Yonkers Sex Discrimination

Yonkers Attorneys Assisting Employees Mistreated on the Basis of Gender

Yonkers is the fourth-most populated city in the state of New York. About 17% of the 75,000 households there have a female householder without a husband present. Federal and state laws prohibit workplace sex discrimination. Employers are not allowed to consider your sex, whether you are a man or woman, when determining whether to terminate, hire, or promote you. Sex is not a permissible attribute to consider when deciding what to pay you or whether to provide a bonus. It can be difficult to figure out whether you have been a victim of sex discrimination, but if you believe that this may have happened, you should consult a Yonkers sex discrimination lawyer about whether you have a claim. The skillful employment litigators at Phillips & Associates may be able to represent you.

Forms of Sex Discrimination

Employers are not supposed to consider your sex or gender when determining the terms and conditions of your employment. They are supposed to base their decisions on merit and job performance. Sex discrimination can take various forms. It can include failing to hire somebody because of their sex. It can include paying an employee less because of their sex. It can include failing to promote someone because management wants the upper echelons of a company to be exclusively of one gender. One form of sex discrimination is sexual harassment, which can include unwelcome comments or actions based on sex, even if they are not sexual or sexually charged. For example, derogatory remarks about whether women should be in the workplace or their capacity as workers can create a hostile work environment, even though they do not have sexual content.

Most people associate sex discrimination with discrimination against women. However, our sex discrimination attorneys understand that Yonkers residents of either gender can be victims of sex discrimination. Sex discrimination can occur even when the person perpetrating sex discrimination against an employee is the same sex as the employee. For example, a female CEO could discriminate on the basis of sex against a female receptionist.

Laws Against Sex Discrimination

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination. It governs the conduct of employers with a minimum of 15 employees. The New York State Human Rights Law governs the conduct of employers that have a minimum of four employees, except in the case of sexual harassment, which is a form of sex discrimination. The New York State Human Rights Law prohibits sexual harassment at all workplaces, regardless of the number of employees.

Remedies

Federal and state laws are similar, but there are some differences regarding what constitutes sex discrimination and significant differences in remedies. Our Yonkers sex discrimination attorneys are familiar with these key divergences. For example, Title VII caps damages depending on how large the employer is. Both compensatory and punitive damages are capped. For example, when a company has 101-200 employees, the cap on compensatory and punitive damages is $100,000. Under the state law, you cannot recover punitive damages at all. However, compensatory damages are not capped. It is important to retain an experienced attorney who understands both laws, keeps up with case law, and can analyze your situation in light of these differences to determine how to proceed.

Retaliation for Reporting Sex Discrimination

It can be challenging to know whether you are facing sex discrimination, and it can be emotionally difficult to accuse your employer of something like that. Employers usually know their obligations under the law and likely will not admit that bias against a particular sex was the reason for their decision. However, retaliation is prohibited under both federal and state anti-discrimination laws. Retaliation involves adverse actions taken by an employer against an employee because he or she engages in good faith in a protected activity, such as filing a charge with the EEOC or filing a lawsuit in state court.

Discuss Your Situation with a Sex Discrimination Lawyer in Yonkers

At Phillips & Associates, our skillful attorneys help employees who have encountered sex discrimination on the job in Yonkers. If you believe that you have been a victim of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, you should contact us at (866) 229-9441 or through our online form to set up a free consultation about your options.