Workplace Harassment Lawyer in New York, NY

A workplace harassment lawyer can represent your interests if you have experienced harassment in the workplace. Workplace harassment can take the form of unlawful discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment.

Unlawful discrimination includes discrimination based on race, gender, age, religion, and sexual orientation. Retaliation occurs when an employee experiences adverse actions from the employer after reporting harassment or participating in an investigation. Sexual harassment involves a broad spectrum of verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

All three types of workplace harassment (discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment) can be filed with the EEOC or if in New York, New York State Division of Human Rights or New York City Commission of Human Rights, depending on the workplace harassment lawyer's strategy.

Discrimination

Discrimination in the workplace happens when the employer refuses to hire, limits, or segregates his employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, and genetic information. One may opt to file under federal law or state law, depending on the unique circumstances of the case. In New York, filing under state law is a more viable option because:

• You can file a complaint against an employer without going through the EEOC
• You can file a complaint against an employer, even if the employer has less than 15 employees, and
• There are more protected classes under New York law that you can file a complaint against an employer with

Below are the protected classes under federal and New York law. When filing a complaint under federal law, the complaint must first be lodged with the EEOC, unless it is an age discrimination complaint or a claim in violation of the Equal Pay Act. When filing a complaint under New York law, the complaint is filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights or New York City Commission of Human Rights.

Protected Classes

Protected classes provide the grounds for which you can file a claim for discrimination. Different grounds exist under federal law and state law. In New York, there are more protected classes than in federal law. For example, New York City prohibits discrimination against arrest or conviction, a protected class which does not exist under federal law.

Retaliation

Retaliation is another form of workplace harassment where an employee suffers adverse actions taken by an employer in response to the employee's participation in protected activities. Examples of these protected activities are filing a complaint, participating in an investigation, reporting discriminatory practices, requesting reasonable accommodation, and reporting illegal or unethical activities (whistleblowing).

To establish retaliation, the following must be shown:

• The employee participated in a protected activity
• The employer knew about the participation
• The employe took an employment action against the employee which adversely affected the employee, and
• There is a causal relation between the participation in the protected activity and the adverse employment action

Employment actions in retaliation may refer to hiring, firing, and layoffs, pay and fringe benefits, job assignments, promotions, and training, or any other term and condition of employment. If any adverse employment action was undertaken related to above as a consequence of the employee's participation in protected activities, there can be a cause of action for retaliation.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment consists of unwanted verbal or physical sexual advances, sexually explicit statements, or discriminatory remarks that are offensive or objectionable to the employee. Examples of sexually harassing conduct in the workplace are:

• Implied or express requests for sexual favors
• Subtle or obvious pressure for unwelcome sexual activities
• Verbal harassment or abuse in the form of a pattern of sexual comments or questions
• Unnecessary or inappropriate physical contact
• Displays of lewd photographs or drawings
• Submission to sexual conduct as a condition of employment
• Submission to sexual conduct as basis for decisions affecting one's employment

Sexual harassment in the workplace can be perpetrated not only by supervisors and managers but also by colleagues, clients, contractors, or other non-employees. Unfortunately, it may be difficult to prove especially when sexually harassing conduct is usually done when there are no witnesses. When you experience sexual harassment, remember to:

• Keep all proof of communication between the harasser and you, such as emails, text messages and voice messages
• Maintain a diary of all sexual harassment you have experienced that can provide a timeline of the events
• Keep copies of all letters of complaint to your employer that report the sexual harassment
• Keep the employee handbook showing the employer's sexual harassment policies
• Store photos and videos taken from CCTV footage that can prove sexual harassment

Filing a Claim

Claims of discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment can be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). However, your workplace harassment lawyer may also file the case under state law. In New York, discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment claims can be filed with the New York State Department of Human Rights (NYS DHR), or if it happened in the city, New York City Commission of Human Rights (NYCCHR).

The EEOC has a statute of limitations of 180 days from commission for federal law violations and 300 days if the federal law violation is also covered under state or local law. Violations of the New York State Human Rights Law, on the other hand, can be filed within 3 years from commission.

Claims under the EEOC are subject to strict procedures and timelines. Observing these timelines are important in preserving one's right to sue. More information about EEOC filing here: https://albertgoodwin.com/eeoc-lawyer-what-we-do-types-of-discrimination-covered-and-the-procedure-we-use/

Choosing whether to file between EEOC and the NYS DHR and NYCCHR depends on the unique circumstances of the case and the workplace harassment lawyer's legal strategies.

A workplace harassment lawyer can represent you in your claims against the employer, and if unresolved, in filing your claims with the appropriate government agencies, whether with the EEOC, NYS DHR, NYCCHR or the courts. Should you need representation in workplace harassment, we at the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin are here for you. We are located in New York, NY. You can call us at 212-233-1233 or send us an email at [email protected].