Laws have been passed under both New York and federal governments which prohibit discriminating on the basis of specified protected characteristics. Employers in the city of Elmira, whether public or private, can be held liable under federal and state laws depending on the type of trait first prompted the discrimination.

How Does Employment Discrimination Occur?

Employment discrimination occurs when an employer treats you wrongly because of your membership in a legally protected class. Traits that employers can not use to evaluate you include race, national origin, gender, religion and familial status. The plaintiff must prove that their employer intended to treat them unfairly because of their protected status in order to succeed on a discrimination claim in Elmira, New York.

How can Employment Discrimination be Proven in New York?

This is shown upon finding a prior history of similar treatment of members of the same class, or upon testimony regarding the employer's statements that a reasonable person would understand to be biased. Furthermore, employers are in clear violation of the law when they fire someone or retaliate against them because they filed a discrimination lawsuit.

Procedures for filing an employment discrimination claim are complicated, because they involve filing the claim with the corresponding agency. An Elmira, New York attorney can help you file on time, as well as pursue any further remedies that may be available to you while your case is pending.