JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $1.45 million. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the lawsuit alleges female mortgage brokers in the company’s Ohio office were subjected to a hostile work environment based on sexual harassment. The lawsuit alleges that supervisors engaged in sexually charged behavior and comments and that female brokers who did not “embrace and participate in these circumstances became ostracized and suffered economic consequences…” The award will be shared among 16 female employees.

Sex or gender discrimination occurs whenever an employee or prospective employee is subject to different treatment due to their gender. An employer cannot stereotype you based on your gender or sex. Employers are required to treat men and women the same in all phases of the employment process regarding

• Policies and practices
• Hiring
• Compensation
• Job training
• Layoffs
• Promotions
• Working conditions
• Benefits
• Other privileges

Often, the terms “sex” and “gender” are interchangeable. However, sex discrimination refers to discrimination based on an individual’s biological identity as male or female while gender discrimination refers to discrimination based on characteristics of an individual that are culturally associated with masculinity or femininity. Gender discrimination is one of the oldest and most prevalent forms of workplace discrimination. It is often subtle, but its impact is very serious.

If you believe that you are being discriminated against at work because of your sex or gender, you should protect your rights and consult an attorney.

A coach at a private New York City school is claiming that he was fired for being straight and married with kids. As reported in the New York Daily News, the suit alleges that the coach’s female supervisor, who is a lesbian, discriminated against him in the terms and conditions of his employment because he was a married straight family man.  Specifically, the suit alleges that his supervisor made false allegations against him, gave him more work than his fellow coworkers that were single females, and reprimanded him when he complained about the unequal treatment.

Sex or gender discrimination occurs whenever an employee or prospective employee is subject to different treatment due to her or his gender. An employer cannot stereotype you based on your gender or sex. Employers are required to treat men and women the same in all phases of the employment process regarding

Cap each first word in list

• policies and practices
• hiring
• compensation
• job training
• layoffs
• promotions
• working conditions
• benefits
• other privileges

Often the terms “sex” and “gender” are thought of as being interchangeable. However, sex discrimination refers to discrimination based on an individual’s biological identity as male or female while gender discrimination refers to discrimination based on characteristics of an individual that are culturally associated with masculinity or femininity.  Gender discrimination is one of the oldest and most prevalent forms of workplace discrimination. It is often subtle, but its impact can be severe. If you believe that you are being discriminated against at work because of your sex or gender, consult an attorney and protect your rights.

The lawsuit stemmed from a decision made by the Village of Garden City in 2004 to rezone land that it had purchased for building multi-family apartments to building townhouses or single-family homes. As reported in The New York Times, the Village, which is comprised primarily of white residence, decided to change from building multi-family apartments to building pricey townhouses or single family homes after residents complained that the multi-family apartments would attract lower-income residents. Federal Judge Arthur D. Spatt ruled “the village’s acts had both an adverse impact on minorities and tended to perpetuate segregation.”

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.

Currently Federal Law does not ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  However, the Senate is now taking up the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would recognize both in the workplace. As reported by The New York Times, the Senate appears to have the majority necessary to overcome a Republican filibuster regarding the proposed law. However, critics have complained that, to appease hard-line conservatives, the law has a large exemption for religious institutions, including, churches, houses of worship, as well as religiously affiliated institutions. This would allow a religiously-affiliated university or hospital to discriminate in the workplace on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, not only in jobs that have a religious function, but also in jobs that do not have a religious function.

Although federal law does not currently prohibit sexual orientation discrimination, the New York State Human Rights Law and New York City Human Rights Law protect individuals from being discriminated against on the basis of their “actual or perceived” sexual orientation. Unfortunately, many gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender employees are not aware that in New York they are entitled to a workplace free of discrimination and harassment. It is important to remember that it is not relevant whether your employer’s perception of your sexual orientation is correct. If your employer believes or perceives you as having a certain sexual orientation and treats you differently or discriminates against you because of it, then your employer may be violating the law.

Examples of sexual orientation discrimination include:

• If your boss fires you because he believes you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or straight, it is illegal (it does not matter whether or not you are actually gay, lesbian, bisexual or straight).
• An employer denying benefits to your same-sex partner when your employer’s health insurance plan covers benefits for spouses and families of married heterosexual employees.
• Your employer denies benefits to your same-sex partner when your employer’s health insurance plan covers benefits for spouses and families of married heterosexual employees.
• Based on your sexual orientation, your employer denies you benefits or rewards, or you suffer harsher treatment from management.

If you believe that you are being discriminated against at work because of your sexual orientation, you should be aware that laws exist to protect you from unlawful sexual and gender discrimination. Consult an attorney and protect your rights.

A new study by AARP shows that age discrimination in the workplace for seniors over 55 is widespread. As reported by CBS New York, AARP’s study noted that it took a New Yorker over the age of 55, who lost their job, over four months longer to find a new job than a younger job applicant in the same situation.

The study also questions people above age 50 who reported the following about either himself/herself, a friend or family member who turned 50:

• 26 percent were not hired because of their age;
• 24 percent were passed over for a raise or promotion due to age;
• 23 percent were laid off, fired, or forced out of a job since turning 50;
• 27 percent were encouraged or forced to retire;
• 23 percent were subjected to unwelcomed comments about their age.

Older workers are often faced with this kind of treatment. Federal Law does not permit an employer to engage in age discrimination against an employee who is 40 years of age or older. Likewise, under New York State and New York City Law, an employer is prohibited from engaging in age discrimination against an employee who is more than 18 years old. This includes discriminating against a person because of his/her age with respect to any term, condition or privilege of employment, including firing, hiring, layoff, promotion, benefits, compensation, training and job assignments.

 You may have a case against your employer for age discrimination if you are older than 40 (Federal Law) or 18 (NYS Law) and

1. You were qualified for your position or performed satisfactorily
2. Despite your qualifications, you were treated in an adverse manner, and
3. Someone younger (Federal Law) or older (NYS Law) than you, with the same or similar qualifications was treated better.

If you believe that you have faced discrimination at work because of your age, you should be aware that laws exist to protect you. Consult an attorney and protect your rights.