In a 5 to 4 ruling this week, the Supreme Court redefined the definition of a supervisor in racial and sexual harassment cases. As reported in The New York Times, the Court’s majority rejected the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s definition of a supervisor. The EEOC had defined a supervisor as someone who is authorized to take “tangible employment actions,” such as controlling an employee’s work schedule.

The Court redefined the definition of “tangible employment actions” to be a person with the power to hire, fire, promote, demote or reassigned employees. This decision to redefine what constitutes tangible employment actions narrowly, has created another tough hurdle for many employees who face harassment and discrimination at work to overcome. This does not mean that you do not have a claim. If you believe you have been the victim of sexual or racial discrimination at work, you should protect your rights and consult an attorney.

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A pub in Brooklyn has settled a discrimination lawsuit for placing an advertisement on craigslist for a bartender, which stated, in part, “Being British definitely works in your favor.” As reported in The New York Times, the New York City Human Rights Commission charged the Pub owners with violating a provision of New York City’s administrative code, which prohibits an employer from targeting a person’s national origin in a job ad. The owners settled the charges by agreeing to undergo anti-discrimination training and pay a fine of $2,500.00.

National origin discrimination means treating someone less favorably because he/she comes from a particular place, because of his/her ethnicity or accent, or because it is believed that he/she has a particular ethnic background. Such discrimination is not based on the accuracy of the ethnic information about the employee, but rather the belief of the person perpetrating the unequal treatment. Thus, if an employee is not from Puerto Rico, but is treated unfairly because an employer or fellow employee thinks he/she is from Puerto Rico, national origin discrimination is occurring.

Some examples of illegal national origin discrimination either by an employer or tolerated by an employer against an employee or job applicant are unequal treatment based on:

• Marriage to or association with persons of a national origin group
• Membership in, association with, or attendance or participation in schools, churches, temples or mosques generally associated with a national origin group
• A family name associated with a national origin group

 If you believe that you are experiencing discrimination at work because of your national origin, you should protect your rights and consult with an attorney.

According to a new national study by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, housing discrimination continues, albeit in more subtle ways then in the past. As reported in The New York Times, the study found that minorities did not face blatant actions of discrimination but rather were subjected to more subtle forms, such as being questioned more about their finances than whites or not being shown houses or apartments by real-estate brokers that they showed to similarly situated whites.

New York State and Federal laws prohibit someone from denying you the opportunity to rent or buy  a house because of your race, color, national origin, religion, gender, disability, marital status, children, age, or sexual preference. Housing, mortgage and credit discrimination laws apply to:

• Sellers
• Landlords
• Property managers
• Mortgage brokers
• Real estate agents
• Lending and credit institutions
• Building contractors
• Appraisers
• Architects

If you believe that you have been the victim of housing discrimination, you should protect your rights and consult with an attorney.

As the nation’s unemployment rate remains high, many of the long-term unemployed are facing a new barrier to work: unemployment discrimination. Potential employers are refusing to hire them for no reason other than their unemployed status. Being unemployed is tough enough without facing such discrimination from employers. The New York City Council recently passed a law, which will take effect of June 11, 2013, which prohibits an employer and employment agencies from discriminating against prospective employees on the basis of their unemployment. N.Y.C. Admin. Code. §§ 8-107(21)(a)(1)-(2), Int. No. 814-A.

According to the new law, “unemployed” or “unemployment” means: “not having a job, being available for work, and seeking employment.” The law prohibits employers and employment agencies from making an “employment decision with regard to hiring, compensation or the terms, conditions or privileges of employment on an applicant’s unemployment.” If you are applying for a job in New York City after June 11, 2013, and you believe that the prospective employer has refused to hire you based on your unemployment status, you should protect your rights by consulting with an attorney.