Empowering Individuals (518) 308-8339

TalkLex Blog

Take Advantage of Laws that Protect Women from Discrimination

Posted by Scott M. Peterson | Jun 13, 2015 | 0 Comments

D'Orazio Peterson is committed to enforcing women's rights. Despite it being 2014, women still suffer significant discrimination in the workplace, particularly mothers. In fact, a recent study reported in the New York Times found that mothers earn less than their male counterparts and women without children. The alarming conclusion was that this disparity in earning was the result of discrimination and not the result of neutral factors like how often the mother worked.

Discrimination Based on Gender Is Illegal in New York

There are several statutes that protect women from discrimination in New York. For example, the Equal Pay Act requires employers to provide equal pay for equal work. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act also protects women from discrimination including with respect to pay and promotions and also protects against sexual harassment in the workplace. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (which is an amendment to Title VII) protects women who are “affected by pregnancy” from discrimination. “Affected by pregnancy” means pregnant as well as having just given birth to a child. The Family and Medical Leave Act (or FMLA) allows employees to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn child or for an adopted child, and requires the employer to save that employee's job for their return. Many of these statues also protect women from retaliation if they complain that their employer is violating their rights. New York has its own Human Rights Law which also protects women from discrimination and retaliation and is particularly useful because it applies to employers with only four employees.

It is important for women who believe they are victims of gender discrimination to act quickly. Women should not only utilize their employer's avenues of complaint but they should contact an attorney because strict time deadlines apply to challenge what are known as “adverse employment actions” like a demotion or a termination. D'Orazio Peterson provides free consultations to women who believe they have been victims of discrimination or retaliation and we have the expertise to aggressively pursue a case under these statutes. Call us today to speak with an experienced employment attorney about your potential case.

  Giovanna A. D'Orazio  by Giovanna A. D'Orazio |

Giovanna practices employment, land use, commercial, civil and personal injury law at D'Orazio Peterson

About the Author

Scott M. Peterson

Scott M. Peterson is the founding partner of D'Orazio Peterson, having left a partnership at a large regional law firm to limit his practice and focus on helping people protect their families.

Comments

There are no comments for this post. Be the first and Add your Comment below.

Leave a Comment

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our list and receive weekly updates about the law (we promise it won't be boring, and we don't share your information with anyone).

Menu