New York State and New York City are home to some robust anti-discrimination laws. While federal law requires a worker to prove that they experienced discrimination at a severe level or on a pervasive basis, New York State and New York City expressly reject this elevated hurdle of proof. If you have encountered sex discrimination at work here, know that powerful laws are potentially at your disposal, and you owe it to yourself to contact an experienced New York sex discrimination lawyer to discuss your options.
A health department investigator’s recent sex discrimination case provides a clear highlight of the differences between federal and New York State law, and how the latter exists to help discriminated workers.
The employee, C.C., began working for the Department of Health’s Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement in the summer of 2021. Sexist comments started almost immediately. On her first day of field training, the investigator asked her supervisor about the dress code. Although no dress code existed, the supervisor told the investigator—in a “sarcastic tone”—that female investigators should “wear pumps.”
Other comments included the supervisor telling the investigator to “calm down, girl!” and once ending a one-on-one meeting by saying, “I don’t have anything more to say to you, honey.”
Roughly one year after the investigator started her job, the department fired her. Subsequently, she sued claiming a hostile work environment in violation of federal law (Title VII) and state law (the New York State Human Rights Law).
‘Severe or Pervasive’ Versus ‘Treated Less Well’
At this point, it is worth noting what the investigator’s lawsuit did not have. She did not allege extreme epithets (like, for example, “B word,” “C word,” etc.), and she did not allege that she was the target of a torrent of constant abuse.
These were not enough to provide the foundation for a viable federal claim under Title VII. As the trial judge explained, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has said that “isolated stray remarks, even if made by a decision-maker, do not constitute sufficient evidence to make out a case of employment discrimination,” absent something more.
That “something more” can include remarks that “were (1) made repeatedly, (2) drew a direct link between gender stereotypes and the adverse employment decision, and (3) were made by supervisors who played a substantial role in the decision to terminate.”
The investigator did not sufficiently allege any of these three things, so she did not have a viable Title VII case based on the supervisor’s remarks.
What she did have, on the other hand, was a viable NYSHRL case based on those remarks. Under the current standard that both the state and city law follow, a worker alleging a hostile work environment only needs to “establish that she was treated less well than other employees” because of her membership in a protected class. Additionally, the NYSHRL “expressly rejects any requirement that the conduct must be severe or pervasive.”
For a worker to win her hostile work environment case, she needs only to persuade a jury that “the alleged harassment subjected [her] to inferior terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. In C.C.’s case, the judge determined that, if the investigator succeeded in persuading a jury that her version of facts was true, that jury could find C.C. endured a pattern of being treated more poorly than others based on her sex.
Note the contrast in what a worker has to prove in a federal claim versus a state claim. This difference highlights how robust the New York State (and New York City) laws are in protecting workers from mistreatment based on protected characteristics like sex or gender.
This employee’s case also spotlights how, just because you may not have a case under one law (like Title VII), that doesn’t mean you necessarily don’t have a case at all. New York State and New York City law may allow you to get justice when federal law falls short. To learn more about your options, get in touch with the knowledgeable New York City sex discrimination attorneys at Phillips & Associates PLLC. Our team has helped clients achieve successful results in both state and federal courts. To find out more about how we can help you achieve your goals, contact us online or at (866) 229-9441 to set up a free and confidential consultation today.