Wrongful Termination Category Archives — Long Island Employment Law Blog Published by Long Island Employment Law Attorneys

June 11, 2021

“Probable Cause” Obtained in Age/Disability Discrimination Case

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Long Island employment lawyers Famighetti & Weinick PLLC published information on our website warning that the financial impact of the pandemic could be used by employers to conduct unlawful discriminatory layoffs. Indeed, the firm has seen this scenario play out. On June 7, 2021, the New York State Division of Human Rights issued a determination of Probable Cause, in a case filed by Famighetti & Weinick PLLC alleging that the client’s inclusion in a reduction in force plan constituted discrimination based on age and/or disability. Today’s Long Island employment blog discusses this decision.

According to the New York State Division of Human Rights, the employee worked for a Long Island medical provider for 34 years and was 70 years old. After the pandemic started, the company implemented a reduction in force plan which included the 70 year old employee. The employee alleged that she was replaced with a younger employee who had less experience, showing her inclusion in the plan was pre-text for discrimination. But, the company alleged 28 employees in total were terminated and their ages ranged from 20 to 79, undermining a claim that age played in role in termination decisions.

During the Division’s investigation, it learned that the employee’s position was indeed given to a younger employee with much less experience. The company argued the decision was based on the replacement’s efficiency as compared to the terminated employee, but could not articulate any demonstrable basis for this comparison.

February 25, 2021

New York City Requires Just Cause to Terminate Fast Food Workers

by Famighetti & Weinick

New York State is generally considered an at-will employment state. Employment at-will means that employers can fire employees for any reason or no reason at all, unless the termination would be a violation of law. Examples of violations of law include unlawful discrimination or retaliation.

Other exceptions to at-will employment in New York include circumstances where the employee has an employment contract which alters the employment at-will default rule. Employees, typically high ranking executives or professionals such as doctors and lawyers, may have individual employment contracts. Other employees such as laborers, may have union contracts, known as collective bargaining agreements. Additionally, government employees may have job protection under the Civil Service Laws.

But, most employees in New York are at-will and have no job protection.

March 11, 2020

Resign or Face Termination: An Adverse Action?

by Famighetti & Weinick

Resign or you will be fired. This ultimatum is often posed to employees. Employees in this position have to weigh many considerations, including the effect of the black mark of a termination, potentially waiving certain rights by resigning, and other effects to employment benefits based on how the separation from employment is categorized.

Sometimes, the decision can be easier for employees. Employees who are at-will or in probationary assignments which can be terminated for any reason, have no job protections. Thus, when an employer delivers the resign or be fired ultimatum, it truly is a threat that the employee will be fired, and the employer may genuinely be offering the employee a benefit of leaving without the scar of a termination on the employee’s record.

Other times, employees enjoy job protections and cannot be fired without a hearing or some level of process. This is particularly true with civil service employees in New York. It is quite common for municipal employers to offer permanent civil service employees the option of resigning in lieu of a termination hearing. This provides the employee the benefit of leaving without a record of termination (an important benefit for civil service workers) and gives the employer the benefit of certainty of separation. Indeed, when a termination proceeding proceeds in good faith with a neutral decision maker, the outcome of the hearing is not foreseeable for either party.

November 7, 2018

SCOTUS Sides with Employee in Firefighter Age Discrimination Case

by Famighetti & Weinick

Are firefighters of small municipal fire departments covered by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)? On November 6, 2018, the United States Supreme Court answered that question the case Mount Lemmon Fire District v. John Guido. Today’s Long Island employment law blog takes a closer look at the decision and also discusses whether the decision offers a glimpse into how the new makeup of the court may affect employment cases.

The Mount Lemmon Fire District is a municipal fire department in Arizona. Purportedly because of a budget shortfall, the District laid off two employees, John Guido and Dennis Ranking, ages 46 and 54, respectively. The firefighters sued alleging their terminations violated the ADEA because the decisions were based on their age. The District moved to dismiss arguing that the ADEA only covers employers who have more than 20 employees, which the District did not. Ultimately, SCOTUS was asked to decide the issue.

Writing for the court, Justice Ginsburg noted that the ADEA was enacted to prevent “arbitrary age discrimination” in employment. She noted further that Congress initially excluded governmental agencies and required that employers employ a threshold number of employees for the law to apply to them. But, in 1974, Congress amended the ADEA to specifically define employer as including “a State or political subdivision of a State.”

August 6, 2018

Damages in an Employment Discrimination Lawsuit

by Famighetti & Weinick

How much is an employment discrimination lawsuit worth? As Long Island employment lawyers, this is a frequent question we hear from victims of unlawful workplace discrimination in New York. Victims of discrimination may be able to recover several categories of damages which comprise the total amount that an employment discrimination lawsuit may be worth. Today’s Long Island employment law blog discusses the damages available to discrimination victims.

Before even getting to the question of damages, plaintiffs must always first prove liability. This means that an employment discrimination plaintiff must first prove that the employer in fact engaged in unlawful discrimination or retaliation. We often describe this step by analogizing it to baking. In a lawsuit, a plaintiff must prove certain elements. Elements are like ingredients. If, for example, we were baking a cake, we need, for simplicity purposes, four ingredients: (1) flour, (2) sugar, (3) butter, and (4) eggs. If we did not have one of these ingredients, we may make something resembling a cake, but it would not be a cake.

Similarly, in the world of employment discrimination, a plaintiff must prove four “elements” or “ingredients” to win the liability part of his or her lawsuit. In short, those elements are: (1) membership in a protected class (such as race, religion, disability, etc.), (2) being qualified for the job; (3) an adverse action (meaning something legally “bad” happened such as being fired); and (4) causation – a showing that the bad thing happened because the employee belongs to a protected class. If the plaintiff does not prove one of these elements, then the “cake” won’t reason, i.e. the plaintiff cannot prove the case and will not be entitled to any damages whatsoever.

July 27, 2018

Can I be fired for what I do outside of work?

by Famighetti & Weinick

Can an employer fire an employee for activities in which the employee engages outside of work? Like most legal questions, the answer is that it depends. Today’s Long Island employment law blog discusses whether New York employees are protected for engaging in activities outside of work.

Generally speaking, New York employees are considered at-will, meaning employers can fire employees for any reason or no reason, as long as the reason is not otherwise illegal. This rule gives employers broad discretion in deciding whether to terminate an employee.

New York Labor 201-d, however, identifies several reasons for which an employer may not terminate an employee. 201-d prohibits employers from terminating an employee, refusing to hire or promote an employee, or otherwise discriminate against an employee for an employee engaging certain activities outside the workplace. Those activities include participating in political activities, an employee’s “legal use” of consumable products, an employee’s “legal” recreational activities, or participating in union activities.

May 24, 2018

“Drumbeat of Retaliation” Case Decided

by Famighetti & Weinick

Retaliation in the workplace is illegal. The law protects employees who speak up when they believe the employer discriminated against them because of a protected characteristic such as race, gender, age, disability, religion, or national origin. Employers cannot try to “get back” at the employee by negatively affecting his or her job such as by demoting, firing, or reducing the employee’s hours or pay. Continue reading