New York Employment Attorney Blog — Published by New York Employment Lawyers

November 12, 2019

New York City Courts Address Sexual Harassment by Customers, Clients, and Others

In order to assert a claim under New York City sexual harassment laws, a plaintiff must usually demonstrate that an employment relationship existed between the plaintiff and the defendant. When the plaintiff and the alleged harasser received paychecks from the same entity, establishing this relationship is straightforward. Many workplaces present a much more complicated picture, though. Businesses often use a complex system of outsourcing through contractors in an effort to cut costs. This can cause confusion with regard to liability. New York courts, fortunately, have ruled that the definition of “employer” is not very strict in claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which governs many New York City sexual harassment claims.

Employers may be liable for third-party sexual harassment, meaning harassment against an employee by someone other than a fellow employee, such as a contractor, customer, or client. If the employer was aware that harassment was occurring, and they failed to take reasonable actions to prevent it or remedy the situation, they may be held liable under Title VII. This is similar to the standard for a hostile work environment created by a co-worker or another employee who is not in a position of authority over a plaintiff. The alleged harasser might not have direct control over the plaintiff’s employment, but they still have the power to make the workplace unbearable.

A 1981 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) addressed this type of situation. The plaintiff was employed by a company that had a contract to provide property management services at a Manhattan office building, although there was some confusion as to the exact employment relationship. She worked as a lobby attendant, which partly involved “offer[ing] assistance and information to people entering the building and k[eeping] those who did not belong in the building from loitering.”

November 11, 2019

Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Harassment by Actor at Acting Schools in Los Angeles and New York City

by Phillips & Associates

Anti-discrimination laws treat sexual harassment in the workplace as a form of sex or gender discrimination. In order for these laws to apply, the alleged acts must occur in a workplace in the context of an employment relationship. The #MeToo and #TimesUp movements largely began in the entertainment business, in which employment relationships are rarely as certain as this. A lawsuit filed in October 2019 illustrates an area of uncertainty in sexual harassment law. The plaintiffs are former students at a now-closed acting school that had locations in Los Angeles and New York City. New York sexual harassment attorneys must demonstrate an employment relationship in most circumstances, although state law covers some situations in which no direct employer-employee relationship exists. The lawsuit takes advantage of a provision in California law that directly addresses the entertainment business.

Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when submission to some sort of sexual activity is a condition of getting or keeping a job. Some clearly inappropriate situations, however, might not quite fit this description. With the allegations against the Hollywood producer that kicked off #MeToo, for example, submitting to his alleged sexual demands was often a sort of gatekeeping, and not necessarily about getting cast in a specific film. California has enacted a law that directly addresses this kind of situation.

A person in California may be liable for sexual harassment when they are purportedly in a position of authority or power over a plaintiff, such as a “director or producer.” Cal. Civ. Code § 51.9(a)(1)(H). The plaintiff must also prove sexual advances or demands, or hostile and unwelcome sexual remarks or conduct, along with economic loss or personal injury. Id. at §§ 51.9(a)(2) – (3). The New York State Human Rights Law allows non-employees to claim sexual harassment in a workplace when they are present in a position like contractor, subcontractor, or consultant. N.Y. Exec. L. § 296-D. This may cover many of the same situations, even if it does not specifically mention roles like director or producer.

October 18, 2019

Deadline Arrives for Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training by New York Employers

by Phillips & Associates

The New York Legislature enacted multiple measures last year addressing workplace sexual harassment. The governor signed them all into law as part of the budget bill in April 2018. One section requires employers to adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy and provide training to their employees. The bill gave them until October 9, 2018 to adopt a policy, which could be the model policy developed by the state, or a policy that meets the new law’s standards. The required training must be provided annually, which means that October 9, 2019 was the statewide deadline by which all employers must have conducted their first training. According to various news reports, not everyone met the deadline. This comes as little surprise to New York City sexual harassment lawyers, of course, but it is worth noting once again how antidiscrimination laws require constant attention and vigilance.

