What Qualifies for a Job Harassment Lawsuit in New York?

Knowing what behaviors can be considered harassment in New York is important in establishing and maintaining a work environment where all employees feel safe. Managers and employers should have the capability to tell illegal harassment from inappropriate (but not unlawful) behavior in order to take the appropriate disciplinary actions quickly without having to go through any other responses that do not fit the offense.

Law is defined as undesirable physical or verbal conduct that creates a hostile work environment. When the behavior is directed at a legally protected characteristic, such as gender, age, race, religion or sexual orientation, and adversely affects the normal operations of an employees work and workplace, it can be considered New York harassment. Harassment can describe a wide range of behaviors from abusive language intended to force someone to quit to actual physical violence.

Anyone working in New York can be the target of harassment: male or female, young or old, blue-collar or white-collar, absolutely anyone. The same can be said of the identity of the offender: He or she could be a boss, supervisor, co-employee, vendor, or even a visitor. If seeing someone else being harassed makes you feel your workplace is hostile, you can be considered a victim even though you are not the direct target of the behavior.

Not All Offensive Workplace Behavior Is Job Harassment

For a behavior to be considered harassment it has to:

• Be unwelcome

• Be directed at a protected characteristic or class (such as gender or religion)

• Adversely affect employees’ work performance

• Create a hostile work environment

Finding the right injury lawyer for your case is very important and can mean the difference between winning and losing. During your first meeting with any attorney, ask the following questions to help you decide if he or she is the right personal injury lawyer for your case.

1. How long have you been practicing personal injury law?

With so much at stake, the last thing you want to do is hire a novice.

2. How many cases similar to my own have you taken to trial or settlement?

A seasoned injury attorney will have handled many cases like yours to trial and/or settlement. The number of cases an attorney has taken says something about his or her skill and success rate.

3. Are personal injury cases like mine the main focus of your practice?

The personal injury attorney you hire should have a history of focusing on the subject matter involved in your claim. Though general practice attorneys are good for many things.

4. Will you use other attorneys or paralegals on my case?

If the attorney you are talking to has a legal staff working for him or her, it is important that you meet them and decide if they are an asset to your case.

5. Whenever you’re unable to answer the phone, how soon can I expect you to return my call?

A good lawyer should return your call no later than 24 hours. Whatever the return call policy of your chosen lawyer, have it written into your retainer agreement to ensure compliance.

6. Will you take the time to help me understand all of the court procedures, legal concepts, fee arrangements, billing practices, retainer agreements, and payment of costs?

The following is an expert answer given by Broward County Injury Lawyer, Joseph M. Maus, and taken from AllExperts.com, a free Q & A service on the internet:

Question:
Thank you in advance for any info you can give me.  I live in TX. This happened in a local grocery store. Short version of story.

I was going to get broccoli but had to go further down to grab a bag.  When I stepped on the rug, it slid and I started doing a balancing act.  I was able to prevent a fall, which I was told by doctors, I would have been better off falling. Before I left the store I was hurting.

I reported the water to the manager, who also nearly slid, and he only touched the edge of the rug.  He pulled it up to find water floating under the rug. The rugs were put down in the last few years as when they spray the produce there was always water getting on the floor.  He referenced this and that we try to check the area and I said that apparently it hasn’t been checked in awhile. He asked me if I wanted to file a report and I said I better.  His version of the report was taking my name and phone number.

There also was an elderly man and woman that were walking up and saw me.  I pointed them out as witnesses to him and he said he would get their info since I did not have paper and pen…he did not, as by the time he got the water tended to they were gone. My mistake for not following up but I was waiting for my daughter to come and did not realize I was going to hurt this bad later.

The process of obtaining a US visa for a loved one can be confusing. This article delves into the process of obtaining a US B-2 tourist visa from Thailand.

There are many people of all nationalities and backgrounds who submit applications for American tourist visas at the United States Embassy in the Kingdom of Thailand. Although such applications are rather common, they are becoming increasingly subject to denial pursuant to section 214(b) of the United States Citizenship and Nationality Act. This rule requires Consular Officers to make a presumption that the tourist visa applicant is actually an undisclosed immigrant unless the visa applicant can show strong evidence that contradicts and thereby rebuts this presumption. Section 214(b) therefore creates a “strong ties” vs. “weak ties” analysis which necessitates that the applicant show “strong ties” to their country of origin, or another country outside of the United States of America, and also “weak ties” to the US. This can be a very problematic provision especially for those Americans who wish to bring a Thai significant other back to the US for a temporary stay.

The existence of an American Citizen boyfriend or girlfriend can be very detrimental for a Thai National’s B-2 visa application (or any non-immigrant visa application for that matter including the F-1 visa, J-1 visa, B-1 visa, etc). The detriment arises from the fact that the applicant has a relationship with an American and therefore could be construed to have a “strong tie” to the USA. There are some Thai-American couples who try to avoid this issue by simply “not mentioning” the existence of a romantic relationship with a US Citizen. This is not a good idea, in this author’s opinion, because any dishonesty, even dishonesty by omission, is unethical and could be viewed by the Embassy and/or Consulate as an attempt to defraud the US government. For an American Citizen, a finding of fraud and misrepresentation could lead to penalties, but such a finding could have a highly negative impact upon the applicant’s chances of ever obtaining a US visa in the future as fraud and misrepresentation is considered a legal grounds of inadmissibility to the USA that would likely only be remedied upon the approval of an I-601 waiver.