Workplace Harassment in NY

City, state, and federal laws serve to protect employees against harassment at work. In New York, employees may avail themselves of expansive state and city employee-protection laws to stop harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

A subset of employment discrimination, workplace harassment typically consists of offensive comments, jokes, images, or other statements or conduct that engenders a hostile, intimidating, or offensive work environment. Such harassment can adversely affect the work performance, career opportunities, and compensation of an employee.

Beranbaum Menken LLP has extensive experience successfully representing victims of workplace harassment in New York lawsuits.

NY harassment laws

New York State Human Rights Law protects against employment discrimination—and, hence, against workplace harassment—on the basis of the following:

Additionally, New York City's Human Rights Law prohibits discrimination based on alienage and citizenship status, on having an arrest or conviction record, or gender orientation or partnership status.

Harassment becomes illegal when enduring such mistreatment is a condition of continued employment, and when it is pervasive and severe enough that a reasonable person would consider the work environment intimidating, hostile, or abusive. In addition, managers who do not take corrective action upon learning of workplace harassment may be considered a party to the offense—even though they may not have engaged in such behavior.

NY sexual harassment law

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that can fall into two categories:

• Quid pro quo harassment: an employee is compelled to tolerate harassment from a manager or supervisor in order to get or keep a job, job benefit, raise, or promotion.
• Hostile work environment harassment: harassment at work creates a hostile, abusive, or offensive work environment and interferes with or alters the work performance of an employee.

Hostile work environment harassment may be verbal, physical, or pictorial, and can include: sexual comments, jokes, innuendo, pressure for dates, and sexual touching, gestures, or graffiti. The complainant does not have to be the person at whom the offensive conduct is directed, but can be anyone affected by the conduct.

Beranbaum Menken LLP: experienced workplace harassment lawyers in NY

Beranbaum Menken LLP has a long, successful history of litigating all forms of employment discrimination and harassment before New York state and federal courts. Contact Beranbaum Menken LLP today to arrange an initial consultation or call us at 212-509-1616.