Workers who speak up about discriminatory or harassing conduct at work do not deserve reprisals for speaking out, yet too often they face exactly that. These adverse actions can take many forms. If you have encountered retaliation because you spoke out against improper practices at your workplace, you should talk to a knowledgeable New York employment retaliation lawyer about your situation. An experienced attorney can help you assess your case and decide on the best path moving forward.
A recent retaliation case involving a high-end Park Avenue real estate brokerage firm helps shed light on what a worker must establish to sustain a viable retaliation claim.
The worker who endured the alleged retaliation, N.M., was a licensed real-estate salesperson who worked for a luxury residential and commercial brokerage firm. The firm’s senior vice president (SVP), according to N.M., had a practice of threatening, harassing, and belittling female employees. The SVP also belittled and disparaged N.M. -- calling him names like “lazy” -- because of his Orthodox Jewish religious practice, which included not working on Saturdays and Jewish holidays.
The agent allegedly complained numerous times to the company’s CEO about the SVP’s conduct toward women. One of those complaints occurred in April 2022. That same month, the SVP (with the CEO’s OK) “removed plaintiff from group text messages for the projects that plaintiff was working on, and informed plaintiff that he would not receive commissions on contracts... entered into after March 1, 2022.” According to the agent, this practice deprived him of commissions he was entitled to receive under his employment contract.
The agent sued for retaliation. The employer argued that N.M. did not have a case because his complaint filing did “not allege... that plaintiff engaged in any protected activity but only that plaintiff made general complaints” about the SVP. The employer also contended that actions like removing N.M. from the group text were not “adverse acts” under either the New York State Human Rights Law or the New York City Human Rights Law.
The trial court disagreed, however, and allowed N.M.’s case to proceed. The court explained that, to make out a retaliation claim, a worker needed to establish four things. Those were that:
- the worker “engaged in a protected activity;
- the employer was aware of the activity;
- the employer acted in a manner reasonably likely to deter [the worker] from engaging in protected activity; and
- a causal connection existed between the protected activity and the alleged retaliatory action.”
The court further explained that “protected activity” meant “actions taken to protest or oppose statutorily prohibited discrimination.”
The judge rejected the employer’s argument that N.M.’s complaints could not amount to protected activity. The agent’s complaints potentially constituted informing the CEO that the SVP was “creating a hostile work environment or otherwise discriminating on the basis of sex and religion in violation of the New York City and State Human Rights Laws,” which fell squarely within the confines of opposing statutorily prohibited discrimination.
Denial of Commissions Was More Than an ‘Inconvenience’
The court also found that the alleged denial of N.M.’s commissions was sufficient to meet the “materially adverse act” requirement. The NYSHRL and NYCHRL require that, to qualify as materially adverse, an act must be more than a “mere inconvenience.” Denying N.M. compensation that he had earned was the sort of change in working conditions that exceeded a “mere inconvenience.”
Because this adverse action occurred just a few days or weeks after N.M.’s complaint, his complaint also presented the sort of causal connection required by the law.
N.M.’s case illustrates some of the nuances and complexities that go with putting together a viable retaliation case in New York. If you believe you have experienced illegal workplace retaliation, talk to the New York City workplace retaliation attorneys at Phillips & Associates PLLC. Our experienced team has helped countless clients obtain justice for the acts of illegal retaliation they endured. To find out more about how we can help you, contact us online or at (866) 229-9441 to set up a free and confidential consultation today.