The New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex. N.Y. Exec. L. § 296(1)(a). Decades of caselaw have held that sexual harassment is a type of sex discrimination under the NYSHRL and similar statutes. A recent amendment to the NYSHRL expanded the law’s coverage in sexual harassment cases. While the law usually only applies to employers with at least four employees, it applies to all employers in the state for sexual harassment claims. Id. at § 292(5).

Part KK of the 2019 budget bill contains multiple new measures related to sexual harassment. Subpart E added a new section to the Labor Law entitled “Prevention of Sexual Harassment.” N.Y. Lab. L. § 201-G. This section directed the state to create a model sexual harassment prevention policy, and required employers to adopt this policy or a similar one by October 9, 2018.

October 12, 2019

EEOC Files Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Upstate New York Restaurant

by Phillips & Associates

The restaurant industry is very familiar to New York City sexual harassment attorneys. The business model and managerial structure of many restaurants might never have been intended to foster multiple forms of sexual harassment, but that is exactly what happens far too often. Competition for shift assignments can lead unscrupulous supervisors and managers to take advantage of the power their positions give them. Reliance on tips can make servers hesitate to report or otherwise call out harassment. Behavior that creates a hostile work environment can go unchallenged as a result. Thankfully, many people are standing up for their rights. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency charged with enforcing antidiscrimination law, recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of several women alleging sexual harassment by a chef at a restaurant in Upstate New York.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sex and several other factors. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a). The EEOC recognized sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination in violation of Title VII in the early 1980s. Court decisions and administrative rulings have expanded the legal definition of sexual harassment over the years.

Federal law now recognizes two general categories of sexual harassment. 29 C.F.R. § 1604.11(a). Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when giving in to unwelcome demands for some sort of sexual activity is made a condition of someone’s employment or is the basis for employment decisions, including hiring and firing. A hostile work environment occurs when pervasive and unwelcome sexual conduct prevents a person from doing their job.

October 10, 2019

New York Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Harassment on Collegiate Swim Team

by Phillips & Associates

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, in employment throughout the country, including New York City. Sexual harassment is not limited to the workplace, and Title VII is not the only federal statute that views sexual harassment as unlawful discrimination. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination in education. This includes sexual harassment of students by teachers or other employees, and harassment between students. Members of the women’s college swimming team filed a lawsuit in a New York federal court against their school in September 2019. They allege that the school failed to act on their complaints of sexual harassment by members of the men’s team. If you feel you are suffering from harassment that is sexual in nature, contact a New York City sexual harassment attorney to learn what your rights are under the law.

Title IX prohibits any educational institution that receives federal funding from discriminating on the basis of sex in terms of access to educational opportunities and benefits, and participation in educational activities. 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a). The federal regulations implementing Title IX do not provide the kind of specific guidance that is available for Title VII claims for sexual harassment. See 29 C.F.R. § 1604.11. The swimmers’ lawsuit cites several regulations, however, that demonstrate how sexual harassment can deny equal educational opportunity. This includes “equal athletic opportunity.” 34 C.F.R. § 106.41(c).

The U.S. Supreme Court first recognized a private cause of action for sexual harassment under Title IX in Gebser v. Lago Vista Indep. Sch. Dist., 524 U.S. 274 (1998). That case involved a teacher and a student. The following year the court ruled on a student’s claim of sexual harassment by another student in Davis v. Monroe County Bd. of Ed., 526 U.S. 629 (1999). The elements of a claim for student sexual harassment, outlined in Davis, are similar to the elements of a hostile work environment claim under Title VII. A plaintiff must demonstrate that the school “act[ed] with deliberate indifference to known acts of harassment,” and that the harassment was “so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive” as to prevent “access to an educational opportunity or benefit.” Id. at 633.

October 4, 2019

Opera Singer Withdraws from New York City Performances Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations

by Phillips & Associates

Sexual harassment is unfortunately still a common occurrence in the entertainment industry. New York City sexual harassment attorneys have represented plaintiffs in television, film, music, and theater, to name only a few areas. In August 2019, several individuals involved with opera productions around the country came forward with allegations that a famous male opera singer had sexually harassed them. By mid-September, the number had grown to twenty women, including opera singers, dancers, and others. The Associated Press (AP) reported that the singer’s alleged harassment “was an open secret,” and that “young women were left to fend for themselves in the workplace.” In late September, the singer announced that he was withdrawing from an upcoming production of Verdi’s “Macbeth” at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera (the “Met”).

