New York Employment Lawyer Blog

The EEOC recently announced a lawsuit it filed a lawsuit against Grand Central Partnership, Inc. ("GCP") for violating a prior consent decree by committing new acts of discrimination. The new charges allege that GCP fired a black Rastafarian security officer in retaliation for his complaining of discrimination and threats of violence. The earlier consent decree was entered into in 2009 and promised to provide Rastafarian security officers accommodation for their religious practices.

GCP is a non-profit developer in New York City that manages the Grand Central Business Improvement District, which is one of the largest business improvement districts in the world.

In 2009, the EEOC and GCP settled a lawsuit over how GCP treated its Rastafarian and Caribbean security officers. The parties agreed in a consent decree that GCP would accommodate the Rastafarian security officer's religious practices and not retaliate against them for participating in the lawsuit. GCP is still subject to court supervision as part of that settlement.

More recently, in 2010, and as part of the new lawsuit, a non-Caribbean security officer threatened to shoot and kill a group of Rastafarian security officers. After a white security supervisor made light of the situation, a Rastafarian security officer objected to his conduct and called him a racist for referring to a group of Rastafarians with the "N" word. After he complained and called the EEOC, he was fired by the GCP three months later.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 clearly prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. It also makes it illegal to retaliate against an individual for engaging in "protected activity" such as filing a discrimination charge, participating in an investigation, or opposing discriminatory practices. In this case, the Rastafarian officer reported the threats and complained to the EEOC, which is protected activity. Thereafter, he was fired for having complained.

The Regional Attorney of the EEOC's New York District Office, Elizabeth Grossman, stated that the "EEOC is particularly concerned when it obtains a consent decree to stop violations of the law and the employer turns around and ignores the settlement by reverting to the illegal behavior." Michael Ranis, a trial attorney at the same office added that "Retaliation against an employee who objects to threats of violence against his co-religionists and then objects to racism will not be tolerated. EEOC's lawsuit should make it clear that an employee may not blame the victim when it loses control of its managers and employees."

It is a shame that GCP personnel continued to engage in discriminatory and retaliatory conduct even after being sued by the EEOC and agreeing to change its conduct. Clearly these employees needed more than a consent decree to learn how not to engage in discriminatory behavior. Unfortunately, such conduct is prevalent and becomes a liability costing thousands for many businesses. Our experienced Discrimination Attorneys have conducted many training sessions and seminars on discrimination at the workplace which have made a real difference in how employees conduct themselves to prevent litigation. Call our Discrimination Attorneys at Villanueva & Sanchala at (800) 893-9645 to help provide training and seminars to prevent potential litigation from financially destroying your business.

Continue reading "New York Discrimination and Retaliation Update: Make Sure Your Employees Don't Retaliate Against Complaints of Religious Discrimination" »

Our New York and New Jersey Whisteblower and Retaliation Attorneys have represented clients in cases involving New Jersey's powerful anti-retaliation law known as the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). Unlike New York Labor Law Sections 740 and 741, CEPA is a very advantageous tool for employees. CEPA is broad in all aspects of its scope and protects employees and independent contractors who report illegal or unethical activities in the workplace. CEPA applies to almost all employers in New Jersey. In short, CEPA protects you if you refused to participate in activities at work that you believed to be fraudulent, criminal or harmful to the public's health and safety. This covers a wide range of activities in the workplace. Our New Jersey Employment Law Attorneys are very familiar with employee rights under CEPA and have successfully represented clients in these matters.

What activities are protected under CEPA?

CEPA protects employees and independent contractors who:

1. Disclose, or threaten to disclose, to a supervisor or to a public body an activity, policy, or practice of the employer or another employer, with whom there is a business relationship, that the employee reasonably believes is in violation of a law, or a rule or regulation issued under the law, or, in the case of an employee who is a licensed or certified health care professional, reasonably believes constitutes improper quality of patient care;
2. Provide information to, or testify before, any public body conducting an investigation, hearing or inquiry into any violation of law, or a rule or regulation issued under the law by the employer or another employer, with whom there is a business relationship, or, in the case of an employee who is a licensed or certified health care professional, provides information to, or testifies before, any public body conducting an investigation, hearing or inquiry into quality of patient care; or
3. Object to, or refuses to participate in, any activity, policy or practice which the employee reasonably believes:


• is in violation of a law, or a rule or regulation issued under the law, or, if the employee is a licensed or certified health care professional, constitutes improper quality of patient care;


• is fraudulent or criminal; or


• is incompatible with a clear mandate of public policy concerning the public health, safety or welfare or protection of the environment. N.J.S.A. 34:19-3



Importantly, this range of protected activities are far greater than the statutory protected activities in New York and most other states. Similar to New York's Labor Law, an employee will be protected from anti-retaliation under CEPA even if the company's policy, practices or activities are not illegal; the employee or independent contractor merely must have an objectively reasonable belief that his or her allegations are true. Further, the employee does not have to specify the name of the law violated by the employer or state any specific "magic words" invoke protection under CEPA.

