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New York

Saks sex bias case settled

06/09/2015
In a sudden reversal, New York-based Saks Fifth Avenue has elected to settle a sex discrimination complaint filed by a transgender employee at the company’s store in Houston.

Temporary injuries aren’t disabilities under the ADA

06/09/2015
Don’t assume that every injury is a disability. Many times, injuries heal within a few weeks or months with proper treatment and don’t end up as disabilities protected by the ADA.

Recipe for a lawsuit: No reporting policy, name-calling

06/09/2015
You’re risking trouble if you don’t have an anti-harassment and discrimination policy that allows employees to report discrimination and harassment.

Court gives pro se litigant one more chance to make her case

06/09/2015

Don’t think that just because an employee can’t find an attorney to represent her, you’ll easily get a case dismissed. When employees act as their own lawyers, courts try to give them a fair chance to make their case without benefit of counsel. As the following case shows, that can include giving pro se plaintiffs detailed instructions on how to make a winning argument.

EPA claim can’t rest on just one worker’s pay

06/09/2015
An employee who sues under the EPA can’t pick and choose to whom she compares herself—for example, by selecting a man who holds the same job who happens to make more. She must consider all men and women in the same job classification.

Document details to differentiate discipline

06/09/2015

You probably have specific rules that spell out discipline for common violations. That doesn’t mean you can’t tailor the punishment to each individual situation. The key is to document the details that justify why one employee who broke a rule was punished more harshly than someone else who broke the same rule.

Judge makes it crystal clear: Question about accent not enough for a lawsuit

05/12/2015
Asking a simple question such as what type of accent an employee has or what country he grew up in won’t be enough to prove national-origin discrimination. Courts expect employees to talk to one another and without evidence that curiosity about an accent or a co-worker’s background is tied to some sort of discrimination, judges won’t hold employers liable for national-origin discrimination.

No more credit checks for many New York City job applicants

05/06/2015
Do you routinely conduct credit checks on job applicants? Are you located in New York City? Then here’s a heads-up: The New York City Council has overwhelmingly passed an amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law that would bar most city employers from using credit checks as part of their hiring process.

Tossed: $10.5 million reverse bias suit against Ithaca PD

05/06/2015
A white police officer’s suit against the city of Ithaca has been dismissed. The officer alleged racial discrimination after he lost a promotion to a black officer.

NYPD settles sex harassment complaint for $110,000

05/06/2015
The New York Police Department will pay a female officer $110,000 to settle charges a superior officer harassed her and then retaliated when she refused his advances.