Long Island Employment Law Blog

April 7, 2017

NY EEOC Attorney

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 employees who complain about discrimination.

Charge of Discrimination

The EEOC can start an investigation when an employee files a charge of discrimination with the agency. The charge must contain the employee’s name and contact information, the employer’s name and contact information, the total number of employees employed, a description of the discrimination including when the events took place, the basis of discrimination (i.e. race, religion, age), and a signature. The charge can be filed in person, by phone, or by mail. In New York, the EEOC charge must be filed within 300 days of the event which gave rise to the discrimination. This deadline can vary between states so if you are not in New York, you should check with your local EEOC office. New York’s EEOC office is located on Whitehall Street in Manhattan.

April 6, 2017

Section 75 Lawyers

by Famighetti & Weinick

Many of New York’s public employees are protected by Section 75 of the Civil Service Law. Public employees include employees of the state, counties, towns, villages, cities, and special districts such as fire districts, library districts, sanitation districts, and school districts. The employment lawyers on Long Island of Famighetti & Weinick are experienced in Section 75 proceedings and may be able to help you understand your rights.

Section 75 Protections

Section 75 sets forth protections for certain public employees. Section 75 prohibits the discipline or termination of a public employee except for incompetence or misconduct. Thus, the law alters the traditional at-will employment rule by which employees can usually be terminated for any reason, as long as the reason is not illegal, such as discrimination.

April 6, 2017

Employment Attorney Long Island

by Famighetti & Weinick

Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC are employment attorneys on Long Island. We represent employees in Nassau County and Suffolk County, such as in the communities of Hempstead, Glen Cove, Huntington Station, Melville, Bay Shore, Central Islip, Farmingdale, Freeport, Elmont, Brookhaven, and Brentwood. Famighetti & Weinick handles a wide range of employment law matters including discrimination, retaliation, and recovering unpaid minimum wage and overtime for employees.

Employment Discrimination on Long Island

Employees on Long Island continue to face discrimination in employment. Sex discrimination on Long Island can happen when an employer treats one particular sex different than another. For example, an employer may promote only men instead women. Another growing type of discrimination is gender discrimination and gender stereotype discrimination. An example of gender stereotype discrimination is where an employer fires a male who displays “effeminate” characteristics.

April 5, 2017

Sexual Orientation Discrimination Case

by Famighetti & Weinick

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 Island employment law blog.

In Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, the plaintiff is openly lesbian and worked as part-time professor for the defendant college. She applied for multiple full-time positions, but was turned down and was ultimately fired for the part-time position. Hively brought claims against the college alleging sexual orientation discrimination, but the EEOC, then the District Court, then a panel of the Seventh Circuit all dismissed the claims, the latter of which holding that sex discrimination is different than sexual orientation discrimination and that Title VII only prohibits discriminating against “women because they are women and against men because they are men.”

The Seventh Circuit then convened “en banc”, meaning that all judges which sit on the Circuit heard the case, instead of just a panel of three. The Circuit reviewed leading Supreme Court cases including Price Waterhouse and Oncale which noted, respectively, that Title VII prohibits gender stereotyping and that in discrimination cases, it does not matter if the harasser and victim are of the same sex. The Court further noted that because of the “importance of the issue . . . a majority of the judges in regular active service voted to rehear this case en banc.”

April 5, 2017

ADA Reasonable Accommodation

by Famighetti & Weinick

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 is a legal term of art which is defined differently depending on which law is being applied. For example, disability could be different for purposes of determining whether a person can receive Social Security disability benefits. It is also defined differently under the federal and state disability statutes. Before an employer is required to give a reasonable accommodation, the employee must show that he or she is disabled within the meaning of the ADA or NYSHRL.

April 5, 2017

Employment Lawyers Suffolk County

by Famighetti & Weinick

Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC are employment lawyers serving Suffolk County New York. Famighetti & Weinick handles a wide range of employment law matters including discrimination, retaliation, and recovering unpaid minimum wage and overtime for employees.

Employment Discrimination in Suffolk County

Employees in Suffolk County continue to face discrimination in employment. Sex discrimination in Suffolk County can happen when an employer treats one particular sex different than another. For example, an employer may promote only men instead women. Another growing type of discrimination is gender discrimination and gender stereotype discrimination. An example of gender stereotype discrimination is where an employer fires a male who displays “effeminate” characteristics.

April 5, 2017

Employment Lawyers Nassau County

by Famighetti & Weinick

Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC are employment lawyers serving Nassau County New York. Famighetti & Weinick handles a wide range of employment law matters including discrimination, retaliation, and recovering unpaid minimum wage and overtime for employees.

Employment Discrimination in Nassau County

Employees in Nassau County continue to face discrimination in employment. Sex discrimination in Nassau County can happen when an employer treats one particular sex different than another. For example, an employer may promote only men instead women. Another growing type of discrimination is gender discrimination and gender stereotype discrimination. An example of gender stereotype discrimination is where an employer fires a male who displays “effeminate” characteristics.

April 5, 2017

Employment Lawyers Farmingville

by Famighetti & Weinick

Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC are employment lawyers serving Farmingville New York. Famighetti & Weinick handles a wide range of employment law matters including discrimination, retaliation, and recovering unpaid minimum wage and overtime for employees.

Employment Discrimination in Farmingville

Employees in Farmingville continue to face discrimination in employment. Sex discrimination in Farmingville can happen when an employer treats one particular sex different than another. For example, an employer may promote only men instead women. Another growing type of discrimination is gender discrimination and gender stereotype discrimination. An example of gender stereotype discrimination is where an employer fires a male who displays “effeminate” characteristics.

April 5, 2017

Employment Lawyers Bay Shore

by Famighetti & Weinick

Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC are employment lawyers serving Bay Shore New York. Famighetti & Weinick handles a wide range of employment law matters including discrimination, retaliation, and recovering unpaid minimum wage and overtime for employees.

Employment Discrimination in Bay Shore

Employees in Bay Shore continue to face discrimination in employment. Sex discrimination in Bay Shore can happen when an employer treats one particular sex different than another. For example, an employer may promote only men instead women. Another growing type of discrimination is gender discrimination and gender stereotype discrimination. An example of gender stereotype discrimination is where an employer fires a male who displays “effeminate” characteristics.

April 5, 2017

Employment Lawyers Farmingdale

by Famighetti & Weinick

Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC are employment lawyers serving Farmingdale New York. Famighetti & Weinick handles a wide range of employment law matters including discrimination, retaliation, and recovering unpaid minimum wage and overtime for employees.

Employment Discrimination in Farmingdale

Employees in Farmingdale continue to face discrimination in employment. Sex discrimination in Farmingdale can happen when an employer treats one particular sex different than another. For example, an employer may promote only men instead women. Another growing type of discrimination is gender discrimination and gender stereotype discrimination. An example of gender stereotype discrimination is where an employer fires a male who displays “effeminate” characteristics.