Employment laws all over the country prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, and include sexual harassment in this category of discrimination. At the federal level, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits multiple forms of sexual harassment. One form, known as hostile work environment, occurs when “unwelcome…conduct of a sexual nature…creat[es] an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.” 29 C.F.R. § 1604.11(a)(3). An employer is typically liable for hostile work environment when the perpetrator is a manager or supervisor. If the unwelcome sexual conduct comes from a co-worker, customer, client, or other individual in the workplace, an employer may be held liable if they knew about the conduct and failed to take reasonable actions to prevent it.

The allegations against the opera singer are reminiscent in some ways of the allegations against the Hollywood film producer that launched the #MeToo movement. The producer’s behavior was also described as an “open secret.” Aspiring actresses were reportedly warned about him and advised about ways to avoid his advances. At the same time, the perception was often that acceding to requests—or demands—for sexual activity were a requirement for entry into Hollywood. This is how the term “casting couch” came about.

September 27, 2019

Study Evaluates Responses to #MeToo Movement Against Workplace Sexual Harassment

by Phillips & Associates

The #MeToo movement has given a voices to countless people who have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. Beginning with the entertainment industry, it has demonstrated time and again that unwelcome sexual conduct is a pervasive problem, and that it is often a very poorly kept secret. Much of what we have learned is not news for New York City sexual harassment lawyers or their clients. Now that #MeToo has been around for almost two years, researchers have acquired enough data to assess its impact. What they are finding, unfortunately, is not uniformly good news. While it seems as though most people understand what constitutes sexual harassment, few people agree on how to address it. A disquieting number of people, both men and women, seem willing to avoid sexual harassment by excluding women from the workplace altogether, and therefore replacing one form of unlawful sex discrimination with another.

Sexual harassment is considered sex discrimination under laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a), 29 C.F.R. § 1604.11. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) identifies three general categories of conduct that constitutes unlawful sexual harassment. Two of those are examples of “quid pro quo sexual harassment”: submission to sexual behavior is a condition of employment, whether that is stated or implied; or employment decisions depend on how an employee responds to sexual overtures or remarks. The third type of sexual harassment identified by the EEOC, hostile work environment, occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct “unreasonably interfer[es] with an individual’s work performance” or otherwise renders the work environment intolerable. 29 C.F.R. § 1604.11(a)(3).

Civil rights activist Tarana Burke coined the term “Me Too” in 2006. In 2017, its use as a hashtag on the social media platform Twitter gave the #MeToo movement its name. The movement is generally agreed to have begun in October 2017, when the New York Times published an actress’ allegations of sexual harassment by a prominent Hollywood producer. Many more women and men spoke out about their experiences with sexual harassment. People did not just talk about the perpetrators. They also talked about the environments that allow such conduct to continue unchecked. Many people tolerate, or even abet, such workplace behavior, perhaps because that often seems easier than standing up against it.

September 20, 2019

Federal Government Considers New Rule on Religious Exemptions from Employment Antidiscrimination Laws

by Phillips & Associates

Federal law prohibits various discriminatory acts by employers, such as discrimination on the basis of pregnancy or childbirth, but its protections have limitations. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 only applies to employers with fifteen or more employees. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b). It also does not apply to religious organizations with regard to “the employment of individuals of a particular religion.” Id. at § 2000e-1(a). The statute does not provide guidance on how to determine whether an employer is a religious organization or not. A number of for-profit businesses, rather than churches or other expressly religious organizations, have claimed religious exemptions in recent years. A proposed rule published by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) could expand the definition of “religious organization.” This can be an issue for New York City pregnancy discrimination attorneys when an employer claims a religious exemption from antidiscrimination laws.

