WSNYC Blog: The Latest in Employment Law

In a landmark ruling this week, the U.S. Supreme Court (USSC) decided that sex discrimination now includes LGBT discrimination. This ruling means that employers can no longer discriminate against LGBT workers on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Before this ruling, sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 only prevented discrimination on the basis of biological sex. 21 states, including New York, already had their own laws preventing LGBT discrimination. However, this USSC

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, gender inequality has spiked. Data shows that the majority of unemployment applicants in states such as New York, in mid-to-late March were women, accounting for 55% of the increase in job losses in the US. As a result, this growth has threatened to reverse years of progress towards gender equality. Experts fear the possibility of returning to a society where women are staying at home, while men go to work.  As the virus

Allegations of racism in the workplace are spreading at Bon Appetit, a popular food magazine. Editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport resigned this week after an old photo of him and his wife circulated on social media. In the photo, both he and his wife dressed as Puerto Ricans for Halloween. Rapoport wrote “I am stepping down as editor in chief of Bon Appetit to reflect on the work that I need to do as a human being and to allow Bon Appetit

Gabrielle Union recently filed a racial discrimination complaint against Simon Cowell, NBC, and others affiliated with the show America’s Got Talent. Gabrielle Union is known for her roles in She’s All That, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Bring It On.  Gabrielle was a judge on the hit show America’s Got Talent and resigned after just one season.Gabrielle expressed that she experienced retaliation, harassment, and discrimination while she was on the show. America’s Got Talent allegedly requested her to

New Yorkers who have participated in the NYC protests following the Minneapolis police’s killing of George Floyd may be concerned that their employers could fire or retaliate against them for demonstrating. Although there have been incidents of looting and violence, the NYC protests have been largely peaceful and have taken place in all five of the city’s boroughs over the past 11 days.  Considering that the NYPD has arrested countless protestors on charges such as disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) recently sued the producers of the hit show Criminal Minds, alleging sexual misconduct. The show’s cinematographer reportedly engaged in sexual misconduct with crew members for 14 years. DFEH also named Disney and CBS in this lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last month. The suit claims the producers of the show were not only aware of the alleged behavior of cinematographer Gregory St. Johns, but also condoned it and

Illustration by: LA Johnson

In response to increasing complaints of anti-Asian discrimination in New York, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) will launch a $100,000 public education campaign to raise awareness of incidents of bias and hostility that are related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. NYCCHR designed this two-month long campaign in consultation with various Asian American communities. The NYCCHR will use the WeChat app, a multipurpose social media platform, to reach out to Chinese communities

Connecticut has a policy that allows transgender athletes to compete with their gender identity rather than the sex on their birth certificate. Recently, the US Department of Education released a statement saying that the policy violates Title IX. The decision came out after a group of cisgender (biological) females filed a complaint that two transgender athletes, Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood, have an unfair biological advantage.

Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Involving Transgender Athletes

The two transgender athletes have outperformed their competitors

Many information technology employees work long hours for low pay and no overtime compensation.  The health care industry has started hiring more IT consultants to implement new software, train employees on how to use them, and provide ongoing application support services for colleagues and clients.  Many of these workers are considered independent contractors who are given hourly wages with no overtime compensation as a matter of company policy.  However, an employer can only withhold overtime pay if a worker falls

A former Lyft driver recently sued the ride-share company, alleging that her former employer violated sick day laws. Given the coronavirus outbreak, enforcing sick day laws is more important than ever for public health. The lawsuit claims that Lyft refused to provide required paid sick day leave to drivers in Washington, D.C.. Not only could this be damaging to the health of Lyft employees, but also could exponentially spread the coronavirus, as Lyft drivers come into contact with many customers