Blog Posts By Category

Ex-Employee Claims Facebook Routinely Fires People Over 50 Worker alleges managers set him up to fail so they could terminate him Age discrimination cases often come with their own set of code words. ...

Is Age Discrimination Becoming an Epidemic? What all workers over 40 need to know Would you believe that nearly two-thirds of people from ages 45 to 74 said they had experienced or witnessed age ...

The Sometimes-Subtle Face of Age Bias Over 40? Here’s what you need to know about age discrimination “You’re not a good fit with our culture.” “We need people with youthful energy running the ...

The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act just made it through the House of Representatives on September 20 th , 2019. The move represents a significant milestone for the American working ...

Are Disabilities and Serious Health Conditions the Same Thing? Unraveling federal regulations that govern medical issues If you’re uncertain of your rights regarding disabilities, injuries, and ...

Can a Company Refuse to Hire a Recovering Drug Addict? What the Americans with Disabilities Act says about drug addiction There’s no lawful reason a company would ever be required to hire someone who ...

Female Workers Awarded Nearly $1 Million in Pregnancy and Disability Discrimination Settlement Women claim they were treated unfairly due to pregnancies "Aren't you ever going to quit having kids?" ...

Are LGBTQ+ Workers Protected Under the Law? Though many states, including New York, explicitly state that employees may not be discriminated against or fired due to their sexuality, no US laws ...

When the Weinstein scandal exploded in 2017, actress Alyssa Milano famously encouraged social media users to spread the hashtag #MeToo in an effort to demonstrate just how many men and women ...

What the law says about toxic workplaces Is being rude and abrasive at work against the law? In most cases, the answer is obviously no. There are no legal standards that govern workplace civility. ...

Understanding Your Rights as a Non-Employee In the United States, federal laws protect employees from discrimination, harassment, and unfair employment practices. They are guaranteed certain rights ...

Are LGBTQ+ Workers Protected Under the Law? Though many states, including New York, explicitly state that employees may not be discriminated against or fired due to their sexuality, no US laws ...

Good Morning America anchor Lara Spencer apologized for her comments about the news that Prince George will be taking in a ballet classes. “The comment I made about dance was insensitive it was stupid ...

Regular readers of this blog should know to be careful what they post on social media, especially with regard to their employers. One employee found this out the hard way, though he got lucky when a ...

The law provides certain benefits to employees, including the right to be free from unlawful discrimination and the ability to collect unemployment insurance benefits. Individuals who are classified ...

John Hithon, an African-American male, and former employee of a food plant, brought suit against his former employer alleging race discrimination . Hithon, who possessed 13 years of experience on the ...

Can You Be Fired During Medical Leave? What you need to know about returning to work after FMLA leave Your surgery was a success and you’ve completed rehabilitation. Your doctor has cleared you to ...

When Taking Medical Leave is a Career Killer How to tell if you’ve been a victim of FMLA retaliation Imagine that you return to work after medical leave only to find that your job isn’t what it used ...

When Your Boss Disagrees With Your Doctor Fast-food worker says boss made her flush her medication Employees on medical leave who are directed to return to work or be fired … Staffers who are told to ...

Schwartz & Perry has been renamed to Schwartz Perry & Heller​ with Brian Heller officially becoming a name partner at the law firm. We could not be more excited to move into this next chapter of our ...

When the holidays are in full force, it is not uncommon for businesses to get swamped with customers. No matter what product or service you offer, you can probably expect an influx of customer ...

On November 19, 2019, the Second Circuit issued a decision reversing a lower court’s decision to dismiss a woman’s claim of gender discrimination. In Khanna v. Mufg Union Bank, N.A. , No. 19-893, 2019 ...

Boss Assumed That Gay Employee Must Have AIDS Supervisor drew pictures that mocked man’s supposed effeminate mannerisms Your boss seems uncomfortable that you’re in a same-sex marriage. He makes lewd ...

Female Boss Didn’t Want a Woman Doing So-Called Man’s Work Single mother of seven had stellar employment record before she was fired Is there such a thing as “men’s work” and “women’s work?” Believe ...

Female workers at Ford Motor Co .'s Chicago plant have accused the company of turning a blind eye to "heinous" acts of gender discrimination, including catcalling, groping and requests for sexual ...

It is fairly well settled that to prevail on a claim of hostile work environment based on gender discrimination, the plaintiff must establish that the abuse was indeed based on his or her gender. ...

In 2008, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act ("GINA") was passed, with the stated goal of "prohibit[ing] discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance ...

When the holidays are in full force, it is not uncommon for businesses to get swamped with customers. No matter what product or service you offer, you can probably expect an influx of customer ...

Woman Sues Over Coworkers’ Disruptive Porn-Viewing Habits Company attempts to have case thrown out because woman was not directly harassed Let’s face it: After spending 40 hours a week or more with ...

Can You Sue Your Boss for Being a Bully? What You Need to Know about Hostile Work Environments There may be legal protection from certain types of behavior You’d hope that treating people with respect ...

