Nassau County Race Discrimination Attorneys

Dedicated Employment Attorneys Advocating for Nassau County Residents

Nassau County's nonwhite population represents 35% of its total population. Of this group, about 14.5% identify as Hispanic, 11.2% identify as Black, and 8% identify as Asian. Race discrimination in a workplace occurs when a job applicant is treated adversely due to their being of a certain race or appearing to the employer to be of a certain race. Race discrimination has a significant overlap with color discrimination, which occurs when somebody is treated adversely in the workplace due to their skin color. Race discrimination can be especially difficult to pin down with evidence because many employers are aware that it is illegal, and they go out of their way to deny that race was a factor in their decisions. At Phillips & Associates, our Nassau County race discrimination lawyers fight injustice in the workplace, and we work hard to help our clients recover the greatest possible amount of damages for race discrimination.

Treating someone adversely in the workplace due to any aspect of their racial phenotype, including hair texture or shape of nose, could be race discrimination. Race discrimination can also occur when a job applicant or employee is treated adversely due to their marriage or association with someone of a particular race or color.

Examples of Disparate Treatment and Disparate Impact

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the New York State Human Rights Law both prohibit race discrimination in the workplace. Race discrimination can occur with regard to any aspect of employment, including hiring, training, benefits, pay, firing, promotions, layoffs, and more. Intentional discrimination happens if the employment decision is influenced by the person's race, including unconscious stereotypes about the abilities or performance of people who belong to particular racial groups. Racial harassment is one form of racial discrimination. If you are claiming racial discrimination in the employment context in Nassau County, your race discrimination attorney will have the initial burden to prove a prima facie case.

Racial discrimination could occur, for example, at a Michelin-starred restaurant with a sophisticated customer base, where the hiring manager believes the stereotype that a Black woman does not present a clean-cut image because of her natural hair, and it therefore does not hire a Black woman as a hostess. It is not valid for an employer to claim that it is simply catering to the racial preferences of its customers. This is still intentional race discrimination, and employment decisions based on what the employer believes about its clients' discriminatory preferences are illegal under Title VII and the New York State Human Rights Law.

Seemingly neutral practices or policies can result in a disparate impact on particular racial groups. A practice or policy with a disparate impact is only legitimate if there is a business necessity for the practice or policy, and there is no equally effective alternative practice. If an employer cannot show a business need, or you can show that the business need would be met in a way that has less of a disparate impact, the court should find that practice illegal.

State Law and Actual or Constructive Discharge

Often, employers bring motions for summary judgment to get a case dismissed before it has a chance to go before a jury. What your Nassau County race discrimination attorney needs to prove can vary slightly, depending on the adverse action that you are alleging took place. When bringing a lawsuit based on constructive or actual discharge under the New York State Human Rights Law, you will need to show that you are a member of a class protected by statute, you were actively or constructively discharged or otherwise subject to an adverse employment action, you were qualified to do the job or position that you did not get or lost, and this occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of race discrimination.

The burden then shifts to your employer to show that it took actions against you for legitimate and nondiscriminatory reasons. You will need to prove that the legitimate reasons put forward by the defendant were a cover for discrimination. In other words, you will need to show that there is material factual evidence to suggest that the employer's asserted reason is false or not worthy of being believed and that more likely than not your race was the real reason.

Consult a Race Discrimination Lawyer in Nassau County or Surrounding Areas

At Phillips & Associates, our experienced attorneys can evaluate your situation to determine whether you have a basis to sue for race discrimination or another form of discrimination, such as gender or disability discrimination, and we can represent you if appropriate.

Call us at (866) 229-9441 or contact us online. We offer free consultations and handle our cases on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no upfront fees.