Your Rights, also known as Your Protected Activities
With some exceptions, federal law and many state “human rights” laws make it
illegal to discriminate against you because of your gender or “sex.” In other
words, if the terms, conditions, benefits, privileges and/or compensation of your
employment are different for you from other workplace colleagues and you
believe this differential or disparate treatment (another term for discrimination)
is due to your sex, you may have a claim against your employer for
discrimination. This differential treatment may be due to sexual harassment, or
due to an equal pay act violation or because of your pregnancy, either before or
after your maternity leave, or perhaps it’s simply a set of any pointed allegations
that illustrate the degradation to the conditions of your employment as a result
of who you are as a female employee of this particular company or institution..
Any allegation that your workplace is severely “hostile” due to your gender is
potentially actionable as a sex discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil
Rights Acts of 1964 and 1991, and/or under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act
of 1975 and/or the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and/or any other relevant federal,
state and local anti-discrimination statute.
Under federal law, your employer must employ at least 15 people (20 people
must be on the company payroll in order to assert a viable claim for disparate
treatment under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and 50 people
must be employed by your employer in order to catalyze coverage under the
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, in order for you to possess the right to
file a complaint against that entity. All but a handful of states have enacted
their own anti-discrimination statutes (sometimes called the “Human Rights”
laws) that additionally protect women and other protected groups from
workplace inequality and harassment, and many states and municipalities have
less stringent requirements that are additionally far broader and more effective
in both scope and coverage.
For example, in New York, where this firm is located, an employer need only
maintain 4 individuals on its payroll for a woman to legally bring suit under the
New York state and city discrimination laws. Additionally, under the New York
city “human rights” law, one can pursue the prospect of receiving a monetary
remedy of unlimited punitive damages against the culpable business and
reasonable attorneys’ fees for the prevailing plaintiff’s (that’s you) lawyer (that’s
us) whereas federal law applies statutory caps to damages and the New York
state law doesn’t even provide for the awarding of punitive damages or
reasonable attorneys’ fees. If you feel that your employer may be violating the
law with regard to any Women's Rights in the Workplace issue, it is vitally
important to confer with a qualified plaintiff’s employment lawyer as soon as
possible before taking any action, such as filing a complaint or quitting your job.
Once you file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) or your local state, city or county anti-discrimination agency, you have
already made certain strategic choices which may be binding, and those choices
may not reflect the most optimal way for you to proceed. Most attorneys are
only licensed to practice law in their home state and the particulars of your
state’s legal system is best known to a local lawyer. If you reside in New York
City and its environs, feel free to contact this office. If you live outside of New
York, you may contact us or the National Employment Lawyer’s Association or
your local bar association and ask for a referral to a qualified plaintiff's
employment attorney. Please note, there are strict statutes of limitations, or time
periods, within which a complaint must be filed. Under federal law, you must
file a charge with the EEOC within either 180 days or 300 days (depending on
your particular state) from the last alleged discriminatory act. Check with an
attorney in your area to determine the applicable time periods. Many State and
City laws provide more liberal time periods within which to file a complaint. In
New York, a plaintiff may file a complaint in State court within 3 years of the
last discriminatory act. Please click on a topic below for a brief overview of
various forms of disparate treatment typically affecting working women.
Please click on a topic below for a brief overview of various forms of
discrimination against women in the workplace.
