Employment Discrimination-Sexual Harassment
Upstate New York Employment Law Firm
Discrimination Employment discrimination can occur based upon race, gender, religion, national origin, physical disability, age and, in some instances, sexual orientation. Practices which are discriminatory include bias in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, compensation, retaliation, and various types of harassment. DuCharme, Clark & Sovern, LLP, has experience before the EEOC, New York State Division of Human Rights, New York State supreme courts and federal courts fighting for the employment rights of its clients. Our attorneys regularly handle a variety of discrimination using a teamwork approach that utilities their collective experiences. Retaliation Retaliation can occur when an employee is subjected to some form of unlawful adverse action because he/she engaged in protected activity. Some forms of protected activity include making a complaint of discrimination or harassment to a supervisor or manager. The complaint can be internal or external. In other words, a complaint is protected when it is made to the employer or to an agency such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or New York State Division of Human Rights. Retaliatory conduct may include termination, discharge, firing, harassment and other forms of conduct. If you believe that you are the victim of unlawful retaliation or that your rights have been violated, please contact DuCharme, Clark & Sovern, LLP. Sexual Harassment It is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) because of that person’s sex. Harassment can include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, however, and can include offensive remarks about a person’s sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general. Both victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer. |
10 Maxwell Drive - Suite 205
Clifton Park, NY 12065 Phone: (518) 373-1482 Fax: (518) 373-8758 |