On October 17, 2018, the New York City Council passed several bills, referred to as a parental empowerment package, which will likely be signed by the mayor. These bills require employers with 15 or more employees to provide a “lactation space” and “lactation accommodation” for employees who need to express…
The #TimesUp and #MeToo movements continue to be a force of national reckoning over sexual assault and harassment. This month, the New York City Council harnessed the energy from those social movements and transformed it into legislative action by introducing a series of bills aimed at preventing sexual harassment in…
The New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex or gender. Despite the “liberal construction” applied to the interpretation of sex discrimination under the NYSHRL and NYCHRL, a Manhattan Supreme Court held on May 11, 2016,…
Last month, Governor Cuomo signed five bills into law that strengthen New York law’s prohibitions against sexual discrimination. Each of these bills form a part of the Women’s Equality Act, and collectively address such areas as equal pay for equal work, sexual harassment, familial status discrimination, attorneys’ fees in sexual…
On March 25, 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued its awaited decision in Young_v._UPS_(12-1226), in which the Court set forth the standard to be used in analyzing sex discrimination cases involving an employer’s failure to provide pregnant employees with work accommodations. Although the Court did not rule that employers…
Earlier this month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new Enforcement Guidance applicable to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), concerning pregnancy-related conditions. Pregnancy discrimination implicates both the PDA and ADA as well as other federal and New York statutes. The PDA was enacted in…
Recently, the New York City Council amended the New York City Human Rights Law to specifically require that a covered employer is specifically required to reasonably accommodate the pregnancy of an employee. Although the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as New York state and New York City law already…
Rarely do commercials instruct the public on anything more than the nature of the products they are pushing. From time to time, however, some advertisement campaigns go the extra mile to do good and contribute to the public’s recognition of society’s own prejudices and biases. Recently, Pantene Phillipines addressed the…
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Vance v. Ball State University (No. 11-556), which considered who qualified as a supervisor for purposes of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The determination of this issue was critical because employer liability for unlawful harassment under…
In Gail Kelly v. Howard I. Shapiro & Assocs. Consulting Engineers, P.C., et al., 12-3489-cv, April 26, 2013, the plaintiff filed claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State Human Rights Law, alleging that an affair that one of her brothers had…