New York Race Discrimination Lawyers

Race discrimination in the employment context is illegal under Federal, New York State, and New York City Law. The law firm of Cary Kane LLP is available to represent employees and workers with claims of race discrimination in New York. Below is an outline of the statutory scheme concerning race discrimination in employment, followed by a brief explanation of how you should proceed if you have been victimized by this bias.

The Law of Race Discrimination

Federal law has prohibited race discrimination in employment for over 140 years. Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, prohibits discrimination in employment based on race or color. More recently, Congress passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits such discrimination and expands the law's protection to also prohibit discrimination based on national origin. Title VII established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an administrative agency charged with investigating charges of employment discrimination and enforcing the laws. In order to bring a lawsuit under Title VII, you must first exhaust your administrative remedies with the EEOC. It is helpful to consult with an attorney before filing a charge with the EEOC.

New York State and New York City also have laws prohibiting racial discrimination in employment. The New York State Division of Human Rights and New York City Commission on Civil Rights are administrative agencies that enforce the state and local laws, respectively. In contrast to Title VII, it is not necessary to exhaust administrative remedies and first appear before state and local administrative agencies. Instead, an employee can either elect to litigate a claim in court or file a charge with an administrative agency. Regardless of which option you might choose, it is helpful to first consult with a New York attorney who can give you advice about your best course of action.

What to Do If You're Victimized

Unfortunately, race discrimination in employment is still all too prevalent, even in a place as diverse as New York City. Employers that discriminate, however, are usually not so clumsy as to directly admit that race has played a role in their employment decision. Discrimination must often be proved circumstantially. In some cases, an employer may make remarks which indicate bias or stereotyping against certain races. In other cases, an employee may be able to prove discrimination by showing that he or she was treated worse than similarly situated employees of other races. One can also sometimes show that an employer's proffered reason for taking action against an employee was untrue and a pretext for discrimination.

If possible, try to preserve all documents or other records that are relevant to your employment or application for employment. This can include performance evaluations, employer policy manuals or handbooks, notices posted by the employer, and informal correspondence or e-mails between you and your supervisor or other employees. Often evidence of race discrimination can be found by carefully reviewing these documents.

Because racial discrimination can be difficult to prove, it is important to have an attorney who knows federal and New York racial discrimination law as it pertains to the workplace. Contact the law firm of Cary Kane LLP to schedule a consultation if you believe you have been the victim of racial discrimination in your employment.