New York Employment Lawyer Blog

For years, it has been a constant struggle for plaintiffs in New York to recover when claiming discrimination in the workplace. However, a recent decision in the matter of Williams v. New York City Housing Authority should change that. In Williams, the Court interpreted the New York City Human Rights Law, specifically the local Civil Rights Restoration Act of 2005, very broadly, making it easier for discrimination victims in New York City to successfully sue their employers.

Surprisingly, the Court ruled in favor of the defendant in Williams, however, in doing so, the court outlined new standards that employees must meet when making claims of employment discrimination. In the past, to recover on a discrimination claim, an employee had to be a victim of “protracted and pervasive” harassment. Conversely, to recover now, the employee must show that the harassment was little more than “petty slights” and “trivial inconveniences.” In fact, the reason the suit was dismissed in Williams was that the Court found that the alleged discrimination was just that – nothing more than petty slights. However, only in such an instance will the suit be dismissed, and the burden is actually now on the employer to show the harassing conduct alleged was actually petty. So not only did the Court lower the standard that an employee must meet to prove discrimination, but it also took away their burden and shifted it to the employer to prove that the harassment was of no consequence.

Such a decision will likely lead to an increase in employment discrimination suits in New York City. With a more relaxed standard, employees cannot be expected to tolerate any harassing conduct in the workplace, since they know that their employers will have to prove the conduct was petty. It would be a good idea for employers to proactively counsel their employees as to what is acceptable workplace conduct, in order to avoid employment discrimination suits.