New York Employment Attorney Blog
As the nation pays greater attention to sexual harassment in the workplace, hotel maintenance employees are finally gaining a platform to talk about what they have endured. Several recent high-profile lawsuits have sought to address the alleged sexual harassment of housekeeping workers by hotel managers and other employees. Many housekeepers face another problem, however—sexual harassment by hotel guests. Employers may be held liable for acts perpetrated by customers, but New York City sexual harassment plaintiffs must prove that the employer knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to act. This can be particularly difficult in the context of hotel maintenance, in which employees may find themselves alone with a guest in the guest’s room. Measures like panic buttons may help address the issue, but the sheer scope of the problem suggests that much work is left to be done.
Sexual harassment is considered a form of sex discrimination under statutes like the New York City Human Rights Law and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. One of the main forms of sexual harassment covered by these laws occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct creates a hostile work environment that interferes with an employee’s ability to do their job. In order to assert a claim for a hostile work environment created by one or more customers, a plaintiff must be able to “show that the employer either knew (actual notice) or should have known (constructive notice) of the harassment and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.” Watson v. Blue Circle, Inc., 324 F. 3d 1252, 1259 (11th Cir. 2003).
The hospitality industry presents additional challenges for plaintiffs. In a practical sense, identifying guests who sexually harass hotel employees can be difficult because of “plausible deniability”—it is usually the employee’s word against the guest’s. This makes investigations difficult and puts a hotel in a position of choosing between an employee and a paying customer. In a legal sense, hotels and other lodging-related businesses have a particularly high duty of care toward their customers. “A hotel…has a duty to use due care to protect its guests against foreseeable hazards, including criminal acts.” Shadday v. Omni Hotels Mgt. Corp., 477 F. 3d 511, 512 (7th Cir. 2007).
Numerous employment statutes protect workers from employment discrimination in New York City on the basis of various protected categories. These laws’ prohibitions on sex or gender discrimination include sexual harassment in certain forms, including the use of sexual activity as a condition of employment, and patterns of sexually-oriented behavior that create a hostile work environment. These laws also prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who assert their legal rights. A lawsuit filed late last year 
Asserting a claim for sexual harassment in New York City can be extremely harrowing, even with the city’s progressive employment laws. A claimant might risk professional or personal consequences for speaking out, which is why employees with similar allegations often seek to pool their resources and assert their claims as a group. A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, 
In New York City, sexual harassment claims are covered by federal, state, and city law. The New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) and the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) offer some of the most comprehensive protection against discrimination in the country. Sexual harassment in the workplace has received a considerable amount of media attention in the past year, and both New York State and New York City have responded by enacting a series of new laws addressing numerous aspects of workplace harassment. The New York State Legislature passed a budget bill, 
Over the past year, countless people have come forward with accounts of sexual harassment in the workplace. Known as the #MeToo movement, it began in the entertainment industry, and has expanded to include many other industries and professions. 
Sexual harassment is an unlawful form of sex discrimination under employment statutes in New York City and around the country. It is often a result of an individual taking advantage of their power or authority in the workplace over a subordinate. It could take the form of demands for sexual activity of some sort as a condition of employment, or a pattern of unwanted sexual remarks or advances. In either case, the alleged harasser relies to a large extent on the alleged victim’s inability to speak out directly against the behavior. Statutes like the New York City Human Rights Law and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allow individuals who have experienced unlawful New York sexual harassment to file an administrative complaint, followed by a civil lawsuit. Some scenarios in which sexual harassment may occur, however, are not “workplaces” under the meaning of laws like Title VII. Sexual harassment can occur in academic settings, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 provides recourse in those situations. In late 2016, several former graduate students 
Recent media and public attention has helped shed light on sexual harassment in workplaces all over the country, including New York City. Employees have several means to fight back against such unlawful employment practices, but the attention to the issue since last fall has helped many employers identify and deal with individuals, policies, and practices that contribute to workplace sexual harassment. Laws like the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) allow employees to recover damages once New York City sexual harassment has occurred. The hope, of course, is that this attention will make workplace sexual harassment less common in general.