New York Employment Attorneys Blog

Today, it is much easier for employers to do background checks on potential employees, a luxury which some say employers are exploiting. Although employers once had to physically search through court records in order to find out information on potential employee's arrest or conviction records, it is now a much easier process, facilitated by background check companies and others.

In a society where almost 65 million Americans have some sort of criminal record, ranging from arrests to convictions, this seems almost unfair. But it is? Despite there not being any federal law which prohibits the discrimination by employers of potential employees with criminal records, the EEOC has set guidelines on how employers can use such records. Additionally, potential employees with criminal records are much more likely to be minorities, which screening process leads to discrimination in the applicant pool and a potential violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Do you feel your rights have been violated as a result of an unfair screening practice of your employer or potential employer? Contact an attorney today.

Travel writers who write about Hawaii may face a potential new challenge in their careers in the form of legislative limitations. These writers, penning books about Hawaii's more dangerous and less trodden landscapes, may face personal liability for deaths or accidents which occur at remote locations they've recommended.

Hawaii's legislature and local advocates of the new measure which puts personal liability on these travel writers suggest that the bill is not an infringement on the writers' first amendment rights but a measure which would increase safety for tourists and locals alike. Those opposing the bill say personal liability could extinguish any travel writing about Hawaii. One successful travel writer at the heart of the issue, Mr. Andrew Doughty, is considering suing the state of Hawaii and has been backed by organizations such as the Association of American Publishers in Washington and the Media Coalition. Follow the progress of this legislative measure through the Wall Street Journal.

If you feel your first amendment rights are being violated in your employment setting, contact an attorney today.

12 years ago, M.I.T acknowledged that female professors were being discriminated against in "subtle but pervasive" ways, an admission that spurred inspiration for gender equality far beyond the campus of M.I.T. Now, after a reevaluation of policies and 12 years of changes, it seems that gender equality has almost backlashed into what some perceive as an unfair advantage for women, providing a yearlong break for pregnant female professors on the tenure track, running a daycare on campus, encouraging a female to be on every committee on campus, and putting on copious amounts of panels discussing gender equality issues. In a school that once had 15 female tenured professors compared to 197 male tenured professors, policies have dramatically changed, leveling the playing field for females at M.I.T who have advocated change and overall spurring change toward gender equality at M.I.T and elsewhere.

Each calendar year, Equal Pay Day falls on a different date, that date being calculated by the number of extra days women have to work to earn the same compensation as men earn by January 1. This year Equal Pay Day fell on April 12. At this rate, calculated over a span of 40 years, women will have to work 11 extra years to earn the same pay as men in the same jobs.

Here are some surprising statistics:

Jane Waldfogel, a Columbia University social work professor, founds that mothers are penalized by 4 percent with the birth of their first child, as compared to men who receive an average of 9 percent wage increase.

Single women, on average, have less than half of the "wealth," the value of personal assets minus debts, than single men.

Do you feel like you aren't being compensated equally compared to your male coworkers? Do you feel you are being discriminated against because of your gender? To find out more, go to the Washington Post and talk with an attorney today.

Blowing the whistle can be a daunting task, especially for an employee working for a large corporation like CVS. However, it can be rewarding on many levels.

Based on a complaint filed by a CVS employee in Minnesota alleging that CVS overcharged for Medicade perscriptions, CVS has agreed to pay the federal and state governments more than $17 million. The claims stem from CVS failing to follow proper procedures, like submitting claims to third party insurers. Following the lawsuit, CVS has also agreed to government monitoring for the next three years. The CVS pharmasist responsible for exposing the illegal practices will receive $2.5 million in compensation.

Find out more on CNN.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation at work that you knew or thought was illegal? Contact an attorney today.

Although he was deposed almost two years ago, parts of Mayor Bloomberg's deposition testimony related to a 2007 class action lawsuit filed on behalf of women who sought maternity leave while employed at Bloomberg L.P. have recently been made public. Filled with unsympathetic sarcasm, Mayor Bloomberg's comments are shocking, including his comments regarding disenchanted employees who left the enterprise, calling them disloyal and "bad people." Included in the allegations are comments from Mayor Bloomberg telling pregnant women to just "kill it" and suggesting that women taking off for maternity leave is comparable to men taking off to improve their golf games. Other executive are quoted as suggesting that these women did not deserve to work for Bloomberg L.P. The 2007 class action lawsuit was settled out of Court for an undisclosed amount.

Do these comments sound familiar? Do you feel you are subjected to sexual harassment or pregnancy discrimination in your job? Contact an attorney today.

Does The Huffington Post owe its bloggers compensation for the blogs they have been posting? Bloggers, in a Complaint filed on behalf of 9,000 bloggers this week, say yes. The suit is led by Jonathan Tasini, a labor advocate seeking $105 million dollars on behalf of Plaintiffs. This lawsuit comes on the heels of AOL's purchase of The Huffington Post earlier this year and seeks alleged overdue payments. So, will the bloggers be owed compensation just like employees? To watch the development of the lawsuit, go to the New York Times.

