Sounding like our old friends at the EEOC, the New York Attorney General just announced a settlement with five New York City employment agencies relating to, among other things, allegations that the agencies “targeted Spanish-speaking job seekers, unlawfully steered them away from certain jobs and unlawfully referred them to jobs paying as little as $3.75 per hour.”
Said AG Eric Schneiderman (above), “Employment discrimination against vulnerable populations is an increasing and disturbing trend, and we need to do everything we can to protect job applicants across our state. These agreements will send a strong message: Employment discrimination and exploitation of job seekers — including among our hard-working immigrant communities — are unacceptable.”
“We will continue to fight for a level playing field for New York workers and our law-abiding businesses.”
Takeaway: We all spend so much time focussing on EEOC claims and lawsuits that we sometimes forget that there are state and local anti-discrimination laws, and state and local officials and agencies which scrutinize our actions. Beware these other authorities!