PLEASE NOTE: To protect your safety in response to the threats of COVID-19, we are offering our clients the ability to meet with us via telephone or through video conferencing. Please call our office to discuss your options.

Gould & Berg , LLP | Attorneys At Law

Flexible Appointments Available

CALL TODAY

914-397-1050

New York workers may sue for race discrimination

On Behalf of | Jun 15, 2017 | Uncategorized

A city in another state was recently required to pay over $150,000 to a police officer as part of a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination. The officer who won the lawsuit is Hispanic. If employees in New York suffer from discrimination on the basis of race, they have the right to seek justice through the legal system.

In the recent out-of-state case, the jury awarded the Hispanic police officer after finding that he did not receive a promotion to the position of sergeant due, in part, to his race. The man joined the police department back in 1998 and later applied to become a sergeant. According to the lawsuit, he had high marks when he applied.

However, during a period of three months in 2014, five White officers who were reportedly less qualified ended up receiving promotions instead of the Hispanic officer. The man asserted that the inability to claim a promotion meant he would be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement benefits in the future since retirement income is based on the employee’s highest-earning years. Following the jury’s verdict, in which the officer received a monetary award, city officials asserted that they may try to appeal the decision.

Discrimination on the basis of race or other protected factors, including age and gender, is prohibited according to federal law. However, it still takes place around the country, including in New York. Workers who are mistreated due to these factors have the right to file discrimination claims in an effort to hold their employers accountable. A successfully fought case might lead to remedies such as monetary relief for any damages incurred and even the reinstatement of a job if a termination resulted from the discrimination.

Source: news-leader.com, “City of Springfield must now pay $150K in racial discrimination lawsuit, judge says“, Giacomo Bologna, June 13, 2017