New York City Employment Lawyer

Sally Beauty Supply, a beauty store, recently settled a racial discrimination suit over an incident that occurred in September 2005.  Felicia Spears, an African American potential employee, was told she had been hired by Sally Beauty.  However, right before her first day on the job, the offer was withdrawn.  A district manager for the chain told local staff that Spears could not be hired because of her race.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit on Spears’ behalf.  Courts ruled Sally Beauty must pay $30,000 to compensate Spears, must hire Spears within 6 months if she wants a job, and permanently prohibited the district manager from working for the company.

If you have experienced discriminatory practices because of race, contact the experienced New York racial discrimination employment lawyers of Cary Kane today at 212.868.6300 to learn more.

Recent updates in Sweden’s employment law have improved the country’s protection of worker rights.  The Parental Leave Act prohibits the unfair treatment of employees who are on parental leave.  However, this act failed to guard worker rights if different terms or different treatments were a necessary part of the leave.    Based on a recent court case of two employees who were awarded smaller yearly bonuses because of parental leave, the law is set to shift soon.

Other changes include sickness leave benefits.  The alterations in law seek to make it easier for the employee to return to work.  In the past, workers sometimes had to perform job-related duties while out of the workplace.   Now, assessments will be made concerning the status of the employee and recommendations will be made as to what level of functioning they can reasonably perform.

If you have questions about your workplace rights, contact the experienced New York City employment attorneys of Cary Kane LLP today at 212.868.6300 to discuss your legal options.

A Pittsburgh home improvement company, Champion Window, recently settled a lawsuit accusing the company of racial discrimination against an African American man.  The suit, filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claimed the company failed to provide Martell Waite with the same tools, benefits, and assistance it provided to other workers in the same position.

Waite also complained about racially offensive language used on the job and his feelings of racial discrimination before his eventual demotion and termination in 2007.  The company has agreed to pay $100,000 in order to settle the lawsuit.

If you feel like you have been discriminated against in the workplace because of race, it is important to contact an attorney to discuss your rights.  The experienced New York City employment lawyers of Cary Kane at 212.868.6300 can help you with your racial discrimination case.  Contact them today to discuss your situation.

NutriSystem recently agreed to pay $82,500 to a woman allegedly fired in a pregnancy discrimination case.  In November 2006, Robyn Linenberg was terminated three weeks after she told the company she was pregnant.  Linenberg had also recently been placed in a leadership training program.

Because of the outcome of the lawsuit, NutriSystem, a weight loss company, has made several changes in its organizational structure.  The business has drafted a decree prohibiting pregnancy discrimination, created a grievance system for employees to complain about violations, chosen to provide anti-discrimination training to managers, and required any problems be submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Birth is beautiful part of life.  If your pregnancy has caused discriminatory actions against you in the workplace, contact the experienced New York employment lawyers at Cary Kane today at 212.868.6300 to discuss your legal options.

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal employees is fighting to eliminate mandatory overtime for workers.  Because of staff reductions, workers have been required to work extra shifts and overtime hours.  If employees are unable or unwilling to work overtime, they are disciplined.

A Union spokesperson says the problem results from a shortage of prison, veteran’s homes, and mental health facility employees.    However, officials declare the issue is not a shortage of workers, but that overtime is a fact of life in prisons.  Additionally, prisons need more funding to hire more employees, thereby easing the excessive hour overload.  The Union is fighting for no required overtime, except in emergency situations.

If you have been unfairly forced to work overtime, contact the experienced New York City employment attorneys of Cary Kane LLP today at 212.868.6300 to discuss your legal options.

A female Wisconsin street worker was fired for her job for an apparent breach in contract, according to her former employer.  The defendant claims the woman was fired after she failed to remove a pin on the driver’s side of the snow plow while she was testing the vehicle in a parking lot.  The pin is responsible for holding the plow blade in place while the vehicle is not in use.  Because she tested the plow with the pin in, the struts bent on the blade, leading to vehicle damage and her  job termination.

Although no other employees had bent struts on plows because of leaving the pin in, at least two men in recent history had bent struts through different means, without being disciplined or fired.   The initial judgment of the case declared the city had reason to fire the woman, although the decision has been appealed, with another hearing set for September 2008.

If you have experienced sexual discrimination in your workplace, please contact the experienced New York employment lawyers of Cary Kane LLP today at 212-868-6300.

The governor of Maine, John Baldacci, signed into law a bill to increase the statewide minimum wage from $7.00 to $7.25 an hour on October 1, 2008.  The bill also accounts for another raise the following year, when the wage rate will reach $7.50 an hour.  With these increases, the Maine minimum wage will be $0.25 above the national minimum wage.  Baldacci’s decision will keep Maine in step with the rest of the New England area, which generally pays higher than the federal rate.

Minimum wage laws ensure the lowest wage earners in society can afford life’s basic necessities.  In addition, minimum wage laws serve to stimulate the economy, as low earners tend to spend their entire paycheck.  Minimum wage also protects the government from having to spend a lot on social welfare programs as more money is in the pocket of the consumer.

If your minimum wage rights have been violated, contact the New York City employment lawyer at Cary Kane LLP today at 212-868-6300.

Sexual Harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and any verbal or nonverbal conduct of a sexual nature. There are two types of sexual harassment; quid pro quo and Hostile Environment.

Quid pro quo is when a benefit is directly attached to an employee accepting or submitting to unwelcome sexual advances or favors. If a supervisor were to promise a raise to an employee if that employee would go on a date with the supervisor, this would be quid pro quo harassment. If this type of harassment occurs, not only would the supervisor be liable, but the employer of the supervisor would be held accountable as well. This basically means, “I’ll give you this if you give me that.”

The other type of sexual harassment is Hostile Environment. Either a work or learning environment becomes “hostile” when unwelcome verbal or physical behavior of a prohibited nature is severe and persistent enough to affect the persons work or learning abilities. The activity has to be offensive enough to be included as “hostile” behavior of any kind. This includes someone being subject to sexual natured comments, distasteful materials, and unwelcome physical contact of any kind. For most general cases, there has to be more than one incident to make the event illegal harassment. If the case is severe enough, however, it would constitute the event to be illegal. For the overall general cases, it takes repeated action of the violation in order to make the environment offensive beyond the point of a “reasonable person.”

If you feel you have been the victim of sexual harassment, please contact the New York City employment lawyers of Cary Kane LLP at 212-868-6300 to discuss the details of your case and to determine your legal options.