Sometimes, discrimination or harassment may take the form of a series of discrete acts of illegal conduct. Other times, the acts of gender discrimination or harassment are all part of one long, continuing pattern of misconduct. This distinction may mean a great deal, especially if you have endured misconduct for years. The law’s statutes of limitations may limit what evidence you can use to prove your case. However, if you can establish the existence of a continuing violation, you may be entitled to use acts that the statute of limitations otherwise would bar. A knowledgeable New York gender discrimination lawyer can provide essential information about that and other legal concepts, as well as how best to pursue your case.
The discrimination case of a New York City securities trader illustrates how the continuing violation doctrine can help a worker’s lawsuit.
The employee, K.F., was a woman who worked for a brokerage firm. Beginning in June 2020 and continuing into early 2021, the firm engaged in discriminatory conduct, according to the lawsuit. Specifically, the trader alleged that the firm “assigned her a smaller percentage of the market and a lower risk limit as compared with her male colleagues.” The trader also alleged that, in 2019, one of her supervisors made negative comments about her appearance and “suggested that she used her gender to gain favor with male colleagues.”
The trader complained to the employer’s human resources team. Subsequently, the supervisor declared her intent to “get [K.F.] fired.” According to the trader, the disparate assignments and the supervisor’s mistreatment persisted, so she continued to submit complaints to human resources and other supervisors. On Feb. 10, 2021, the trader asked for options that would allow her to move to a different role with the firm. The next day, the employer locked the trader’s computer and declared that it had accepted the trader’s resignation.
K.F. denied leaving her job voluntarily.
After the trader sued, the employer moved to dismiss, and the trial court granted the motion. The Appellate Division reversed that ruling, however. In its opinion, the Appellate Court reinforced that workers who pursue discrimination claims are entitled to “the benefit of every favorable inference” and “the lenient notice-pleading standard.”
Under those favorable standards, what the trader alleged was enough under both the New York City Human Rights Law and the New York State Human Rights Law. The trader alleged that her supervisors treated her less favorably than her male counterparts in the distribution of client assignments. That, if proven true, could create the necessary inference of discrimination.
How the ‘Continuing Violation Doctrine’ Can Help
The court also reinstated the trader’s hostile work environment claim, reversing the trial court’s ruling that the statute of limitations barred the claim. In doing so, the appeals court relied on the Continuing Violation Doctrine. That doctrine is a legal construct that says if the misconduct the worker alleged represented a continuous, ongoing pattern of illegal conduct, then the worker may rely on acts that otherwise would be deemed too old, so long as they are all part of a single pattern and at least some of the acts occurred within the limitations period.
In K.F.’s case, only one act – the February 2021 termination of her employment – occurred within the three-year limitations period of the NYCHRL and the NYSHRL. Nevertheless, the appeals court revived the hostile work environment claim, concluding that the trader adequately made out the case that “the termination was the culmination of a single continuing pattern of discriminatory or retaliatory conduct.”
The trader’s win in the Appellate Division is significant not only to the parties in this case. It signals to any worker who seeks to use a prolonged course of gender-based disparate treatment and a discriminatory firing that they may be entitled to invoke the Continuing Violation Doctrine and rely on older acts of discrimination.
Women continue to face many discriminatory hurdles in the finance and securities industries. If you believe that you have experienced gender discrimination in your job, get in touch with the skilled New York gender discrimination attorneys at Phillips & Associates, PLLC. Our team is dedicated to fighting for all workers who have faced illegal discriminatory conduct. To learn more about how we can help you, contact us online or call (866) 229-9441 to schedule a free and confidential consultation today.