Businesses across New York rely on mutual respect between employers and employees. The state of New York recognizes this and has implemented a host of laws that protect the rights of both workers and employers.
Certain activities that employees engage in are protected. In short, this means that they cannot be reprimanded for them, even if the employer is not in agreement with the behaviors. What are some of the most common forms of protected activities?
Complaining about discrimination
Workers are protected from discrimination based on race, religion, gender, age and other protected characteristics. Should an employee face discrimination, they are well within their rights to make a complaint. This can be done internally or via the relevant authorities. Complaining about discrimination is a protected activity. Importantly, employees are protected whether they are making a complaint about discrimination toward themselves or other workers.
Wage and hour complaints
Employees in New York are entitled to be paid at least the minimum wage. Currently, this stands at $16 per hour. Employees don’t have to work for less than this, and they are entitled to complain, without reprimand, if they are being paid below the minimum wage.
Request for reasonable accommodations
All employees in New York are entitled to request reasonable accommodations. These are adjustments to the workplace to make life a little easier. For example, this could involve a pregnant worker requesting some time off to attend medical appointments. Or, it could be a religious worker requesting certain break times to honor their prayer rituals. Employers must consider all reasonable accommodation requests and these can only be refused if they would cause undue hardship to the business. An employee cannot be reprimanded for making a reasonable accommodation request as this is a protected activity.
Adverse treatment based on engaging in protected activities is called retaliation. This is unlawful. To assert your rights as an employee, seeking legal guidance is an important early step.
