New York Employment Lawyer Blog

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit against Asian World of Martial Arts, Inc. on behalf of Morris Pashko for violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. According to the suit, the company’s president had implemented a mandatory retirement policy , which resulted in the termination of every employee over the age of 67. Mr. Pashko was with the company for over twenty years.

In 2009, 22,778 age discrimination charges were filed with the EEOC, which further demonstrates just how prevalent age discrimination is in the workplace.

Schwartz & Perry has unique experience in the field of age discrimination and regularly lectures on the subject at Bar Associations and CLE events.

More information can be found here.

The EEOC filed an age and sex discrimination suit on behalf of four female lawyers against the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, alleging that the agency fired senior lawyers and hired younger, less experienced ones within months, and that it paid male lawyers thousands more than their female counterparts.

In its filings, the EEOC pointed out a statement made by an executive that the agency was going to be remade with “young fresh faces.” The Port Authority had also issued a memo in 2007, discussing the difficulties in its “ability to seek out, attract and retain young attorneys.” A spokesman for the agency declined to comment.

John Hithon, an African-American male, and former employee of a food plant, brought suit against his former employer alleging race discrimination. Hithon, who possessed 13 years of experience on the job, was passed over for a shift supervisor position by his manager, who was white, in favor of two white candidates from other plants.

Evidence admitted at trial consisted of statements made by the manager routinely calling black employees “boy.” The first jury found in Hithon’s favor, awarding him $1 million. The decision was later reversed by the 11th circuit. The Court reasoned that: “The use of ‘boy’ when modified by a racial classification like ‘black’ or ‘white’ is evidence of discriminatory intent . . ., the use of ‘boy’ alone is not evidence of discrimination.”

The case then went to the United States Supreme Court which reversed and remanded for trial, stating that the inquiry should involve the context in which the statement was made. A new, second jury returned a verdict in Hithon’s favor, but the Appellate Court, once again, reversed.

A record number of Muslim workers are complaining of religious discrimination, from co-workers calling them “terrorist” or “Osama” to employers disallowing them from wearing head scarves or taking, religiously obligated, prayer breaks.

The Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has found enough merit in some of the complaints that it has filed several lawsuits on behalf of Muslim workers. Last month, the commission sued JBS Swift, a meat packing company, on behalf of 160 Somali immigrants, saying supervisors and co-workers had cursed at them for being Muslim, thrown blood, meat and bones at them, and interrupted their prayer breaks.

Although Muslims make up less than 2 percent of the United States population, they accounted for about one-quarter of the 3,386 religious discrimination claims filed with the EEOC last year.

A leading waste collection agency has settled a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of 21 employees who were allegedly discriminated against as a result of their age.

All of the employees were over the age of 40 and were reportedly terminated or denied job transfers which were offered to younger employees with lesser qualifications. The company also engaged in a form of hazing called “break him off” in which the older employees would be worked to the point of exhaustion.

A lawsuit alleging that a Rochester, NY contractor discriminated against African-Americans recently settled for $1 million. The suit alleged that African-American employees were subjected to racial slurs and graffiti, were given the least desirable jobs, laid off first at the end of the construction season, and hired last at the beginning of the construction season.

As a part of the settlement, the company must base layoffs and recalls on seniority, make a good-faith effort to employ African-American foremen, and provide anti-discrimination training.

This settlement comes as a relief for many of the company’s current and former employees.

More information can be found here.