New York Employment Attorneys Blog

This morning, President Obama signed into law the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act signaling a quick shift in the White House's policies towards workers. The Act, the first such act to cross President Obama's desk had been passed by both the House and Senate and has been floating around the Hill for sometime now.

The Act, brought on by the Supreme Court's decision in the Ledbetter vs. Goodyear aims to make it easier for workers who have been paid unequally for equal work to file for damages against their employer by expanding the time in which an individual can file a claim. Before this Act, the statue of limitations began with the first discriminatory paycheck and ended three years after. This made it hard for workers who have been discriminated against since the disparity in pay is usually revealed over time.

President Obama invited Mrs. Ledbetter to the White House today to celebrate the legal victory of her crusade against pay discrimination. David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to President Obama, said "Days like this is what it's all about. This is what we were working for." This bold move is a good start in undoing the damage of worker's rights brought about by the Bush administration in the last four years, and will hopefully pave the way for an increased defense of workers.

Introduced in early 2008 by Sens. Kennedy and Clinton, the Civil Rights Act of 2008, adds and update important provisions with the aim of protecting the rights of American workers. The bill passed through the House of Representatives, only to get stalled in the Senate. However, with the Democratic majority expanding in the last election, coupled with the election of Barack Obama, the Civil Rights Act of 2008 may see the light of day in the new administration.

Many of these provisions are designed at protecting the rights of employees. One of the provisions is to amend the Equal Pay Act which would increase the penalties for sexual discrimination in the work place, as well as put the burden of proof on the employee that pay discrimination was the result of a definitive cause other than sex. This marks progress in the decades old fight against unequal pay for men and women.

Another important change is a removal of the damage caps from the 1991 Americans With Disabilities Act. Currently, the ADA sets a maximum level of compensatory damages at $50,000 for small employers and $300,000 for large employers. This means that individuals who have been discriminated under the ADA are not limited, and can pursue larger claims.

One other change considered is to modify the Immigration and Nationality Act. This act aims to make it illegal to withhold back pay for unlawful employment practices against illegal or undocumented worker. This would provide these vulnerable workers with important protections against being abused and taken advantage of.

As we move towards Obama's January inauguration, hopefully we will see the Civil Rights Act of 2008 and other pro-worker legislation come enacted in law. After eight years of the pro-business Bush administration, there is much work to be done to shore workers rights.

While some employers have sexual harassment policies and respond more diligently to sexual harassment , these disturbing events still regularly occur. Sexual harassment is a blatant violation of your rights as an employee, causing injury that permeates the entire workplace.

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or an offensive work environment.

These actions can be instigated by any employee- male or female, and come from any level of employment within the company. An employee can also be sexually harassed by a non-employee or a visitor to the work place. For example, a client of the employer or those related to employees.

The first course of action against any incidence of sexual harassment is to report the incident a supervisor or to the human resources director at your workplace. It is up to the employer to respond to the situation, and to ensure that no future workplace harassment occurs.

If the harassment continues, or is extreme in nature such as physical acts or threats, the employe should contact the EEOC to evaluate your options to proceed with litigation. If the EEOC deems that your rights have been violated substantially enough to sue, you may proceed with a claim against the employer by filing a charge with the EEOC. Also, you may file a claim in New York State Court. You should first contact an attorney to explore your particular legal claims.