Garden variety sexual harassment exists in all types of workplaces. Employers will get away with it unless employees take action to stop it. Samara Schmidt took such action and her employer paid the ...

Woman Fired for 'Flipping Off' the President; Was it Legal? Company claimed off-duty action violated code of conduct Can you be fired for your political views? What about your off-hours conduct? How ...

When an employee learns that their employer or the higher-ups in the company have intentionally broken the law and violated regulations, they are encouraged to come forth and tell the government of ...

Understanding Your Rights as a Non-Employee In the United States, federal laws protect employees from discrimination, harassment, and unfair employment practices. They are guaranteed certain rights ...

Company Must Pay $150K Settlement After Chinese Workers Claim National Origin Discrimination Staffers claim they made $3 less per hour than white employees Imagine that you found out that most of your ...

What is National Origin Discrimination? How it differs from race discrimination Do you know what national origin discrimination is? If you guessed that it’s similar to race discrimination, you’re ...

What You Need to Know About National Origin Discrimination EEOC issues new guidance on the topic You may already be familiar with the basic concepts surrounding racial discrimination. However, fewer ...

Finding a job can be a stressful and time consuming process. From making a new resume, conducting a job search or preparing for interviews, the last thing you want is to put in all that effort only to ...

Women Claim They Were Told ‘Don’t Get Pregnant Or You’re Fired’ Employer must pay $110,000 settlement Sometimes pregnancy discrimination is subtle. For example, a woman may find that it’s harder to ...

Female Workers Awarded Nearly $1 Million in Pregnancy and Disability Discrimination Settlement Women claim they were treated unfairly due to pregnancies "Aren't you ever going to quit having kids?" ...

Navigating the Patchwork of Laws that Apply to Pregnancy What women need to know about their rights in the workplace Many working women are in for a shock when they become pregnant for the first time. ...

Woman Fired Over White Nationalist Views; Was It Legal? Employee spotted in video at “alt right” gathering Can you be fired for your personal views on race, even if you do not express those views at ...

Black Staffer Fired After Refusing to Work with Man Who Used N-Word Woman says she was terminated for threatening to contact a lawyer Can an African American woman be lawfully terminated for refusing ...

Have You Been Forced Off the Job? What You Need to Know about ‘Constructive Discharge’ Why it’s important to seek legal counsel quickly Imagine this scenario: You believe that you’re being subjected ...

Muslim Worker Fired After Announcing He’d Defend Himself Against Harassers Employer refused to take action on man’s complaint In the aftermath of last week’s election, racial tension is something ...

When the duties of your job conflict with your religious beliefs, your employer cannot fire you as a result of your convictions, and has the affirmative duty under the law to adjust the job ...

Are volunteers entitled to the protections of Title VII regarding religious discrimination, retaliation, and harassment? No, according to a recent Sixth Circuit case. The plaintiffs in the case were ...

When the Weinstein scandal exploded in 2017, actress Alyssa Milano famously encouraged social media users to spread the hashtag #MeToo in an effort to demonstrate just how many men and women ...

Woman Says She Was Fired Because of Obligations to Her Autistic Child Company misinformed staffer about her rights under the FMLA It’s sad but true: many companies take advantage of the fact that ...

Male Employees Fired for Opposing Harassment of Female Coworkers Company must pay $1.4 million to workers who complained One of the biggest reasons that people don’t speak up about unlawful activity ...

On January 2, 2020, Schwartz Perry & Heller received a decision from the Eastern District of New York denying a motion to dismiss our client’s case, Mosier v. State University of New York , 18 CV ...

When the Weinstein scandal exploded in 2017, actress Alyssa Milano famously encouraged social media users to spread the hashtag #MeToo in an effort to demonstrate just how many men and women ...

Harassment in the workplace 20 years after Faragher THOMSON REUTERS By Davida S. Perry, Esq., and Brian Heller, Esq., Schwartz Perry & Heller Sexual harassment continues to thrive in the workplace. In ...

Boss Assumed That Gay Employee Must Have AIDS Supervisor drew pictures that mocked man’s supposed effeminate mannerisms Your boss seems uncomfortable that you’re in a same-sex marriage. He makes lewd ...

LGBTQ Rights at Work Just Got a Big Boost Federal appeals court issues major ruling on sexual-orientation discrimination There’s good news for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) workers. ...

Feds Reach First-Ever Settlement over Sexual Orientation Discrimination EEOC sued company for discriminating against lesbian employee Mark down June 23, 2016, as a historic day for lesbian, gay, ...

Report: Employers Stole More Than $2 Billion from Workers in Last Two Years Low-wage workers are particularly at risk You read that headline right. Two billion. It’s a staggering number—and it’s the ...

Is Your Employer Required to Give You a Break? What the law says about meal and rest breaks Today is the first day of your new job! You’re excited to get started and clock in using your company’s time ...

Believe It or Not: Employer Refused to Pay Workers for Restroom Breaks Company liable for back pay and damages after violating federal labor law Imagine looking at your pay stub and finding out that ...

When an employee learns that their employer or the higher-ups in the company have intentionally broken the law and violated regulations, they are encouraged to come forth and tell the government of ...