Title VII prohibits pregnancy discrimination, which includes “pregnancy, childbirth, [and] related medical conditions,” as a type of sex discrimination. Id. at § 2000e(k). In 1965, the president issued Executive Order (EO) 11246, which expanded the requirements of Title VII to all federal contractors, regardless of their number of employees. “Religious entities,” however, are exempt on the same basis as the exemption from Title VII. 41 C.F.R. § 60-1.5(a)(5). This means that, for example, an expressly Christian organization may refuse to hire individuals who are not Christian for certain positions. A similar exemption applies to religious schools. See id. at § 60-1.5(a)(6).

The “ministerial exception” provides another exemption from antidiscrimination laws for religious organizations. It states that religious organizations are not bound by antidiscrimination laws with regard to “ministers.” For example, a church can refuse to hire a person as a priest or pastor who is not a part of that church’s religion. Recent court decisions, however, seem to have expanded the definition of “minister.” In Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, 565 U.S. 171 (2012), the Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a teacher’s disability discrimination lawsuit, finding that her position with the school was “ministerial.” The Second Circuit recently affirmed that the ministerial exception barred a former Catholic school principal’s sex discrimination lawsuit. Another court, however, found that the exception does not apply in a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit brought by a college professor.
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September 13, 2019

Court Rules on New York State Law Banning Mandatory Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Claims

by Phillips & Associates

Mandatory arbitration clauses have become a common feature in many employment contracts, requiring employees to submit their claims to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) instead of going to court. As New York City sexual harassment attorneys, we have found that arbitration often tends to favor defendants in employment disputes. It also deprives aggrieved employees of their “day in court,” since ADR proceedings are usually subject to non-disclosure rules. The state of New York enacted a law invalidating mandatory arbitration clauses in sexual harassment cases. This was meant to ensure that individuals alleging sexual harassment could have their day in court. Earlier this summer, however, a Manhattan federal court ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts the New York law.

Employment statutes at multiple levels in New York City prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex and other factors. Under all of these laws, sexual harassment is considered to be sex discrimination. Each statute defines procedures that claimants must follow in order to assert their rights. Federal law, for example, requires a claimant to file an administrative charge with a federal agency before they may file suit in a court of law. Mandatory arbitration clauses prevent claimants from initiating both administrative and judicial proceedings.

Arbitration resembles a courtroom trial in some ways. Both sides present evidence and arguments to a neutral third-party arbitrator, and the arbitrator makes a decision. If the contract calls for binding arbitration, the similarities to an official lawsuit mostly end. Under the FAA, courts of law may not vacate a binding arbitration award unless there is evidence of “corruption, fraud, or undue means,” or other “misconduct.” 9 U.S.C. § 10(a). A court may not modify a binding arbitration award without evidence of a “material miscalculation” or other error. Id. at § 11.

September 11, 2019

“Administrative Exhaustion” Claim Waived by Employer in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit, According to Supreme Court

by Phillips & Associates

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employees and job applicants to follow a rather lengthy administrative process before filing a lawsuit. New York City employment discrimination attorneys have multiple options when deciding how to approach claims like sexual harassment. Each statute defines procedures that lawyers and their clients must follow. A decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2019, Fort Bend County v. Davis, addresses a defense known as “administrative exhaustion.” Employers can raise this defense when a plaintiff did not follow the administrative process required by federal law. It can result in dismissal of a case. The Davis decision, however, holds that an employer waives the defense if they do not raise it soon enough.

Before an employee or former employee may file a lawsuit under Title VII in federal court, they must file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The deadline to file a charge is 180 days after the alleged unlawful act. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1). The EEOC investigates the claim, and may attempt to reach a “conciliation agreement” with the employer. Id. at § 2000e-5(f)(1). It can decide to file suit against the employer on behalf of the complainant and others with similar claims.

A complainant only gains the right to file a lawsuit if, after 180 days, the EEOC has not initiated a lawsuit. The complainant can request a notice, known as a “right to sue” letter, that gives them ninety days to file suit. 29 C.F.R. § 1601.28. If an individual files a Title VII lawsuit before they have received a right-to-sue letter, the defendant can move to dismiss the lawsuit on the ground that the plaintiff did not exhaust all of their administrative remedies. Hence, it is known as the administrative exhaustion defense.
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