A New York City man is pursing a $4 million lawsuit against his former employer, a car dealership in Queens, for alleged sexual orientation discrimination. As ABC News reports, the man says that he was fired from his position as a finance manager because he is HIV-positive.
The plaintiff further alleges that he was subject to “an outrageously offensive conversation” by two top managers that included gay slurs. As he told ABC News, he was not fired, though, until his colleagues learned that he was HIV-positive.
As clarified by a spokeswoman for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 established that, in most cases, HIV is included in the definition of covered disability, extending grounds for employment litigation.
New York City Human Rights Law further protects individuals from such discrimination. As the law specifies: “In the City of New York, with its great cosmopolitan population, there is no greater danger to the health, morals, safety and welfare of the city and its inhabitants than the existence of groups prejudiced against one another and antagonistic to each other because of their actual or perceived differences, including those based on race, color, creed, age, national origin, alien, age or citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation…”
New York State’s Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act further protects city residents from discrimination based on sexual orientation.
In New Jersey, residents are protected from discrimination based on sexual orientation under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. The law is applicable to cases of heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, transgender and gender identity/expression.
If you believe you have been subject to sexual orientation discrimination in New York or New Jersey, you need an experienced New York and New Jersey employment litigation lawyer on your side. Contact the Ginarte law firm for a free consultation about your case.
Sources
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman: SONDA
NJ Office of the Attorney General: Civil Rights
New York City Commission on Human Rights