Race Discrimination
Discriminating against an employee, based upon race, is illegal under Federal, New York State and New York City Law. The law firm of Imbesi Christensen is available to represent employees and workers with claims of race discrimination.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Federal law has prohibited race discrimination in employment for over over a century. Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, prohibits discrimination in employment based on race or color. Subsequently, Congress passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII") which prohibits the discrimination set forth in Section 1981 and expands the law's protection to also prohibit discrimination based on national origin. Title VII established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), an administrative agency charged with investigating charges of employment discrimination and enforcing the laws. In order to bring a lawsuit under Title VII, you must first exhaust your administrative remedies with the EEOC. Generally, this involves filing a written complaint ("charge") with the EEOC. You should consult with an attorney before filing a charge with the EEOC.
New York State and New York City also have laws prohibiting racial discrimination in employment. The New York State Division of Human Rights and New York City Commission on Civil Rights are administrative agencies that enforce the state and local laws, respectively. In contrast to Title VII, it is not necessary to exhaust administrative remedies and first appear before state and local administrative agencies. Instead, an employee can either elect to litigate a claim in court or file a charge with an administrative agency.
What to do if you Experienced Race Discrimination
Race discrimination in employment is prevalent, even in diverse cities such as New York City. Employers that discriminate against their employees based upon race, however, usually do not conduct said discriminatory conduct overtly.
As such, race discrimination must often be proved circumstantially. In some instances, an employer may make remarks which indicate bias against certain races. Other examples of race discirmination include proving that a particular employee was treated worse than similarly situated employees of other races. One can also sometimes prove that an employer's communicated reason for taking action against an employee was untrue and a pretext for discrimination (disparate treatment).
In these cases, attempt to preserve all documents or other records that are relevant to your employment or application for employment. The documents should include performance evaluations, employer policy manuals or handbooks, notices posted by the employer, and informal correspondence or e-mails between you and your supervisor or other employees.
Often times, racial discrimination can be difficult to prove. As such,it is important to have an attorney who knows federal and New York racial discrimination law as it pertains to employers.
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Attorney Brittany Weiner
