Sticking It To The Man

Last night, Schwartz and I lectured at the City Bar Association on employment law. There were about 30 people, mostly management attorneys, and there was a webcast. I spoke about various issues in the field and, specifically, the New York City Human Rights Law and the Restoration Act of 2005.

When I was talking about the City Law and how it is, by its very language, to be interpreted more broadly than its state and federal counterparts, I noted the Restoration Act’s amendment to the retaliation provisions. The City Law holds that an act punishing an employee for complaining about discrimination need not result in an ultimate employment action and need not be materially adverse, but must merely result in conduct that would reasonably deter an employee from complaining.

I also noted that the Supreme Court recently adopted a similar standard for the federal law. A guy who was clearly a management attorney started nodding his head, as if he got me. However, I continued, the Supreme Court held that the act must be materially adverse, while the City Law, by the very language of the statute, does not impose such a requirement. He stopped nodding.