The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act is a new law that helps empower many people who seek justice in civil court. The EFAA aids workers whose claims otherwise would have been rerouted to arbitration against their will. Fortunately, the EFAA exists and has broad coverage to assist a wide array of harmed workers. Having legal representation provided by a knowledgeable New York sexual harassment lawyer can be integral to ensuring you get the benefit of all the protections this statute and other laws offer.
As an example of how much protection the EFAA offers, we can consider a recent sexual harassment case from Manhattan that involved several female sales representatives working at a debt relief company.
The plaintiffs who sued included three Black women and one Egyptian woman.
A.L. was a Black woman who worked as a commission sales representative. Her supervisor, P.S., allegedly engaged in quid pro quo sexual harassment. In exchange for the representative’s participation, the supervisor ensured she received the best sales “leads,” meaning her leads were the ones most likely to lead to sales, thereby enhancing her ability to earn a larger income.
O.A. was a woman of Egyptian ancestry who also worked as a commission sales representative. Allegedly, her supervisors gave her leads with “ethnic” sounding names and avoided giving her leads with “white” sounding names. P.S. and others disparagingly called O.A. “the Palestinian” or the “dirty Palestinian.” The employer fired O.A. one day after she reported P.S.’s sexual harassment involving A.L. to her supervisor.
E.W., a Black female sales representative, allegedly experienced race and disability discrimination. E.W. sought to work remotely because she suffered from “post-surgical scoliosis with chronic pain.” According to the lawsuit, her supervisors opted to deny remote work to her (even though the company allowed many sales representatives to work from home,) because the company” ‘had problems with people like [her] in the past,’ referring to another Black female employee who had ‘abused the privilege’ of remote work.”
K.L. was a Black female sales representative. Allegedly, she worked roughly 50 hours per week, but received only 40 hours’ worth of compensation. (A.L. made a similar allegation except that, in her circumstance, she alleged that she worked approximately 70 hours per week but received pay for only 40.)
All four representatives, as part of their employment contracts, agreed to provisions that required them to arbitrate employment-related disputes with their employer.
With that background established, can you identify which of the four can proceed in court and bypass arbitration, even though they signed arbitration agreements?
It might be tempting to answer “A.L.” However, if you chose “both A.L. and O.A.”, you are correct. The key when it comes to analyzing EFAA applicability is whether or not yours is a “case” that relates to a “sexual assault or sexual harassment dispute.”
A.L.’s entitlement to protection under the EFAA is relatively straightforward. She asserted a claim of quid pro quo sexual harassment based upon her supervisor’s treatment of her. What is important to note about A.L.’s claims is that the EFAA protects the entirety of her case. In other words, she may avoid arbitration and proceed in court, not just on her sexual harassment claims, but also on her wage and hour claims.
A Deeper Look into the Breadth of the EFAA
Much of O.A.’s case alleged that her employer engaged in harmful racial discrimination related to the company’s assignment of sales leads. However, she also alleged that the employer retaliated against her by firing her one day after she reported the sexual harassment of A.L. Retaliation against an employee for reporting sexual harassment (even if you are not the victim) is still “conduct constituting sexual harassment and is therefore... covered by the EFAA.” Because she had that sexual harassment-related retaliation claim, she could litigate her whole case, including that claim plus the discrimination claim.
E.W. and K.L.’s claims had no connection to any alleged sexual assault or sexual harassment, so the EFAA did not apply to them, and they had to arbitrate their cases. If, however, either of them had presented evidence that could tie their overall case to a sexual harassment claim, they might have gotten a different outcome. For example, suppose either had complained to supervisors (or HR) that P.S. was sexually fixated on A.L. and that A.L. seemed to be receiving preferential leads as a result, and had subsequently received punishment. In that hypothetical case, their outcomes might have been different.
If your workplace harassment-related lawsuit involves a sexual harassment claim (or claims), the EFAA may play a crucial role in helping you get your day in court. Skilled legal counsel can also play a vital role. For reliable answers to your questions about your sexual harassment case, get in touch with the knowledgeable New York City sexual harassment attorneys at Phillips & Associates PLLC. Our team has helped countless harassment victims get justice and is eager to discuss how we can assist you. To find out more, contact us online or at (866) 229-9441 to set up a free and confidential consultation today.