Workers have a right to a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. When they do not get that, they have the right to bring those issues to light. Complaining about discrimination or harassment is a “protected” activity, meaning that an employer cannot punish an employee for doing so... but too many employers do so anyway. When they do, this is called retaliation, which is against the law. If you believe you have been the target of improper retaliatory action, an experienced New York retaliation lawyer can help you assess your case and decide the most appropriate steps moving forward.
Any retaliation case can be complex. Retaliation matters are often more complicated if the employer and employee have previously faced off in legal action.
For example, consider a recent retaliation case involving H.L., an American woman of Chinese ancestry, and the Chinese commercial bank that employed her.
Her career at the bank’s New York City office flourished until she received a new supervisor in 2019. Afterward, the woman’s workplace deteriorated substantially and quickly. According to the woman’s lawsuit, she “was subjected to, and observed, an array of discriminatory conduct at the hand of [the new manager] and other... leadership, including sexual harassment and mistreatment on the account of her gender, age, and citizenship.” (H.L. was not just an American woman but also over the age of 40.)
The woman complained about the discriminatory treatment, and, according to her lawsuit, the employer fired her for complaining.
After the bank fired the employee, she sued her employer and manager in federal court for discrimination and retaliation. However, she had a potential problem because she had sued the employer before. In 2020, the employee retained an attorney and contemplated launching a discrimination suit. The two sides privately mediated the dispute and worked out an agreement that called for her to resign and for the bank to pay her a sum of money. When the employer alleged reneged on their side of the deal, the woman sued in state court for breach of contract. The employer prevailed in that case.
The woman filed her federal suit after losing the state case. The employer asked the federal judge to toss the employee’s case entirely based on the state court’s judgment.
The Law of ‘Res Judicata’
The employer relied upon a legal principle called “res judicata,” or claim preclusion. This legal doctrine bars parties from relitigating matters already litigated to a judgment. In New York, the law of res judicata says that a “final judgment on the merits of an action precludes the parties or their privies from relitigating issues that were or could have been raised in that action.” The bank contended that the woman “could have pleaded her retaliation claims in the” state court case, thereby meeting all the required aspects of res judicata.
The court disagreed. Res judicata requires three essential things from the earlier lawsuit: (i) an adjudication on the merits, (ii) inclusion of “the plaintiffs or those in privity with them,” (iii) claims “based upon the same transaction or series of connected transactions” as those raised in the subsequent lawsuit.
The employer cleared the first two hurdles but not the third. The “same transaction” element requires judges to analyze “whether the facts are related in time, space, origin, or motivation, whether they form a convenient trial unit, and whether their treatment as a unit conforms to the parties’ expectations.” H.L.’s earlier state court action “asserted claims for breach of contract and... arose exclusively out of the parties’ participation... in a private mediation and subsequent negotiations over a two-month period of time.” In the current lawsuit, H.L. sought to hold her employer and supervisor liable “for retaliatory conduct during her employment and, ultimately, her termination, under federal, state, and local anti-discrimination statutes.
The two were clearly different, meaning res judicata did not apply, and the woman was free to continue pursuing her case.
Standing up for your rights often can be intimidating, especially when it involves standing up against your boss or employer. If your employer punishes you for standing up, you may have options under federal, state, and city law. New York City’s anti-retaliation standards are even stricter than state or federal law. If you have questions about a potential retaliation matter, the diligent and knowledgeable New York workplace retaliation attorneys at Phillips & Associates can help. Contact us online or at (866) 229-9441 to learn more. The consultation is free, and we do not get paid unless you do.