Upon discovering an employee was transgendered after undergoing sex change surgery, a New Jersey drug treatment center fired him for allegedly not being man enough for the job, a job which required him to watch men urinate into plastic cups. The former employee sued under New Jersey's anti-discrimination statue, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. Only 12 states, not including New York, have such a statute, though New York City does expressly prohibit discrimination against transgendered individuals. Having already attracted the attention of The New York Times, the case is likely to attract further media attention as a test case for determining the breadth and effectiveness of New Jersey's anti-discrimination statute and other similar statutes. We at The Harman Firm are committed to addressing and eradicating all forms of employment discrimination and will certainly keep a watchful eye as New Jersey grapples with what exactly is a man.

Oral arguments for the class-action law suit brought on behalf of 1.5 million current and former female Wal-Mart employees were heard by the Supreme Court last week. Wal-Mart contends that there is not enough "cohesion" among the women to treat them as a single class, despite a federal judge and the Ninth Circuit ruling otherwise. A brief submitted by 31 civil procedure professors says that the women meet the core test to be determined a cohesive class - they have in common the question of whether Wal-Mart discriminated against them. In addition to the average wage gap of $1,100 for each member of the class compared to their male counterparts, they also experienced discrimination in the work environment including mandatory fishing trips where women weren't included in their male peer's boats and retaliation-free system for complaints which actually lead to women being fired.

Read more on NewYorkTimes.com.

ShamWow, perhaps more famous for their eccentric infomercials than their quick cleaning cloths, have come into the spotlight for another reason: sexual harassment. ShamWow's lead spokesman, Vince Shlomi, is currently facing allegations of sexual harassment. Former customer service representative and personal assistant for Shlomi, Jennifer Kosinski, alleges that Shlomi sexually harassed her, including making constant sexual advances and offering to pay her $20,000 to sell her eggs. To find out more, go to CBS.com.

Have you been the victim of sexual harassment? Talk to an attorney today.

Despite legislative measures such as Title IX, gender discrimination continues to be a pervasive issue throughout American society. Even Yale University, one of America's most prestigious universities, has recently come under fire for alleged Title IX violations. Although the university has yet to release a statement specifically addressing the allegations contained in the recently filed Complaint, officials at Yale University have been quick to stand behind how they treat grievances filed for any type of discrimination, including gender-based discrimination.

Yale University was also recently in the spotlight last October when a video of fraternity brothers chanting pro-rape slogans was posted on YouTube.com. The video has since been condemned by the alleged fraternity's board of directors.

Follow this story on CNN.com.

The Harman Firm is committed to regularly addressing and working to expose and prevent further sexual harassment on on college campuses.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states "No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." It is a remedial (rather than punitive) statute designed to eliminate financial participation of the federal government in illegal discrimination. Title VI claims cannot be brought against individual defendants as they do not receive federal funding. In college and university settings, Title VI has been invoked in racial and ethnic discrimination and harassment cases. It has also been used in affirmative action cases. Sexual harassment cases, however, are made using either Title IX or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Title IX was enacted by congress in the Education Amendments of 1972 and states, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance..." Title IX is identical to Title VI, except that Title VI "prohibits race discrimination, not sex discrimination, and applies to all programs receiving federal funds." The Supreme Court has held that "..."sexual harassment" is "discrimination" in the school context under Title IX..." Other courts have held that sexual discrimination cases against institutions receiving federal funds should be brought under Title IX, not under Title VI. "Because [Title VI] does not forbid sex discrimination, Plaintiffs' Title VI claim against the Army is dismissed with prejudice." "Indeed, the legislative history reveals that Title IX was designed to fill the gap left by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which did not prohibit discrimination based on sex."

Title VII prohibits (with some exceptions) discrimination in employment situations based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. It has been used successfully in cases relating to sexual harassment in the work place. "...the language of Title VII is not limited to "economic" or "tangible" discrimination... in 1980 the EEOC issued Guidelines specifying that "sexual harassment," as there defined, is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII."

Title VI is applicable to racial and ethical harassment cases in college or university settings but for sexual harassment cases involving federally funded programs, Title VII or Title IX applies.

In recent years, much has been done to raise awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace, and how to go about identifying and reporting such behavior. However, this practice still affects scores of workers, with more and more individuals reporting sexual harassment in an academic setting. Under Title IX, sexual harassment falls under discrimination in an academic setting. Harassment in an academic setting can take many of the same forms it does in a work environment -- name calling, unwanted advances, touching, inappropriate conversation and more.

What makes sexual harassment in academia more difficult and problematic is that while harassment is defined as unwanted behavior, professors and administrators have a great degree of perceived power and control over students, making it often hard to achieve a true sense of consent. Professors, like employers and supervisors, can often take advantage of the relationship between student and teacher to get away with such unwanted sexual behavior.

Professors can make it seem as if willing participation in such activity is a requirement due to their relationship, and can often exert their influence in extreme ways. Their behavior is different from others on the street in that it is an exploitation of the expectations of the student/teacher relationship. This is further compounded by the fact that tenured professors often enjoy relative job security, and a high degree of professional respect.

Your Rights
As a student, you have rights to ensure that you do not have to tolerate sexual harassment. No individual should be subjected to, or exploited by, sexual harassment as carried out by professors. Contact our office today to explore your rights and options for pursing your case.

The Harman Firm, P.C. serves the New York metropolitan area including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester, White Plains, Nassau and Suffolk Counties.