Articles Posted in Employment Discrimination

The National Labor Relations Act (the NLRA) is a federal law that, among other things, protects the rights of employees and encourages collective bargaining among employees for better terms and conditions at work. The NLRA also imposes a duty of fair representation which means that labor unions have an obligation to represent its employees fairly…

Employers are prohibited from discriminating against its employees based, among other things, on race, gender, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, or familial status. Employers are also prohibited from retaliating against its employees. This means that an employer cannot punish an employee for engaging in legally protected activity. For example, if an employee complains…

The New York State Human Rights Law and New York Corrections Law prohibit employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of the employee’s prior criminal conviction status. In August 2016, New York’s federal appellate court was faced with three questions arising from a criminal conviction discrimination case. The federal court asked New York’s highest…

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) is a federal agency charged with investigating and enforcing the federal anti-discrimination workplace laws, such as Title VII, ADA, ADEA, and GINA. These laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, religion, pregnancy, disability, age, and genetic information. These laws also prohibit employers from retaliating against…

Sexual orientation “is a form of sex discrimination” — so ruled a federal appellate court in Illinois. This is a departure from rulings from other appellate courts across the country which had determined that Title VII does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Seventh Circuit’s decision is discussed in today’s Long…

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) require that employers provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities. The requirement to provide reasonable accommodations applies to most employers on Long Island. Failure to give an accommodation can result in disability discrimination on Long Island. Employees with Disabilities Disability…

On March 27, 2017, a New York federal appeals court issued a decision about gender stereotype discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The trial court determined that previous legal decisions barred claims of sexual orientation discrimination and that the case before it was a sexual orientation case not a gender stereotype case,…

Trypanophobia is the fear of needles. So, what does trypanophobia have to do with employment law? In August 2011, Christopher Stevens asked his employer for a workplace accommodation for his trypanophobia. A fierce legal battle ensued, as discussed below. In 2011, Stevens worked for Rite Aid pharmacy as a pharmacist, as he had for the…

On February 28, 2017, Matt Weinick, an employment lawyer on Long Island with Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC, narrated at the Nassau County Bar Association’s program, “Who Wants to be an Employment Law Millionaire?” The continuing legal education program, hosted by the Association’s labor and employment law committee and organized by the committee’s vice-chair, Paul Millus,…

Hanging in the offices of the Long Island employment lawyers, Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC, is the painting “The Jury” by Barbara A. Wood. The painting serves as a reminder that most employment law cases may eventually wind up in front of a jury. Today’s blog discusses the role that the jury plays in employment cases.…