New Executive Order Protects LGBT Workers

LGBT workers often face discrimination and harassment in the workplace with very few legal protections. In New York State and New York City, anti-discrimination laws ban discrimination against LGBT workers, but this is not the case in many other parts of the country. More than four in ten lesbian, gay, and bisexual people have experienced some form of employment discrimination based on their sexual orientation, and 90% of transgender employees have experienced harassment, mistreatment or discrimination on the job, the White House stated in a recent Fact Sheet.

A recent Executive Order, signed into law by President Obama in July 2014, seeks to improve the workplace for LGBT workers. The Executive Order prohibits discrimination against LGBT federal employees and employees of federal contractors by making two important changes to previous Executive Orders that banned other forms of discrimination, like race and gender discrimination. The new Order is effective immediately.

First, the Executive Order bans employment discrimination against federal government employees or job applicants based on gender identity, which will help protect federal workers or applicants who are transgender.

Second, the Executive Order prohibits employers that receive federal contracts from discriminating against workers based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency responsible for investigating employment discrimination claims, has interpreted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, a federal statute prohibiting discrimination in the workplace, to protect LGBT workers. President Obama’s Executive Order makes this protection explicit.

Spivak Lipton attorneys represent employees on a range of employment related matters, including discrimination.  If you have experienced discrimination because of your actual or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation, contact a Spivak Lipton attorney today. It is important that you contact an experienced attorney immediately as specific time limits may control how much time you have to file a complaint.

New York City Law Protects Pregnant Employees

If you are pregnant or recovering from childbirth, and you work for an employer in New York City, the law provides fairly significant protections. Under the New York City Human Rights Law, effective January 31, 2014, it is now illegal for New York City employers with 4 or more employees to refuse to provide a “reasonable accommodation” for a pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. This means that these employers are required to take reasonable steps to make sure that workers can continue to do their jobs while maintaining a healthy pregnancy or recovering from childbirth. Employers must notify employees of these new protections in writing and may do so by posting a notice in the workplace. http://www.nyc.gov/html/cchr/html/publications/pregnancy-employment-poster.shtml

Reasonable accommodation includes, but is not limited to, permitting employees to take: 

• Bathroom breaks

• Time off to recover from childbirth

• Water breaks

• Periodic rest for those who stand for long periods of time

• Assistance with manual labor

The federal government may not be far behind New York City in ensuring that workers around the country are given similar protections. While many pregnant employees must often choose between their health and remaining in a job that won’t accommodate their condition, there is currently strong support for a proposed federal law called the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act which aims to eliminate discrimination against employees and job applicants who need reasonable accommodations for physical and medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth. With some limitations, the proposed legislation will make it illegal for employers to:

• Fail to make a reasonable accommodation for “known limitations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions of a job applicant or employee”

• “Deny employment opportunities to a job applicant or employee” because the employer would be required to make a reasonable accommodation for the applicant or employee

• “Require a job applicant or employee affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions to accept an accommodation that such applicant or employee chooses not to accept”

• “Require an employee to take leave under any leave law or policy” rather than provide a reasonable accommodation for that employee

The federal law would also prohibit employers from retaliating against employees for complaining about a failure to provide a reasonable accommodation or for participating in someone else’s case or complaint.

If you or someone you know has been discriminated against because of a pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition please contact an experienced employment attorney at Spivak Lipton immediately to discuss your legal options.

Interns now Protected from Discrimination and Harassment under New York City Human Rights Law

Interns provide a positive contribution to many workplaces but are often vulnerable to discrimination and harassment, just like employees. The City of New York now provides greater legal protections to both paid and unpaid interns who work for employers in New York City that have 4 or more employees.  The New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) was amended, effective April 15, 2014 when signed into law by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, to include paid and unpaid interns as individuals protected against discrimination and harassment in the workplace.  

The NYCHRL defines an intern as anyone who “performs work for an employer on a temporary basis whose work:

• provides training or supplements training given in an educational environment such that the employability of the individual performing the work may be enhanced;

• provides experience for the benefit of the individual performing the work; and

• is performed under the close supervision of existing staff.”

The NYCHRL makes it illegal for an employer to refuse to hire, fire, or discriminate in terms of salary or any other workplace benefit or condition (including the right to be free from harassment) based on actual or perceived:

• age

• race

• religious belief or faith

• color

• national origin

• gender (which includes gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior or expression)

• disability

• marital or partnership status

• sexual orientation

• citizenship or immigration status

The NYCHRL also makes it illegal for an employer to impose certain burdens on faith or religious practices.

An employer may be liable for the discriminatory actions of an employee or agent if the employee or agent has “managerial or supervisory responsibility;” or if the employer knew or should have known of an employee or agent’s discriminatory actions and failed to take appropriate steps to prevent or correct them.

If you or someone you know is an intern and has experienced discrimination or harassment in the workplace please contact an experienced employment attorney at Spivak Lipton immediately to discuss your legal options.