Law Office of Finn W. Dusenbery

Sexual harassment is prohibited as a form of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). See 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a)(1); N.Y. Exec. L. 296; Admin. Code 8-107; Pelgrift v. 335 W. 41st Tavern Inc., 2017 WL 4712482 at *10 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Ananiadis v. Mediterranean Gyros Products, Inc., 151 A.D.3d 915 (2d Dep’t 2017); Williams v. New York City Housing Au...Continue reading

If you are a home health aide or other employee working a 24-hour shift and receive less than five (5) hours of sleep per night, you may be entitled to compensation for sleep time, which, in many cases, is excluded from workers' pay. In addition, you may be entitled to a "spread of hours" premium of one extra hour of pay at the minimum wage rate when your shift lasts longer than ten (10) hours per day, and damages for incorrect wage statements up to a maximum of $5,000. Further, if you did not receive a notice of pay rate at the beginning of your employment, you may be entitled to damages up to a maximum of $5,000. If you would like more information, you can call (212) 583-0030 or email [email protected]. www.dusenberylaw.com ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

Just filed a religious discrimination case on behalf of a Christian woman against a company operating a TGI Friday's in Brooklyn. You can view the complaint here: https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/DocumentList

Representing clients with immigration issues, including helping with visas and green cards. If you would like more information, please call (212) 583-0030 or email [email protected] Law Office of Finn W. Dusenbery 57 W. 57th St, 4th Fl New York, NY 10019... ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

Under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), an employee returning from leave is entitled to restoration to the employee’s position prior to the leave or to an equivalent position. See Voltaire v. Home Services Systems, Inc., 823 F. Supp. 2d 77, 90 (E.D.N.Y. 2011). This reinstatement is required even if the employee has been replaced or the employee’s position has been restructured because of the employee’s absence. Id. If you would like more information, you can call (212...) 583-0030 or email [email protected]. www.dusenberylaw.com 57 W. 57th St, 4th Fl New York, NY 10030 T: (212) 583-0030 F: (646) 786-3250 ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) all prohibit discrimination on the basis of certain protected characteristics. Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The NYSHRL prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, race, creed (religion), color, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, disability, marita...l status or domestic violence victim status, among other things. Finally, the NYCHRL prohibits discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived age, race, creed (religion), color, national origin, gender (includes pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment, and sex stereotyping claims based on gender non-conforming behavior), disability, sexual orientation and marital status, among other things. Discrimination can include different kinds of conduct. For example, treating certain employees worse than other similarly situated employees with respect to the terms and conditions of employment - such as pay or job assignments - because of a protected characteristic like race may constitute discrimination. Further, employment policies and practices that negatively affect a protected class of employees but are not job-related and consistent with business necessity may constitute discrimination. Examples of discriminatory employment policies and practices may include requiring a certain level of education that is unnecessary for a position or conducting testing that has a disproportionately adverse impact on a protected class of employees. Discrimination can also include refusing to hire an employee; taking adverse action such as demoting or firing an employee; or harassing an employee with slurs, insults, or name-calling because of the employee's protected characteristic. Finally, discrimination may include failing to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee because of a disability, pregnancy, or religious practice such as observing a sabbath or holy day. If you would like more information, you can call (212) 583-0030 or email [email protected]. www.dusenberylaw.com 57 W. 57th St, 4th Fl New York, NY 10030 T: (212) 583-0030 F: (646) 786-3250 ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

The New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) requires an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation to allow the performance of the essential requisites of a job when the employer knows or should know about an employee's pregnancy, childbirth, or a "related medical condition." Admin. Code 8-107(22). The NYCHRL defines reasonable accommodation as one that can be made without causing an undue hardship to the employer’s business. Admin. Code 8-102(18). The NYCHRL ...applies to employers with four (4) or more employees, which may include independent contractors. Admin. Code 8-102(5). If you would like more information, you can call (212) 583-0030 or email [email protected]. www.dusenberylaw.com 57 W. 57th St, 4th Fl New York, NY 10030 T: (212) 583-0030 F: (646) 786-3250 ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

The New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) prohibits an employer from taking adverse action against an employee, such as termination, if discrimination plays any role in the action, even where the employer also has legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for the action. See Bennett v. Health Management Systems, Inc., 92 A.D.3d 29, 39 (1st Dep’t 2011). Courts refer to employers that engage in such partial discrimination as having a mixed motive. Id. at 40. Indeed, unde...r the NYCHRL, an employee does not need to prove that an employer’s stated reason for taking adverse action was false, only that the action was more likely than not based in whole or in part on discrimination. Melman v. Montefiore Medical Center, 98 A.D.3d 107, 127 (1st Dep’t 2012) (internal citation and quotation omitted). If you would like more information, you can call (212) 583-0030 or email [email protected]. www.dusenberylaw.com 57 W. 57th St, 4th Fl New York, NY 10030 T: (212) 583-0030 F: (646) 786-3250 ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

