When Evaluating a Matter With a Potential Claim of Discrimination Under New York City Law, Be Sure to Be Aware of the Implications of the Local Civil Rights Restoration Act of 2005

We are so used to evaluating an employer’s actions in discrimination cases as to whether they constitute an adverse action, that we forget that the adversity requirement does not necessarily pertain under all local anti-discrimination laws.  For example, in 2005, the New York City Human Rights Law was amended by the Local Civil Rights Restoration Act of 2005 N.Y.C. Local Law No. 85 (2005), which provides, now, that discrimination in “any manner” is prohibited by the City human rights law, and thus an adverse employment action is not an element of a prima facie case under the local law.  See N.Y. City Admin. Code § 8-107 (2009); Williams v. N.Y.C. Housing Auth., 61 Ad.3d 62, 70, 2009 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 433 (1st Dep’t 2009); See also Joseph v. N.Y. City Dep’t of Corrs., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51690, 2011 WL 1843162, at *9 (E.D.N.Y. May 13, 2011); and Margherita v. Fed. Express, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121249 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 20, 2011); Prof. Craig Gurian, A Return to Eyes on the Prize: Litigating under the Restored New York City Human Rights Law, 33 Fordham Urb. L. J. 255, 288 (2006).

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