Civil Rights
Many of the issues that we handle are not explicitly covered by Title VII, but by other laws. For example, a person who believes is being discriminated based on his/her race, may bring a Federal cause of action under Section 1981. It is a separate Federal law, not Title VII and it provides for a longer statute of limitations.
Further, there are other laws that protect different freedoms and rights, as for example Title III (American with Disabilities Act), Title IX (Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. The principal objective of Title IX is to avoid the use of federal money to support sex discrimination in education programs and to provide individual citizens effective protection against those practices. Title IX applies, with a few specific exceptions, to all aspects of federally funded education programs or activities. In addition to traditional educational institutions such as colleges, universities, and elementary and secondary schools, Title IX also applies to any education or training program operated by a recipient of federal financial assistance.)
Title II provides protection against discrimination with regard to public accommodations...
There are many other statutes that protect those who believe have been singled out and harassed due to discrimination or in retaliation.
New York City Commission on Human Rights is enforcing NYC Human Rights law which provide the broadest and strongest protections against:
- discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on race, color, creed, age, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, gender (including gender identity and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, disability (including pregnancy), marital status, and partnership status. Interns, whether paid or not, are considered employees under the law.
- discrimination in employment based on unemployment status, arrest or conviction record and status as a victim of domestic violence, stalking, and sex offenses.
- And also provides protections based on lawful occupation, family status, and any lawful source of income. The City Human Rights Law also prohibits retaliation, bias-related harassment, and bias-based profiling by law enforcement.
Whenever possible, an individual should retain help of an attorney, however, if it is not possible, an individual should at least visit one of the agencies that provide assistance with filing of the charges against discriminating businesses or individuals. These entities are EEOC, New York State Division of Human Rights and New York City Commission on Human Rights.