The New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to violate or forego a religious practice including the observance of a particular day as a sabbath or holy day as a condition of obtaining or retaining employment, and the employer must make a reasonable accommodation for such religious practice. Admin. Code 8-107(3)(a). A reasonable accommodation is one that does not cause the employer undue hardship. Admin. Code 8-10...7(3)(b). If you would like more information, you can call (212) 583-0030 or email [email protected]. www.dusenberylaw.com 57 W. 57th St, 4th Fl New York, NY 10030 T: (212) 583-0030 F: (646) 786-3250 ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

With the advent of the smartphone, employees are often required to respond to emails or perform work remotely outside of their regularly scheduled work hours. If you are required to perform such remote work and do not receive proper compensation for it, you may be entitled to minimum wage and overtime damages. If you would like more information, you can call (212) 583-0030 or email [email protected]. www.dusenberylaw.com... 57 W. 57th St, 4th Fl New York, NY 10030 T: (212) 583-0030 F: (646) 786-3250 ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

On January 5, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it will use the primary beneficiary test set out in court decisions to determine whether interns are employees entitled to the minimum wage and overtime of one and a half times the regular rate for hours worked in excess of forty (40) per week. Under the primary beneficiary test, an intern is not an employee when the tangible and intangible benefits provided to the intern are greater than the intern’s cont...ribution to the employer’s operation. Glatt v. Fox Searchlight, 811 F.3d 528, 535 (2d Cir. 2015). In Glatt v. Fox Searchlight, unpaid interns sued for minimum wage and overtime damages for working on the film Black Swan or at Fox’s corporate offices in New York, performing duties such as copying and scanning documents, setting up office furniture, making coffee, taking out trash and making deliveries to the set, among other things. See Glatt, 811 F.3d at 531-32. The Glatt Court set out a non-exhaustive list of factors to determine whether an intern is an employee, including the extent to which: 1) there is an expectation of compensation (which would suggest an employment relationship); 2) the internship provides training similar to that given in an educational setting; 3) the internship is considered coursework or the intern receives academic credit; 4) the internship corresponds to the academic calendar; 5) the internship is limited to the period in which it provides beneficial learning to the intern; 6) the intern’s work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees and provides significant educational benefits to the intern[;] and 7) there is an understanding that the intern is not entitled to a paid job after the internship. Glatt, 811 F.3d at 536-37. If you would like more information, you can call (212) 583-0030 or email [email protected]. www.dusenberylaw.com 57 W. 57th St, 4th Fl New York, NY 10030 T: (212) 583-0030 F: (646) 786-3250 ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

Effective January 1, 2018, New York State Paid Family Leave law (PFL) generally requires private employers to provide employees with up to eight weeks of leave and 50% of the employee’s average weekly wage for the eight weeks prior to taking leave, capped at 50% of the New York State average weekly wage, which is $652.96. You may be eligible for PFL if you regularly work 20 or more hours per week and have been employed for 26 consecutive weeks or if you regularly work les...s than 20 hours per week and have been employed for 175 days, whether consecutive or not. You may be entitled to take PFL in the following circumstances, including, but not limited to: 1) bonding with a child that you have given birth to, adopted, or are fostering; 2) caring for a spouse, domestic partner, child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, parent-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild with a serious health condition, which involves either inpatient care at a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility or continuing treatment or supervision by a health care provider; or 3) deployment of a spouse, domestic partner, child or parent abroad on active military service or notification of such deployment abroad. If you would like more information, you can call (212) 583-0030 or email [email protected]. www.dusenberylaw.com 57 W. 57th St, 4th Fl New York, NY 10030 T: (212) 583-0030 F: (646) 786-3250 ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

Have you been charged with a crime? Defending against a criminal case is often a serious matter because of the potential consequences, which is why you need an aggressive advocate who can explain your options and advise you on how to get the best result possible. Finn Dusenbery is a skilled litigator and negotiator who handles criminal cases at an affordable rate, in addition to his work representing employees for discrimination or wage cases. If you would like to more inf...ormation, you can call (212) 583-0030 or email [email protected]. Law Office of Finn W. Dusenbery 57 W. 57th St, 4th Fl New York, NY 10019 www.dusenberylaw.com T: (212) 583-0030 F: (646) 786-3250 ATTORNEY ADVERTISING Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome