York also has laws in place to protect employees on a state and local level. The two primary human rights laws of note are the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). Both the NYSHRL and the NYCHRL cover more employers and more categories of employees than current federal laws do.

The NYCHRL, for example, makes it illegal for any employer to discriminate on the basis of any of these characteristics: Race, Color, Creed, Age, Perceived Age, National Origin, Alienage, Citizenship Status, Gender (Including Sexual Harassment), Gender Identity and Expression, Sexual Orientation, Disability, National Origin, Military Status, Marital Status, Partnership Status, Pregnancy, or Caregiver Status.

Additionally, the NYCHRL offers protection against Discrimination based on arrest or conviction record, and for status as a victim of Harassment. Victims of Harassment are especially protected as of October 11, 2019. The NYCHRL now requires “all covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to the needs of pregnant or disabled workers and victims of domestic violence. These accommodations can include job equipment modifications, adjusted scheduling, extra time off, among others.”

Further, all employees in New York are protected from being Retaliated against for making complaints about the aforementioned Discrimination, as long as the employee can demonstrate a good faith, reasonable belief that such Discrimination has occurred. Both the NYCHRL and the NYSHRL apply the same “good faith, reasonable belief” standard when weighing the credibility of complaints.

Thanks to recent updates to the law, the protections of both the NYCHRL and the NYSHRL have gotten EVEN BROADER – the NYCHRL an the NYSHRL now apply to all employers in the State, regardless of size of the employer or number of employees, and now extend protection against all forms of Discrimination and Harassment in the workplace, even to all non-employee workers in the State.

The preliminary responsibility in disparate treatment and disparate impact cases is on the employee to first demonstrate her case.

(1) Disparate Treatment

A disparate treatment claim can be brought if you feel your employer expressly singles out a certain, protected group for harsher treatment. If a group of people in the workplace is singled out by an employer for harsher treatment because of the group members’ age, race, gender, or other protected characteristic, the employer may be liable for unlawful Discrimination.

The crux of proof for a disparate treatment claim of discrimination is being able to show how those around you were treated. If those around you with your same protected characteristic were treated the same way as you were, but others around you who were not in the same protected group were treated better because they were not in the same protected group, YOU may have a claim of disparate treatment Discrimination.

(2) Disparate Impact

A disparate impact claim may be brought if you feel your employer has a policy or practice in place that disadvantages a certain group. If a seemingly unbiased employer practice or policy, such as an Entrance Exam given upon hire, has a significantly more harmful effect on a certain group of people, the employer may be liable for unlawful Discrimination.

The crux of proof for a disparate impact claim of discrimination is evidence of the effect of the seemingly unbiased policy or practice. For this claim, you will not need to show the employer intended to discriminate, but you will need to be able to point to tangible, numerical evidence that can demonstrate that the employer’s policy or practice has an adverse effect on a certain protected group. If every member of your specific protected group fails the Entrance Exam, while others can pass, YOU may have a claim for disparate impact Discrimination.

It is important to note that with both claims of discrimination, once the employee makes her case, the employer then has the opportunity to dispute the charge, and prove that they are not actually liable for Discrimination. If the employer in a disparate treatment case can show that the adverse employment action was taken for some other legitimate business reason, or the employer in a disparate impact case can show that the practice or policy in question is in line with typical business policy, the burden then moves off the employer. The employee is then responsible for rebutting the employer’s response. However, if the employer was successful at offering a legitimate reason, this last stage can be very difficult for the plaintiff. Accordingly, it is advisable to retain an experienced Employment Law attorney, like those at Shalom Law, to fight for your interests and your in a Discrimination suit.

Make sure your rights are protected, whether you are thinking of filing or have already filed a charge or lawsuit, your employer will have legal counsel – so should you. As an employee, or as an applicant, you should never feel like you are being discriminated against based on your religion, citizenship, race, sex or color of your skin. Unfortunately, it happens whether we like it or not. Anti-discrimination laws are in place to keep you protected against such unbiased action. Hiring a lawyer experienced in various types of discrimination, for instance sexual harassment, gender discrimination, disability discrimination, race discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, age discrimination and or religious discrimination, is important.

The legal team at Shalom law is experienced, knowledgeable, and ready to guide you through the process. Contact us today at (718) 971-9474.