Here is what we cover in this issue of Employment Law Reporter Autumn 2023: • The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has affirmed a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York...more
At the end of a trial last month, a federal jury found Equinox Holdings Inc. (Equinox) liable for maintaining a hostile work environment and discriminating against a former employee on the basis of race and gender in...more
Using the correct pronouns and honorifics in the workplace has become an increasingly important part of maintaining an inclusive workplace. At the same time, the sensitive nature of this trend and the many variations of...more
Fitness company SoulCycle recently reached a settlement in a New York-based pregnancy discrimination lawsuit brought by a former executive who alleged the company’s pandemic-based reasoning for her termination was actually...more
• Amendments to the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) lower the bar for employees and individual nonemployees pursuing discrimination and harassment claims. • In several respects, the amendments align the NYSHRL...more
Just before the end of its session, the New York Legislature expanded protections against discrimination and harassment under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). The Governor still has to sign the new bill into law,...more
On February 19, 2019, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) issued a sweeping and detailed legal enforcement guidance outlining new protections for New Yorkers who maintain “natural hair or hairstyles most...more
The New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) released enforcement guidance on Monday, February 18, 2019, defining discrimination based on natural hair and hairstyles as a subset of race discrimination....more
In February 2019, the New York Commission on Human Rights (the “Commission”) issued guidance regarding employment discrimination based upon natural hair or hairstyles. ...more
About 1.4 million Americans recognize themselves – surgically or otherwise – as a gender other than the one they were born into....more
The state’s highest court might have just made life more difficult for employers facing liability under New York City’s anti-bias law. Clarifying a question left open by New York City’s Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), the New York...more
On December 6, 2017, amidst the recent barrage of publicized sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations made against various news organizations, politicians, and Hollywood elite, New York State Attorney General Eric T....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Court of Appeals, on a question certified by the Second Circuit, announced the standard for punitive damages in claims under the New York City Human Rights Law. ...more
In Chauca v. Abraham, No. 113 (November 20, 2017), the New York State Court of Appeals clarified the standard for awarding punitive damages under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). Unlike Title VII of the Civil...more
New York City employers should be aware of local laws that directly affect a company’s hiring and termination practices, including a recent one that makes it illegal for employers to discriminate based on “caregiver status.”...more
On October 21, 2015, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a number of bills, which cumulatively expand protections against gender discrimination, sexual harassment, domestic violence, and human trafficking. This...more
As we have previously mentioned, issues relating to unpaid interns continue to be a hot topic. In the wage law arena, disenchanted former interns have brought a string of well-publicized class action lawsuits against their...more
On September 24, 2013, the New York City Council unanimously passed an amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) that expands prohibited discrimination in employment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or a related...more
In 2005, New York City passed the Civil Rights Restoration Act amendments to the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). Given the language and legislative history of these amendments, many courts have since recognized that...more