A recent study found that forced retirement of workers over the age of 50 is a phenomenon that affects 56 percent of Americans, and only 10 percent of those individuals recover from the economic damage with subsequent employment.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) is the federal law that prohibits age discrimination in the work place, providing protection to individuals who are 40 years or older. In New York, state and local laws also prohibit age discrimination at work.

It is illegal for employers to harass or take adverse employment actions against employees because of their family care-giving responsibilities.

Gender-based stereotypes can form the basis for discriminatory employment decisions that affect both women and men who have care-giving responsibilities. For example, an employer that fires a woman with young children because she is viewed as being less committed to her job may be liable for gender discrimination. A man who requests a leave of absence to care for a new child or a sick parent may be illegally denied that leave, or suffer retaliation after making the leave request if his employer believes that men are not appropriate family caregivers.

Disability discrimination occurs when an employer treats an applicant or employee with a disability (or those with a perceived disability or have a record of having a disability) differently from those who are not disabled.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act are the federal laws that prohibit employers from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities. An employee is a qualified individual if he or she can perform work duties with or without a reasonable accommodation.

What is a reasonable accommodation?
A reasonable accommodation is any change in the work place that will help an applicant or employee carry out their duties or enjoy the benefits of that job.

Federal law requires an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation to employees with known mental or physical disabilities unless the employer can demonstrate doing so would be very difficult or expensive. State and local laws, like the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law, provide more expansive protection to employees with disabilities than federal law.

A hostile work environment is a work place that is polluted by verbal or physical abuse, or both. A hostile work environment is illegal if the abusive treatment is focused on an employee or group because of their sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion age, disability, pregnancy, gender or other protected characteristic.

Recent studies demonstrate that many LGBTQ workers continue to face discrimination in the work place and the experience of discrimination leads to many adverse consequences for their financial, mental, and physical well-being.

Federal law and New York law prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex and gender in all aspects of employment, including harassment and discrimination based on gender stereotypes and non-conforming gender identity and expression.

Pregnancy discrimination is a form of gender discrimination that is prohibited by federal and New York law. An employer cannot fire, refuse to hire, or take other adverse employment actions against an employee because that individual is pregnant or may become pregnant.

Employers are prohibited from basing employment decisions on stereotypical assumptions about what pregnant workers can and cannot do. Employers are prohibited from forcing a pregnant employee to take a leave of absence, cut hours, or transfer the worker to a less competitive or demanding position if the employee is able to perform the original job.

Pregnant workers may require work-place accommodations at or after the birth of the child. Employers are required by federal law and New York law to engage in a timely interactive process with a pregnant worker regarding a request for accommodation. In New York City, employers with more than 4 employees must provide workers who nurse with access to a clean and private lactation room, which cannot be a bathroom.

Racial harassment is race-specific verbal or physical abuse. I have represented many individuals of color throughout the United States who have been subjected to racial epithets as well as symbols of racial oppression, such as nooses and Klu Klux Klan paraphernalia, in the work place and at school.

There are several federal laws that prohibit racial harassment and race discrimination in the work place. Section 1981 provides greater protection to victims of racial harassment and discrimination than Title VII. Unlike Title VII, Section 1981 applies to all employers, regardless of size, and individual supervisors may be liable if they personally engaged in the harassment or discrimination. In addition, an individual may file a Section 1981 lawsuit directly in federal court without having to first file a complaint with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or other government agency.

I have significant experience litigating racial harassment and race discrimination cases, which I have brought on behalf of many New Yorkers. These claims are frequently accompanied by claims of ethic or color discrimination. I also have experience litigating race-based hair discrimination cases, which is prohibited conduct in New York under the Crown Act.

Federal law prohibits most employers from treating employees differently because of their religion. Religion is defined broadly to include spiritual or religious beliefs that are not associated with any organized church, and can include atheist or agnostic beliefs. In New York, state and city laws provide protection from discrimination based on religion as well.

Employers are prohibited from refusing to hire an applicant because of his or her religious beliefs, and they may not treat religious individuals differently from others with respect to assignments, discipline, promotions, pay, or benefits.

Employers may be required to accommodate the religious observances of an employee who makes a reasonable request, which may include work schedule changes, exceptions to the dress code, or allowing private religious expressions in one’s work area, such as prayer. Accommodations that are too burdensome or that infringe on the rights of others are generally considered not reasonable.

Sexual harassment is a pervasive form of discrimination that affects both women and men. Sexual harassment is illegal, even where the harasser is the same sex as the victim of the harassment. Common forms of sexual harassment in the workplace include sexual assault, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors in exchange for better terms of employment, and offensive comments related to an individual’s gender, such as gender-specific curse words.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the federal law that prohibits severe or pervasive sexual harassment in workplaces with 15 or more employees. In New York, state and local law provide greater protection from sexual harassment by covering smaller employers and prohibiting any mistreatment on the basis of gender that rises above “petty slights and trivial inconveniences.”

From women coal miners who were sexually assaulted on the job by their co-workers to male maintenance workers whose private parts were groped by their male supervisor, I have extensive experience litigating and resolving sexual harassment claims in a variety of workplaces.