This slideshow by attorney Jack Tuckner provides more information for employees and employers about the rights an employee has in the workplace and what he or she can do if these rights are not being appropriately protected.

1. Employee Workplace
Rights
What are your rights?
Do you have any?

2. Q: I’ve been a great employee for 5 years. I am
rarely out sick and have always had great
evaluations. Today, they fired me for no reason
and did not offer any severance. What can I
do?
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The short answer is there is essentially nothing you can do about
it.
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You can be fired at any time for any reason or no reason.
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You are not entitled to any notice.
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You are not entitled to any severance.
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You are not entitled to anything.
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Employers are not obligated to provide any notice or reason for
your termination and they are definitely not obligated to provide
you with a severance package.

3. Q: I work in a very hostile workplace. The
supervisor picks on everyone. He’s always
threatening to fire us. The stress is effecting
my health but I need my job. What can I do?
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Again, sadly, not much.
If your supervisor or manager treats everyone the same, then you
are working for an equal opportunity moron. Your employer is
allowed to be mean, rude, disrespectful. They are allowed to be
unprofessional toward you, call you names and be downright nasty.
As long as they are treating everyone the same, it’s probably
legal.
If you are the only one who is being treated hostilely, you need to
ask yourself WHY? Why are YOU being treated differently?

4. Q: Year after year, I have received outstanding
achievement awards for my performance. Due to
a re-org, I’ve been reassigned. My new manager
and I don’t get along. I am afraid I will be
fired.
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And you probably will be if you can’t get yourself transferred to
another department or division.
There is no law that says your employer must like you. There is no
law stating an employer must be nice, polite or professional.
You are working at the ‘will’, or as some would say, the ‘whim’ of
your employer.

5. Q: I am six months pregnant and my boss just
fired me because he says he’s eliminating my
position. I thought it was illegal to fire someone
who is pregnant.
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!
!
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Survey says WRONG!
If your employer is truly eliminating your position, you can be fired
whether you’re pregnant or not. If your company has decided that
your responsibilities can be absorbed by others, then your
pregnancy may have had little bearing on their decision.
An employer is allowed to fire you if you are pregnant. If you are
screwing up and they have spoken with you about it in the past,
you can be terminated. That would probably be legal.
What they can NOT do is fire you BECAUSE you are pregnant.

6. Q: So, do I have ANY rights?
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Essentially, the only laws that provide protections for employees
are the various federal, state and city anti-discrimination statutes.
Anti-discrimination statutes are the laws that protect employees
from being treated differently from their coworkers, if the reason
for the differential treatment is based on a ‘protected status’,
such as age, race, color, national origin, sex, gender, disability
(including pregnancy) and sexual orientation. These are your civil
rights.
Your employer can treat you just about any way they want AS
LONG AS they are not treating you that way because you are
black, hispanic, pregnant or disabled, for example.

7. Q: What should I do if I feel I am being
discriminated against because I am (fill in a protected
status)?
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First, and most importantly, DO NOT QUIT! QUIT is a 4 letter
word that you don’t want to do. Never, ever resign. All your
power and legal leverage is lost when you quit your job and walk
away. We understand you may get to the point you can’t stand it
another moment, RESIST. Take a breathe. Take a break. Call a
lawyer. DON’T QUIT.
You need to formally notify your employer of your grievance.
There can be no civil rights violation until your employer is ‘on
notice’ of your belief you are being treated differently. Under the
law, your employer is allowed the opportunity to investigate your
claim and take corrective action if necessary.
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If you don’t tell them, and you try to sue them, they might
say ‘he never told us. how could we fix it for him?’.

8. More on Formal Notification
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Often, people will say ‘I might be fired if I complain’.
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The fact is if you are being discriminated against, chances are
you’re in a situation that is not sustainable. Either you will
quit because you can’t take it anymore. Or they will
ultimately fire you anyway.
Put your complaint in writing and send it to the head of HR or the
head of the company, in a verifiable way such as certified mail or
FedEx. Some way that you can prove they signed and received
your letter. (Emails are not necessarily the best way.)
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Verbal notification doesn’t help. You need to protect yourself
by generating a paper trail of your protected grievances.

9. Recap of the 4 IMPORTANT STEPS to protecting yourself
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1. DON’T QUIT.
2. Formally notify your employer of your complaint in writing. Put
it in a brief letter.
Send your letter in a way you can prove they received it.
3. Then wait to see how they respond. And DON’T QUIT while
you’re waiting.
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4. Seek guidance from a qualified employment attorney.
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DON’T QUIT.

10. !
This is not a complete resource nor should it
replace legal advice from a qualified
employment lawyer regarding the specifics
of your particular situation.

11. Resources
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NELA.org This is the National Employment Lawyers Association, a
good site to search for a qualified plaintiff’s attorney to consult
for advice regarding your specific circumstances.
EEOC.gov This is the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
website on federal laws covering your employment rights
womensrightsny.com This is our website where you can find
information on just about every area of workplace discrimination.

12. !
Tuckner, Sipser, Weinstock & Sipser, LLP
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www.womensrightsny.com
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New York City, New York
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212-766-9100