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Court allows anti-Semitism-related wrongful termination case

| Jan 29, 2015 | Wrongful Termination |

 

The Big Apple is home to people of diverse races, sexual preferences and religious denominations. The incredible varieties of people who reside throughout New York give the state its dynamic characteristics. And, because of this diversity, New York law upholds the need for tolerance and equality both in civil and labor matters. However, there may be times when some employers forget this need and end up trampling the rights of their workers. A Westchester County man claims to be one of the victims of such a disregard of rights.

According to the individual, he was a victim of unlawful discrimination that resulted in wrongful termination. The man, who worked in the Town of Newcastle, claims he became the center of ridicule after he married a Jewish woman. He says that he was constantly insulted as a “Jew lover” when he was at work. Despite having a Jewish wife, the former employee himself is not Jewish. Eventually, the man claimed, the anti-Semitism became the reason he was fired in 2007. He filed a wrongful termination case, but his lawsuit was rejected by the White Plains’ Supreme Court after it was ruled that his claim was merely conjecture.

However, a second decision released a few weeks ago ruled that the case can proceed in court. The decision, by the Appellate Division’s Second Department, cited the 1935 Nuremberg Law as a basis for this decision. In that law, the civil rights of Jews, who were also German citizens, were denied. Despite the reversed ruling, a legal professional on behalf of the town asserted that the man was not fired for religious reasons but for being a poor worker.

Wrongful termination cases can be difficult. Underlying problems, such as discrimination, harassment and labor and civil rights violations, can be issues in a wrongful dismissal case.

Source: New York Post, “Judge allows suit by man ‘fired’ after he was ‘mocked as Jew lover’,” Josh Saul, Jan. 15, 2015