Nassau County Sex Discrimination

Nassau County Lawyers Assisting Victims of Workplace Misconduct

The female-identified population of Nassau County as of 2016 was 51.4%. Although the genders are relatively evenly divided, both men and women sometimes face wrongful conduct at their jobs. Workplace sex discrimination occurs if you are treated unfavorably with regard to an aspect of employment due to your sex. Sex discrimination is forbidden with regard to any aspect of employment, including hiring, layoffs, firing, promotions, training, job assignments, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment. At Phillips & Associates, our Nassau County sex discrimination lawyers may be able to represent you in a lawsuit for damages if you believe that you have faced sex discrimination on the job.

Federal Laws Prohibiting Sex Discrimination

Sex discrimination is prohibited by federal laws and the New York State Human Rights Law. The primary federal law that forbids it is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, the federal Equal Pay Act also prohibits discrimination based on sex in pay and benefits. You may have both a Title VII and an Equal Pay Act claim if you are being paid less than other workers in substantially equal jobs due to your sex. Under the Equal Pay Act, men and women in the same workplace need to be paid equally for equal work, or when their jobs are substantially equal. The nature of the job, rather than the title, determines whether the jobs are substantially equal. When there is wage inequality between men and women at a workplace, the employer is not allowed to reduce the wages of either sex to put them on an equal footing. Unlike with Title VII, you can go directly to court if you are alleging a violation of the Equal Pay Act.

For a claim under Title VII, a sex discrimination attorney in Nassau County can help you file a charge with the EEOC within a certain timeframe before suing in federal court. A prospective or existing employer is not allowed to make decisions about whether to hire you, fire you, lay you off, promote you, provide benefits, or determine any other aspect of employment based on your sex. For example, it is illegal for your boss to decide not to promote you to a management position because you are a woman. Similarly, it is illegal to deny you medical benefits because you are a woman when other similarly situated male employees are getting those benefits.

Sexual harassment is another form of sex discrimination. Sexual harassment can include requests for sexual favors, innuendoes, jokes, pranks, posting of pornography, and other offensive conduct. Harassment can include offensive remarks about someone's sex without the inclusion of sexual content. The victim and harasser may be of the same sex, and they can be of either sex.

State Protections Against Sex Discrimination

The New York State Human Rights Law prohibits sexual harassment. As of January 19, 2016, the New York State Human Rights Law permits sexual harassment claims to be filed against any employer, regardless of the employer’s size. Before that date, you could not bring this type of claim against an employer with less than four employees. However, the state law has certain key differences from Title VII, particularly with regard to damages. It is important to consult a Nassau County sex discrimination attorney about whether it would be more beneficial to pursue damages under Title VII or the Human Rights Law, given the particular facts of your situation.

Retaliation

Many people are afraid to report sex discrimination or harassment because they fear that their employer will try to punish them. While it is reasonable to be worried about this, retaliation on the basis of making a sex discrimination or sexual harassment claim is illegal. To show retaliation, you would need to show that you engaged in a protected activity, such as making a complaint about sex discrimination, your employer was aware of your participation in this activity, you suffered an adverse employment action, such as getting passed up for a promotion, getting terminated, or being reassigned to a less favorable department, and there was a causal link between the protected activity and the adverse action.

Discuss Your Case With a Sex Discrimination Lawyer in Nassau County

At Phillips & Associates, our knowledgeable attorneys can listen to the facts of your situation to determine whether you have a basis to sue for sex discrimination or harassment, and we can represent you as appropriate. Call us at (866) 229-9441 or contact us online to set up a free appointment. Our firm charges no upfront fees and collects fees as a percentage of a settlement or judgment that we obtain for you.

PHILLIPS & ASSOCIATES

585 Stewart Ave #410

Garden City, NY 11530

Tel: (866) 229-9441

Fax: (212) 901-2107