Continue reading "New Jersey Whistleblower Law Update: Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA)" »

Generally, yes. If your employer is using federally earmarked funds for personal or other unauthorized uses you could be a whistleblower and entitled to a share of the funds you save the government and taxpayers. For example, if the company may be misusing federal funds that are earmarked for training programs but they are used for salaries and office expenses. In order to be a whistleblower, your claim must meet several criteria. First and perhaps most important, your claim must be based upon an original source. For example, your claim cannot be based on information in the news, publicly available or a previously filed complaint. Yes, in this case, a race to the courthouse is important. First to file is critical. Second, your claim must be substantial. Generally, Qui Tam claims are in excess of one million dollars. Third, you need to be prepared. You should work with an experienced Whistleblower Lawyer to properly gather evidence and build your case. This is critical as an early misstep can prove costly. Our New York Qui Tam and False Claims Lawyers are experienced in building whistleblower cases and can help you in your case.

Continue reading "False Claims & Qui Tam Whistleblower Q&A: Can I blow the whistle if my employer is misusing federally earmarked funds?" »

Recently, Oracle settled a qui tam whistleblower lawsuit for $46 million with the U.S. government regarding allegations under the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act. The complaint alleged that Sun Microsystems Inc. ("Sun"), which was bought by Oracle in 2009 for about $7.4 billion, knowingly paid kickbacks to consulting companies in exchange for their recommendations to federal agencies to purchase Sun's products.
The qui tam whistleblower lawsuit was originally filed in 2004 by 2 whistleblowers in Arkansas and was subsequently joined by the government in 2007.

The 2 whistleblowers, Norman Rille, a former manager at Accenture, and Neal Roberts, a former partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers ("PwC"), alleged in their qui tam whistleblower lawsuit that dozens of IT vendors and systems integrators had a widespread kickback scheme in trying to obtain government contracts. They also alleged that Sun paid consulting companies every time they influenced a government agency to purchase Sun products. As qui tam whistleblowers, Rille and Roberts will share in 15%- 25% of the government's recovery. If you observe fraud being committed against the government at your place of employment, contact our Whistleblower, False Claims and Qui Tam Lawyers for an immediate confidential consultation at (800) 893-9645. As you can see the case against Sun, and later Oracle, took years to build. It is critical that whistleblowers speak with experienced attorneys before taking any steps that could prove fatal to the case.

The federal government has stated that these kickbacks are "part of a larger, ongoing investigation of government technology vendors that has resulted in settlements to date with six other companies." In fact, several other companies have settled regarding similar allegations under the False Claims Act. IBM agreed to a $3 million settlement, PwC agreed to pay $2.3 million and Computer Sciences agreed to a settlement of $1.4 million.

When companies use undue influence and conspire to obtain lucrative government contracts, the government loses its ability to make an informed decision. It is a crime against all taxpayers when the government is mislead and does not award contracts to the companies with the best prices and products. As evidenced by the flurry of recent lawsuits brought under the False Claims Act, the government is clearly cracking down on fraud and kickbacks with the help of concerned, private individuals. If you observe fraud being committed against the government, at your workplace, help save your tax dollars and call our experienced Whistleblower Attorneys at Villanueva & Sanchala at (800) 893-9645 to help you decide if you have a case under the False Claims Act.

Continue reading "New York Qui Tam Whistleblower Attorneys Update: Software Giant Oracle Agrees to $46 Million Settlement for Allegations Under False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Act" »

Last month, President Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, Section 1012, (FMSA), and in doing so, he granted historic whistleblower rights to employees in the food safety industry. The FMSA is broad in its scope and protects employees who work for companies "engaged in the manufacture, processing, packing, transportation, distribution, reception, holding or importation of food." The FMSA prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee who engages in protected activity by complaining about food safety violations of the Act. Some examples of protected activity include reporting food that was tainted, toxic or otherwise contaminated, reporting improper and dangerous additives were added to food, reporting that food was stored in a dangerous environment. Our New York Employee Rights Whistleblower Attorneys have represented many employees who have been retaliated against for exercising their rights because they engaged in protected activity. If you have been retaliated against, call (800) 893-9645 now to speak with one of our Employment Law Lawyers for a confidential consultation regarding your employee rights.

Critically, the FMSA has very limited deadlines to file a complaint with the United States Department of Labor. In general, claims must be filed within 180 days of the discriminatory action. Some types of claims may need to be filed earlier. It is very important for an employee to speak with an experienced whistleblower attorney immediately so that the employee's claim is not jeopardized. An experienced attorney can help an employee navigate the complex administrative process with the Department of Labor and, if necessary, the process in Federal Court. If an employee is successful in proving a claim, the employee may be entitled to reinstatement, back pay and compensatory damages.

If you have been retaliated against or have questions about your employee rights and how to best deal with issues in your workplace, call now to speak with one of our New York Employee Rights Whistleblower Attorneys for a confidential consultation - (800) 893-9645.