Sexual Orientation Discrimination Attorneys Based in New York City
While many people in the world are working toward creating an environment that promotes equality for people of all sexual orientations, some employers, coworkers, colleagues, and customers engage in inappropriate and painful harassment of others based on their sexual orientation. Unfortunately, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals face some of the highest rates of workplace harassment in the nation. The harassment can take many different forms, including comments, text messages, emails, and painful name-calling. At Phillips & Associates, our team of experienced sexual orientation discrimination lawyers work diligently to help New York City employees assert their rights and pursue the compensation they deserve after being victimized.
New York Laws Protect LGBT Employees from Workplace Harassment
New York has enacted some of the broadest protections for LGBT employees among all states. Under its Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, employers are prohibited from engaging in discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation in the workplace. These protections apply to all phases of the employment process, including hiring, promotions, job assignments, benefits, wages, and approval of vacation and sick leave.
There are also a number of federal and state laws that protect employees from facing sexual harassment in the workplace. In general, sexual harassment occurs when an employer’s or coworker’s comments, actions, or gestures create a hostile work environment that negatively affects the victim’s ability to perform his or her job duties. Another form of sexual harassment involves a quid pro quo situation in which an employer seeks sexual favors from an employee in exchange for employment-related bonuses. Incidents involving sexual harassment are full of situations that involve sexual orientation harassment through inappropriate comments, gestures, emails, and jokes.
Sexual orientation harassment can take many forms and is not always obvious or easy to identify. Although overt statements victimizing someone based on his or her sexual orientation constitute harassment, seemingly innocent comments and jokes can also result in unwanted harassment for the recipient. The harassment does not need to come from the employer and can include words, comments, actions, and messages from coworkers, other supervisors, and customers as well. Additionally, an individual does not need to be the direct recipient of a statement, joke, message, or communication in order to bring a sexual orientation harassment claim. A general comment made to a group audience can result in harassment to an individual who hears the comment or later hears about it.
If you believe that you have been a victim of sexual orientation harassment, it is important to document and retain any evidence of the words, messages, statements, or gestures that constituted the harassment.
Seek Legal Guidance for an Employment Claim in New York City
We understand how private, embarrassing, and painful experiencing sexual orientation harassment can be. In many cases, a victim refrains from seeking legal recourse out of fear that he or she will experience additional discrimination or negative consequences from the employer. At Phillips & Associates, our gender discrimination attorneys have helped numerous New York City residents assert their rights and seek the compensation they deserve after suffering inappropriate and unlawful harassment. We proudly serve all five boroughs, including Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Call us now at (866) 229-9441 or contact us online to set up a free confidential consultation today.