New York City and New York State’s anti-discrimination laws are among the most powerful in the country for workers who have experienced workplace discrimination. Here in New York, you do not need evidence of extreme or constant mistreatment to win a race discrimination case; you only need proof that you were treated less well and that race motivated that treatment. If you have questions about pursuing your case, you retain an experienced New York race discrimination lawyer who can provide instrumental advocacy throughout the process.
As an example of the strength of New York City and New York State anti-discrimination laws, consider this case of racial discrimination within the New York Police Department.
According to his lawsuit, NYPD officer C.P. was the target of a torrent of racial/ethnic animosity. This discrimination included a sergeant and a lieutenant saying, of minorities, that the NYPD “did not want these kind of people on the job,” that the department should be careful, or it “will have a bunch of dumb immigrants.”
Additionally, the sergeant allegedly told C.P., an American-born Hispanic male of Puerto Rican ancestry, that “your kind never listens... do I need to tell you in Spanish?” The sergeant called C.P. a “dumb spic" and another lieutenant called him a “goomba,” according to the officer’s civil complaint.
The city asked the court to toss the officer’s lawsuit. The court rejected that motion, concluding that the information C.P. had submitted was enough to entitle him to proceed with his case.
The officer’s successful defeat of the city’s motion is a reminder of what you do (and don’t) have to include in your court papers to have a viable discrimination case in New York. As the judge in C.P.’s case noted, the New York City Human Rights Law does not demand that a worker demonstrate that they were “subjected to a ‘materially adverse’ change” in the terms and conditions of their employment. Instead, the NYCHRL only requires that a worker demonstrate they were “subject to an unfavorable change, or treated less well than other employees on the basis of a protected characteristic.”
In other words, the worker only has to establish that he was treated differently, that the treatment derived from a discriminatory motive, and that the treatment was something more than just “petty slights or trivial inconveniences.”
What C.P. gave the court in his case was adequate under both the NYCHRL and the New York State Human Rights Law. As a Hispanic man of Puerto Rican ancestry, C.P. was a member of a protected class.
The court, in denying the city’s motion, expressly rejected an argument that the derogatory things the sergeant and the lieutenant said to C.P. were mere petty slights or trivial inconveniences. The court explained that, when taken together, the “your kind” comments, the anti-Hispanic slur, the question about repeating a comment in Spanish, and the “goomba" reference were enough to allow a reasonable person to draw an inference of discrimination.
What C.P.’s case illustrates is that anti-discrimination law in New York favors workers. You do not need allegations of severe or pervasive mistreatment to have a case. You just need to establish that you were treated less well for discriminatory reasons.
For more about New York’s anti-discrimination laws and how they may help you get justice for the mistreatment you endured at work, talk to the knowledgeable New York City race discrimination attorneys at Phillips & Associates PLLC. We have successfully handled numerous race discrimination cases for New York workers, and we are ready to discuss how we can assist you. To learn more, please get in touch with us online or call (866) 229-9441 to schedule a free and confidential consultation today.